Adobe Bricks (How To Make Them)

Adobe bricks sitting on the ground near a house construction in Milyanfan village, Kyrgyzstan.

This page provides detailed instructions for making adobe bricks. It covers the equipment and materials required, as well as step-by-step instructions and frequently asked questions (FAQs). If you're interested in making your own adobe bricks, this page is a great place to start.

Equipment

• Shovel and hoe: to mix and carry the clay.
• Wooden-Form: to make the bricks
• Spatula: To make corrections to bricks
• Very solid (!) Buckets, to transport materials
• Optional: wheelbarrow, for easier transport

Material

• Adobe-Mix, The mixture must be tested beforehand
• Water, to continuously soak and dilute the clay
• Straw, to improve the stability
• Possibly sand*, if the mixture is too "fat"

Note: Idealy, the mixture to make the Bricks and the Mortar to lay them, is the same or nearly the same.

*Important: Do not use sand from the beach or dessert, because its round shaped. only sand from e.g. the river can be used (read more here)

Step by step instructions

1. mix adobe - mixing in straw or other fibers is highly recommended
2. shape adobe balls with hands and throw them into the molds
3. hit the adobe with your hands (important: don't be too timid, the adobe has to go into every corner)
4. sweep the sides inwards - the sides will loosen and the form will be easier to remove.
5. remove from the form (needs some practice)
6. allow to dry, check and stack up

Optional: to speed up drying, the bricks can be rotated from time to time.

• Gallery
• 
  sievering the earth, e.g. to get rid of big rocks or to get a finer adobe mix
• 
  sievering the earth, e.g. to get rid of big rocks or to get a finer adobe mix
• 
  mixing of adobe
• 
  adobe in the forms before taking them out

-> Video how to take it out from the forms (Wiki Commons)

FAQ

• How long does the drying take? This depends on the humidity and temperature. A drying process can take several days up to 1-2 weeks.
• We have a brick-press-machine - are those better? No - even Brick-Presses provide a exact shape, they tend to expand in contact with water (e.g. when its raining). This is less the case with handmade bricks, even the shape is not perfect and varies.
• Do these bricks withstand earthquakes? Limited. Do not build more than one stage-buildings. if experienced, maximum two. It is recommended to lay them in a certain way, overlapping minimum 1/4 of the one underneath - no stack bond, do a internet research: "common bond brick laying". the best method to improve it against earhquakes is using 'geomesh' fabrics - cut it and place it flat in the mortar lines while laying the bricks.