A home in Sedona being built with our pressed adobe blocks.

Beyond Adobe chooses to build with earth to promote sustainable homes, communities and methods - for today and for tomorrow.

We make and sell pressed adobe blocks - we can either ship them to your location, or we can make them on your site - whatever option is the most efficient and practical for your needs. 

Please call or email for pricing.

 

What Are Pressed Adobe Blocks or Adobe Bricks?

Pressed adobe blocks (sometimes known as adobe bricks or Earthblocks) are a result of modern day applications of the time-proven tradition of the earth building.  Pressed adobe bricks utilize hydraulic presses and automation to further enhance and to mass produce adobes.  They are made of earth offer a sustainable and affordable solution to people and communities the world around.

Adobe blocks and bricks utilize the right mix of clay, sand and aggregate.  There is no “magic” recipe, other than to say, the clay, sand and aggregate work together depending on each other’s type, characteristics, amount and, if required, by stabilizer chosen. Stabilizers offer the adobe maker the opportunity to further enhance the adobe’s ability to withstand elements of nature (such as rain and winds) and in some cases, increase the structural integrity of the adobe. 

Beyond Adobe stabilizes adobe bricks with a small percentage of Lime or Portland Cement, depending on client preferences.

What Are the Benefits?

Conservation: There is no other material or method more sustainable for building one's home other than earth. It has the lowest embodied energy and is the most renewable. Earthblocks utilize abundant, non-polluting and non-toxic material, earth, while conserving limited resources (water, top soil, trees, energy, etc). Best of all, its totally recyclable; after all, it's just earth! And when Beyond Adobe makes adobe blocks on site, further energy is saved in transportation and pollution.

A bond beam of concrete is finished and the rafters are being installed.

Energy Efficient: Thermal Mass is an important part of an energy efficient building and is often left out of modern day construction projects.  Thermal Mass allows a building to store or share excess heat as needed, thereby averaging out temperature extremes.  Coupled with passive solar design and orientation, an Earthblock home will provide energy savings one can bank on!

Durable: Over one third of the world’s population lives in an earthen structure and the oldest buildings in the world are all of earthen materials and methods.  The reason is - it works! 

Affordable: Adobe bricks are the lowest cost alternative for durable, energy-efficient structures. By slashing labor and material costs, our blocks can be produced and laid in place for much less than the competing alternatives; providing up-front construction savings as well as energy-savings over the life of the home. 

Beautiful: Adobe buildings can be made to look like any kind of finished structure, however, most people who opt for this type of construction find they love the look of the block itself and the adobe look of a finish plaster. Exteriors typically are given a weather-resistant skin that can be colored or left natural and interiors are plastered with a variety of mixtures or left exposed.

Fire, Pest and Mold Resistant: Adobe blocks are fire, sound and bug resistant. Earthen walls do not burn, they are dense and solid to discourage insects, and they “breathe” easily so they are mold resistant and promote healthy indoor air-quality.

Acoustic: Looking for quiet home? Adobe homes offer excellent acoustic properties.  Earthen homes both diffuse sound reflection and effectively block sound form the outside or from room to room.  Adobe block homes will produce a tranquil internal environment quiet from the world outside, an often over-looked value.

Adobe blocks, bricks and earthen materials have stood the test of time.  Around the world, traditional adobe, rammed earth and adobe bricks have built better homes - some of them thousands of years old. 

 

Please don't hesitate to contact us for more info.