How to make adobe do it yourself?

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Saman is a building material from clay soil with the addition of straw, dried in the open air. Saman is still a practical building material, despite the fact that there are many other more durable building materials, such as cinder blocks and foam blocks. Why do people today use adobe for the construction of buildings? There are two main reasons for this: cheap and warm.

Adobe components

Clay is a natural material, and therefore it can always be found in abundance. Well, another component of adobe is straw, also a natural material, and it can be purchased in any quantity. Straw just gives the building insulation. So it turns out - cheap and warm.

As before, now you can buy adobe. But if there is an opportunity to make it yourself, then for this you need to know the simple technology.

Preparatory work and the manufacture of the mixture

First you need to prepare the site on which the adobe will be made. It is necessary to clear the place of debris and stones, to smooth out rough irregularities (mounds, pits).

Now you need to bring clay to this site and sprinkle it into a layer of 30-35 cm in the shape of a circle. In the center, make a deepening in order to pour water into it.

When this process is complete, clay should be soaked. This is done simply - with a regular watering hose. In the process of soaking, the main thing is to ensure that water does not erode the edges of the batch. Clay should be soaked well enough, to the very edges of the embankment.

When this process is completed, it is necessary to knead the clay. Small batches are kneaded with your feet, but if you knead several thousand adobe, then use external force. Previously, large batches were kneaded by horses. Currently - by tractor. As a result, the clay should be mixed to the state of “thick sour cream”. Who in what way will do this is a private matter.

Having finished this work, we should now proceed to the next step - mixing straw into the clay. Straw is scattered in a thin layer throughout the batch and mixed. This process must be done several times, then, until the mixture stops sticking to the legs. It should also be noted that with each subsequent addition of straw, it should be sprayed with water so that the batch does not become thick. Thick batch mixes poorly.

Making adobe

Having completed the production of the mixture, we proceed to the production of adobe. For manufacturing, special forms are needed. Usually use wood. Forms can be ordered from a carpenter or bought ready-made.

Making adobe is laborious and hard. But if the adobe is made for itself, then it is worth it. The adobe is considered to be of high quality, in which there is a lot of straw. Such adobe will be lightweight, durable, with poor thermal conductivity.

To make the adobe itself, the site is sprinkled with straw next to the batch, on which adobe will be laid out. Forms are placed in a row on the ground (if there are several) and the mixture is laid in them. In this case, the forms should be moist so that they can easily be removed from the finished adobe and not wrinkle it.

Before each new laying of the mixture, the mold inside must be moistened. This can be done with a damp cloth or sponge. Having laid one row, we go to the next one so that the form handle is 5 cm from the finished row. Since the batch will decrease, the rows should be laid towards the batch. Do not forget to first sprinkle straw in the place of the future row so that the adobe does not stick to the ground.

You can lay the mixture in the form with ordinary pitchforks, but it will be better if it is vegetable pitchforks. In a filled mold, the mixture must be well tamped, and the surface smoothed flush with the edges. There should be no emptiness inside the adobe. An adobe with voids will be fragile.

When all work is completed, you need to pay attention to the weather. If it is planned to rain, then the adobe should be covered with straw so that it does not erode. In good sunny weather, adobe dries up to 10 days. After that, it can be used in construction.