White Oak Observatory

BLOG Concerning Jim Bruton’s Practicing Amateur Astronomy Without a License

Notes from the cloudy state of Oregon, Part 1: What can a 71 mm refractor and a DSLR accomplish?

Adobe Brick Experiment

Before beginning construction of the garage at Arizona Sky Village, I decided to try making my own adobe bricks using soil from the property.

I made a number of experimental bricks, but the results were disappointing. They were simply too weak to be suitable for construction. I suspect the composition of the local soil was responsible.

Eventually I abandoned the experiment and decided to have compressed-earth blocks (CEBs) manufactured on-site instead.

The photographs show some of my attempts at making adobe bricks.

Just dirt, sand, and Portland cement mixed with water and placed in wooden forms, then left to dry in the sun. Experiments at nearby Animas, NM showed promising results with the red clay soil there. This soil is gray and I learned that some soil, like mine, just will not form strong blocks.
If I had to do it again I might have just brought in tested, good adobe-making dirt, and continued making my own. That would have saved a lot of money. That would have taken more time and labor, however.
The trailer was horribly hot in the warmer months. No power for AC.
All I had to buy was Portland cement. It would have been an elegant solution had the soil been right.
Sand and dirt being sifted. I can’t remember for sure, but I think I just scraped the sand off the surface, while I dug a foot or so down to reach the clay-filled dirt underneath.
I could see how you could make an enterprise out of making and selling adobe blocks, with the right soil. There’s something satisfying about the work.

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