Tag: adobe construction

Understanding Adobe Construction in Portugal

Adobe construction is a fascinating and ancient building technique. It primarily finds use in regions where materials like clay soil are abundant. This method has historical significance in many parts of the world, including the Aveiro region in Portugal. Here’s a simplified overview of the subject based on a detailed study from the University of Aveiro.

What is Adobe Construction?

Adobe construction involves making bricks from a mix of clay soil, water and sometimes added materials like straw and lime. These bricks are molded and left to dry in the sun. Thereby creating a sturdy building material. This ancient technique has been used for centuries around the world.

Adobe in Aveiro

Aveiro, located on Portugal’s west coast, has a rich history of adobe buildings. These constructions date back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. However, many of these buildings, including notable Art Nouveau houses, are now in a state of disrepair and need urgent restoration.

Why Preserve Adobe Buildings?

Preserving these structures is crucial for maintaining cultural and historical heritage. But sadly, many adobe buildings in Aveiro are on the verge of collapse. Therefore, their rehabilitation is necessary to save them for future generations.

Challenges in Adobe Rehabilitation

One of the main challenges in restoring adobe buildings is the lack of information about the mechanical properties of adobe bricks. Therefore, this knowledge is essential for engineers to understand how these structures behave under stress and to design effective restoration methods.

Research on Adobe Bricks

Researchers from the University of Aveiro conducted studies to understand the mechanical properties of adobe bricks. They collected samples from various old buildings and tested them to determine their strength and durability.

Key Findings

  1. Material Composition: Adobe bricks in the Aveiro region are primarily made from sandy soils with clay. Sometimes, lime and straw are added to improve strength.
  2. Strength Tests: The researchers tested the bricks for compressive strength (how much they can be compressed) and tensile strength (how much they can be stretched). These tests showed that the bricks have significant strength, but there is variability depending on the specific composition of each brick.
  3. Results: The study found that adobe bricks have a compressive strength ranging from 0.5 to 2.0 MPa. Interestingly, the tensile strength was about 20% of the compressive strength, which is quite good for such natural building materials.

Practical Applications

So, the findings provide valuable data that one can use to guide the restoration and strengthening of adobe buildings. For instance, understanding the right mix of materials can help improve the bricks’ strength, ensuring more durable restorations.

Conclusion

So, Adobe construction is not just a method from the past; it’s a technique with significant cultural and historical value. Therefore, with proper research and restoration efforts, we can preserve the beautiful adobe buildings in Portugal for future generations to appreciate. This study from the University of Aveiro is a step forward in understanding and preserving these unique structures.

For more detailed information, you can access the full study here.

Adobe Construction – cheap and naturally energy efficient

Adobe – or earth construction as some may call it – is one of the oldest building methods in the world. Since ever, humankind has used earth in various forms to build their homes. It has a huge number of benefits most of us modern people forgot about.

I only came to love this type of construction when working on a renovation project of an old town house in Portugal. Until then, when thinking of an earth house I had a very different picture in mind. It was something like a simple hut in an African village.

Adobe walls are naturally energy efficient and can be load bearing. Often, they are very thick, forming a natural insulation from the environmental heat or cold. Earth-based products are naturally sustainable because you are building with the materials that surround you.

Interestingly, approximately 30% of the world population lives in homes made of earth materials. That’s no wonder if you think of the many financial and environmental benefits. That’s why people like me, once we know about it, just love it. It is not only a far cheaper construction method but also has many other advantages compared with modern materials.

The composition of the adobe—or some may call it the recipe—vary according to country and local customs. Usually most of it is made of earth and or clay. Besides that, it can contain other materials like straw, maybe even small amounts of lime. Once I even read about that it can include horse hair. Not sure if this is true though.

There is even a thing they call Superadobe. It is also made from earth and organic materials heartened with lime, compressed into bags which are stacked on top of each other, each layer of bags separated by barbed wire. This method is perfect for seismically active areas.

What is adobe construction

Buildings made of Adobe are very similar to a rammed earth house. The only difference is that the earth was rammed into some sort of brick shape before it was used for the construction. Like this it is very easy to build walls with earth.

Special treatment for adobe construction

Please note that the right plaster is essential to be completely waterproof. You don’t want your wall to crumble apart after a few years. They are several products on the market that are perfect for adobe construction. We can use it for the first plaster on a new wall as well as fixing cracks in an old one. It is very important that the plaster lets the wall still breath.

Also, there can be a problem with raising damp in those buildings if they have no horizontal barrier to stop it. I saw a layer of bitumen sheet or a special plastic be put before the first layer of adobe bricks. Therefore, it is good to keep that in mind before you start building your house.

One historic local custom in my area was that the builders would leave an air gap under the house to avoid any raising damp. With some houses being well beyond 100 years now and showing no sign of any raising damp we can say that it is a truly successful method.

If you live in an earthquake zone it is also advisable to apply a net within the construction to give it better structural properties.

Adobe construction surprises

Probably the biggest surprise was when I found out that adobe was even used for the first modern architecture in Portugal. This is something I would always associate with concrete and steel.

It seems there is no limit to what you can build with it starting with simple garden walls, garages, sheds, houses and even apartment blocks.

Conclusion

Adobe Construction is naturally energy efficient and sustainable because you are building with the materials that surround you. With the right know-how it can give the same or even better comfort than a modern building method.

Bio

Our Property under 20k team are the founders of www.propertyunder20k.com and www.listproperty4free.com with the goal to search the cheapest real estate in the world and make it easy for others to find. The team is made up of landlords, real estate investors, architects and builders from several different countries.  We just love to have a good strong cup of coffee while we write our experiences in this blog.

Image by Michelle Raponi from Pixabay