Forums > Specific Focus > Home, Garden & Construction in Mexico

Ceil

Sep 25, 2004, 11:41 AM

Post #1 of 16 (6292 views)

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looking for adobe

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I want to buy used adobe. If you have adobe or know of someone who would like to sell adobe please contact me. Location anywhere in the lakeside/Guadalajara area. Size not important. Thanks.

(This post was edited by Ceil on Sep 25, 2004, 11:48 AM)

Rolly / Moderator

Sep 25, 2004, 1:55 PM

Post #2 of 16 (6272 views)

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Re: [Ceil] looking for adobe

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Buying used adobe. Now, that's an interesting concept. My building experiences have been with brick and concrete, so my knowledge of adobe is limited. Nevertheless, I don't see how (or why) an adobe structure could be demolished in such a way that the adobe bricks could be salvaged for reuse. Perhaps someone can enlighten me.

Rolly Pirate

Ceil

Sep 25, 2004, 4:21 PM

Post #3 of 16 (6257 views)

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Re: [Rolly] looking for adobe

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I got the idea from a Mexican friend of mine. As children, he and his brother used to work after school making adobe in San Antonio Tlayacapan. He is the one who suggested buying used adobe since buying new adobe is very expensive.

Rolly / Moderator

Sep 25, 2004, 5:38 PM

Post #4 of 16 (6249 views)

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Re: [Ceil] looking for adobe

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If you find any, please come back and tell us about it. I'd sure like to know the details.

Rolly Pirate

jreboll

Sep 28, 2004, 7:12 PM

Post #5 of 16 (6196 views)

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Re: [Ceil] looking for adobe

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When I tore down our old adobe house the bricks just crumbled in our hands. I don't know that the old adobe in Mexico is the same stuff being used in New Mexico and other areas.

gbatrucks

Sep 29, 2004, 9:21 AM

Post #6 of 16 (6173 views)

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Re: [jreboll] looking for adobe

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I doubt that it is. The adobe factories I visited in New Mexico had to add ingredients to make it pass NoB building codes. The adobe I saw in the village had all kinds of straw sticking out of the bricks & were pretty crumbly-looking.
"The trouble with life is there's no background music."

Rolly / Moderator

Sep 29, 2004, 9:34 AM

Post #7 of 16 (6169 views)

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Re: [gbatrucks] looking for adobe

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Here are a couple of pictures of an adobe house being built. Scroll down to the bottom of the page.
http://rollybrook.com/04-19-03.htm

Rolly Pirate

esperanza

Sep 29, 2004, 11:55 AM

Post #8 of 16 (6157 views)

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Re: [Ceil] looking for adobe

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Hmmm...check again with your friend. There are ordinary brick makers--using hornos--in San Antonio Tlayacapan, but I don't recall hearing that there were (or are) adobe makers. Maybe your friend meant regular brick, which would make more sense than adobe.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

abq

Oct 3, 2004, 12:06 PM

Post #9 of 16 (6117 views)

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Re: [esperanza] looking for adobe

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I agree. A good friend has the largest adobe yard in Albuquerque. His regular adobe is made the old fashoned way and crumbles easily. The stucco keeps it protected.

He does make a much more expensive stabilized adobe. Most use that for the top layer of their adobe fences if they choose not to stucco.

jreboll

Oct 3, 2004, 8:21 PM

Post #10 of 16 (6096 views)

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Re: [abq] looking for adobe

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There is a brick that they make called adobon. It is larger than regular brick and is not made as well as regular brick. It tends to warp in the middle. It is mostly used as filler material or to make bardas(brick fences).

toocrazy

Oct 10, 2004, 9:38 AM

Post #11 of 16 (6049 views)

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Re: [Ceil] looking for adobe

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As Rolly indicated, true adobe brick generally crumbled after many years exposed to weather. Another factor if using adobe with straw filler in home construction, termites now have good channels for dinner.

Georgia

Oct 20, 2004, 10:26 AM

Post #12 of 16 (5996 views)

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Re: [Ceil] looking for adobe

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Watch out for the source of used adobe, if you find it at all. Old adobe structures often harbor the chagas bug, which can cause Chagas disease, something you really don't want to have. Buildings with adobe walls and dirt floors are particularly susceptible.

Cynthia7

Oct 20, 2004, 8:29 PM

Post #13 of 16 (5974 views)

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Re: [Georgia] looking for adobe

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I have good reports from the adobe that is made with a combination of cement and mud. More stable than adobe= they say.

Oaxaca Hotel

Nov 22, 2004, 9:38 AM

Post #14 of 16 (5921 views)

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Re: [Ceil] looking for adobe

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I know what your Mexican friend means. There are literally thousands of bricks of all kinds laying near peoples houses. Go and ask them if they have any.

We are about to start building 3 or 4 palapas to rent in a lovely little fishing village on the edge of Huatulco called La Bocana with adobe bricks as walls, we will let you know how we get along.

As for adobe been expensive ... 1 peso a brick here in Huatulco. From a village called San Roque near Pochutla. To me this seemed a good price.
....................................................
Real Estate in Huatulco, Southern Mexico

Huatulco Real Estate

milnesand

Dec 9, 2004, 8:38 PM

Post #15 of 16 (5841 views)

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Re: [Ceil] looking for adobe

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Here in albuqerque I've built a long wall and a house using adobe. The stabilized bricks are much easier to work with and really don't cost that much more. The stabilizing ingredient is creosote.

The main thing with adobe is to get it up off the ground. I lay the first course on cinder blocks at least 1´ off the ground surface. A heated wall will draw moisture up into itself if the adobe is in contact with the ground surface.

As for using cement for mortar: it's a waste. If you mix your mud right, the wall will hold up just as well. And if you stucco and plaster, any old brick will do. Adobe is a kind and forgiving material and satisfying to work with.

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patricio_lintz

Dec 14, 2004, 11:22 AM

Post #16 of 16 (5816 views)

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Re: [milnesand] looking for adobe

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At the risk of stating the obvious: unfired adobe works best in dry climates, like the US Southwest.

Here at lakeside everyone now uses fired brick which is not expensive. There is way too much rain here to make unfired adobe a desireable building material locally.