Adobe style construction in Santa Fe is a building material made from earth and organic materials. Adobe is actually Spanish for mud brick. The term used to refer to these kinds of earthen construction or various architectural style is like a Pueblo revival or territorial revival.
About Adobe Home Building
Most adobe buildings are similar in appearance to a rammed earth style building popular in new construction. Adobe is one of the earliest building materials and is used throughout the world. They can be subsequently assembled with the application of a mud to a bond that usually involves straw. There's really no standard size with adobe. It varies, which really gives it an organic look. It's very strong and, in dry climates, adobe structures are extremely durable and account for some of the oldest existing buildings in the world.
One of the key elements that makes adobe special and a method that really is adaptable is some of the significant advantages due to the greater thermal mass, meaning that it really keeps the home cool in the summer, but also holds in the heat in the winter. Adobe style architecture is seen throughout many areas of Santa Fe, and is a building material that isn't as common as it used to be, but the architectural style is still very, very popular.
Cost Per Square Foot to Build an Adobe Home
And so, many homes that Zachary and Sons built throughout the area of Santa Fe does have that adobe look. As lumber prices have increased and building materials have increased, insulation and other commodities, we're starting to see adobe, the actual material, make a resurgence, almost like it's coming back, which is really nice to see.
Abobe Home Builders
Currently, Zachary and Sons is renovating a historic property on Delgado Street near the heart of Downtown Santa Fe, just off Canyon Road. It's a 1920s home, where we're actually gutting the home all the way down, stripping it all the way to its adobe. So it's an amazing experience to see this adobe that was constructed a hundred years ago and still standing. And now maintaining its structure, maintaining its form and bringing it back to life, bringing it back to a form in which people can inhabit and live.
We're just excited to use several building materials in Santa Fe, including straw bale, adobe, and stick frame construction. These building materials can be used to build a traditional style home or elements are used in Santa Fe modern style homes. All in all, it provides a great composition, a great building material and is something that we take great pride in as builders. Interested in learning more about new construction in Santa Fe, NM? ZacharyAndSons.com has information about homebuilding as well as available homes currently in progress. View past award winning finished homes as well as work in progress homes currently under contract.
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'The $300 House' Challenge
'The $300 House' Challenge
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Adobe Houses with Adobe or Cardboard roof. As adobe can be manufactured manually, is a way to make green, cheap and durable homes.
Solution
Adobe bricks are made of natural materials like dirt, water, manure ; formed by hand and
dried in sun.
The roof can be made from adobe bricks or cardboard
The house can have between 1 to 4 rooms in the ground area, and 4 rooms at the first floor.
- the inside walls and doors are made of cardboard
- to get to the upper rooms every room will have simple wood stair
- the windows can be of glass or plastic/ the entrance door will be of pressed cardboard
- the roof : sandwich type with plastic sheets and a layer of extruded polystyrene between them.
Other entries in this project
Adobe houses are cheaper to build by $63,000 to $103,500 compared to a traditional 2,000sqft stick built bungalow. Savings include walls at $63,000 – $57,00, roofs at $19,500 – $26,500, and floors at $6,000 – $20,000. This is $93.50 – $73.25/sqft compared to a basic home cost of $125/sqft.
Building with local dirt is going to be cheaper than purchasing process trees (lumber), glass (insulation), and siding (concrete, vinyl, wood). This is a substantial cost saving on the material cost for you new home.
Wall Construction Costs
Building with your own two hands, and the hands of family and friends, is free. Construction contractors labor is expensive, for example a 2,000 square foot single story house WALLS costs:
- Carpenter/Framer: $5 – $8 per square foot, which is $10,000 – $16,000.
- Sider: $100 – $200/sqft for $2,000 – $4,000.
- Insulation: This is pretty cheap at about $500 – $1000 and includes the plastic vapour barrier installation.
- Drywall: $7,000 – $8000
- Trim and baseboard: $2,000 – $3,000
- Paint: $3,000 – $5,000
The labor for these trades results in savings of approximately $24,500 – $37,000, or $12.25 – $18.5 per square foot for labor to make your adobe house much cheaper than typical construction methods in “advanced” countries USA and Canada.
Wall Material Costs
The material costs for lumber, siding, and insulation for the same house are approximately:
- Lumber (interior and exterior walls): $3,000 – $5000
- Siding: $3,000 – $5,000
- Insulation: $2,000 – $3,000 (more if using foam insulation over sheathing or spray foam in between studs)
- Drywall: $4,000 – $5,000
- Paint: $500
- Trim and baseboard: $500 – $2,000
The materials above add up to $13,00 – $20,000, or $6.5 – $10/sqft in savings.
I did not include roof structure, soffit, fascia, or interior finish as there are too many construction methods to consider in this short article.
The total savings on the exterior and interior wall construction costs are $37,500 – $57,000 ($18.75 – $28.50/sqft). This makes adobe houses cheaper by about 15 – 23% for a cheaper home at a total construction cost of $125/sqft.
Roof Construction
And if you really want to go cheap you can build a live roof with dirt too. This strategy can save a tremendous amount of money and the environment will thank you.
Traditional western labor and material for roof construction costs:
- trusses: $4,000 – $8,000
- asphalt shingles: $9,000 – $12,000
- fascia and soffit: $2,000 – $3,000
- blown-in insulation (R-60 for cold and hot climate zones): $2,500 – $3,500
- Drywall (hang and tape): $3,000
- Paint: $1,000
Adding up the traditional roof and ceiling finish costs come to $21,500 – $30.500, or $10.75 – $15.25/sqft. This is 12.2% cheaper than a house that costs $125/sqft.
A cheap live roof dirt structure may cost $2,000 – $4,000 with a net savings of $19,500 – $26.500.
Floors Construction
To save more money you can build beautiful low maintenance floors with dirt for free to save another $6,000 to $20,000, or $3 – $10/sqft (laminate click and vinyl sheet through to hardwood).
Adding up all the cost savings results in a 2,000 sqft adobe house that saves $63,000 to $103,000 on a 2,000sqft bungalow.
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