BajaNomad

Adobe construction

dawkid - 11-22-2005 at 12:22 PM

Is there anyone in baja sur that builds small homes using adobe?
thank you

Strawbale

jide - 11-22-2005 at 11:03 PM

Strawbale gets better insulation than mud bricks, and it's pretty darn cheap too. I've been working with Bob Bolles (www.strawbalehouse.com) for the past 6 months on various projects, he was involved in the construction at ecomundo(Bahia conception), great building if you ever get a chance to check it out!

oladulce - 11-23-2005 at 07:31 PM

To get a response that's more useful to you dawkid, you may want to narrow down the region of Baja Sur you're in. Even if there's somebody in Cabo who builds with adobe, if their business is good down there it would be hard to convince them to haul their crew and equipment up to Abreojos, for example, for your job.

A few of our neighbors really wanted to build with adobe and since there's no resource to buy pre-made blocks, they had to figure out a way to get their own. They experimented with various recipes using the available soil and some of their blocks are failrly decent and others crumbled before the construction crew could start.

In our remote location, the guys with the best adobe hired a family who came and lived on the site while making the block (and so lodging had to be provided for them). Even their best quality blocks don't compare to the richly-colored, dense beauties you see in New Mexico. The soil in our area isn't optimum , they say.

All jobs required both an adobe-making crew and the construction crew.

The local contractor everyone uses in our area has said for years that the costs for adobe and concrete blocks works out to about the same in our location. Concrete blocks would be cheaper if it wasn't for the additional high cost of transporting the blocks way down the dirt road.

friend of baja - 11-23-2005 at 09:57 PM

try this

http://www.loretobay.com/cms/files/pdf/earthblock_mail_10_11...

Thanks for the info guys

dawkid - 11-23-2005 at 10:35 PM

Cinder block is the ugliest form of construction known to man, if you can hide it, it's ok, and I know that it's strong and practical but if you can't hide it, your place will look and feel like a jail-cell, also it's R value is extremely low, straw-bale is something I'm very interested in but I dismissed because I figured it was too expensive but maybe I'm wrong, straw-bales just have to be a lot cheaper to buy in Mexico but maybe nobody is producing them in Baja and they have to be sent from the mainland, basically I'm exploring how to build a well insulated, nice looking, affordable casa, and if the cost of building such a house is a little higher, I think is well worth the effort to build it.

[Edited on 11-24-2005 by dawkid]

Bob and Susan - 11-24-2005 at 07:18 AM

This is what you really need...

http://www.omniblock.com/

Omniblock construction looks expensive!

dawkid - 11-24-2005 at 10:09 AM

I'm looking to build with materials available in baja to reduce the cost, I can't afford to pay import and high transportation fees for stuff that isn't made in mexico , strawbale seems the best for me, in addition to a great insulator it'll give me the awsome "thick-wall" look, it reminds me of the old adobe haciendas I just to see on my visits to Zacatecas as a young boy, I'm going to keep looking for strawbale in Baja and I hope I can find it at an affordable price.

[Edited on 11-24-2005 by dawkid]

Bob and Susan - 11-24-2005 at 10:38 AM

Mike says this stuff you manufacture right there like block

comitan - 11-28-2005 at 01:33 PM

Larry

In Mexican block construction it is not necessary for the block to be strong, because they are just filling a hole with it. The foundation, columns, and header make the box that they fill with block, but if someone wants to come in it is very easy.

strawbale in BCS

Denver - 1-20-2006 at 05:17 AM

I'm interested in finding bales in BCS as well. Last year I saw some on a truck near Los Barriles. I also know of a B&B near Todos Santos that was built with bales (El Pozo Hondo). I never asked where he got them. Let me know if you find a source. It's certainly seems like a good fit for the climate.

meme - 1-20-2006 at 09:35 AM

Many , many people here in SAn Felipe are using Rastra & Nudura to build with now. It is good imsulation, goes up faster and as far as banditos go its just as safe as any other construction material. If someone REALLY wants in they will get in no matter what you build with.

You might look into this stuff...

neilm - 1-20-2006 at 01:59 PM

http://www.papercrete.com/cheap.html

Some of this is being done in San Felipe

Neil
Quote:
Originally posted by dawkid
I'm looking to build with materials available in baja to reduce the cost, I can't afford to pay import and high transportation fees for stuff that isn't made in mexico , strawbale seems the best for me, in addition to a great insulator it'll give me the awsome "thick-wall" look, it reminds me of the old adobe haciendas I just to see on my visits to Zacatecas as a young boy, I'm going to keep looking for strawbale in Baja and I hope I can find it at an affordable price.

[Edited on 11-24-2005 by dawkid]

Early strawbale construction

Pompano - 1-20-2006 at 02:07 PM

This was an experiment at strawbale construction at Pta. Arena in the Bay of Conception about 9-10 years ago. It is a storage unit and is quite cool in summers and warm in winters. The bales were brought some distance. I have forgotten where they came from but will ask around and post the info if pertinent.

The technology is old and a favorite of early pioneers in the southwest and northern plains. A past relative of mine lived in a sod house when he first settled on the northern prairies.

bajajudy - 1-20-2006 at 02:22 PM

There was a strawbale built in Rancho Leonero. Mike Odell may know something about that.
One thing...get a good plumber...these people had leaks, I believe.
They sell bales of hay everywhere, would that work?

Strawbale in BCS

Denver - 1-20-2006 at 07:27 PM

Bajajudy,

Where's Rancho Leonero?

The "straw" is what's left over from hay after the "grain" is pulled from it. There's too much moisture in hay and over time the bales may get mouldy, rot, or just settle too much. They say rice straw is a good building material. Any of that in BCS?

I'm no expert, I've just read the books that are available on the subject. There's a pretty serious cult of straw bale builders in CO; many in Boulder, Salida, and Crestone. Of course New Mexico and AZ have their share of earth friendly builders too.

Hope to build my own someday near Todos Santos, but maybe Rastra and other blocks will be easier/faster.