Adobe is more than Photoshop and Acrobat, it’s a building material that has been used for thousands of years! Adobe is a mixture of high-clay content dirt, sand and straw. It has both thermal mass and insulative qualities. The adobe mixture is put into brick forms (standard size is 10”x14”) and laid like bricks with a wetter adobe mixture that is similar to mortar. In many Southwestern states in the US, Adobe meets building codes as long as your first two layers of bricks are reinforced with concrete in the mixture. Adobe works best in dry climates as it doesn’t hold up well against water infiltration. If your building is covered with adobe plaster on the outside, you will, most likely have to re-apply the mud plaster the the exterior of your building every year. One way to get around this maintenance is to cover your adobe bricks with a vapor barrier to protect them, then cover the exterior with a cement stucco mixture. The nature of stucco is that you will, over time develop hairline cracks and will your home will need to be re-stuccoed every 10 - 15 years. 

Adobe is a wonderful code-compliant “green / natural” material that will help keep your home warm in the winter and cool in the Summer. It is a natural and relatively cheap material. You can make the bricks yourself using dirt, sand, staw, a wheelbarrow, a hoe, some buckets of water, simple brick 2x4 form, and either a lot of time or a lot of friends. Another plus is that you can build your adobe bricks completely without grid power! Adobe is also great at deterring rodents (as they can not live inside the dense walls). Adobe walls breathe well, and have a good passage of air which deters mold-causing condensation. 

I love my Adobe home in Taos! It's made out of all natural materials and stays much cooler in the Summer and Warmer in the Winter than a frame home. My favorite thing about Adobe is the mud finish in the interior - it's so warm and inviting!  Check out photos of my house below. :)