What is the most environmentally friendly exterior adobe walls of a residential building

Adobe blocks are made exclusively from natural materials without the use of any chemistry. These are mixed clay, sand, straw and water, which are the main substances. And the additional ingredients that are added if necessary include: thyrs, wood shavings or wood chips, sometimes using fresh cow manure.

The walls of the house from adobe are famous for their energy efficiency and comparative low cost. Most owners of houses from adobe appreciated the advantages of this natural building material: in the summer the house keeps cool, heating up outside, and in winter it keeps warm, subject to subzero temperatures. Such an advantage is unlikely to be found in the properties of cinder blocks or bricks.

However, the disadvantage of the adobe house, as already mentioned, is precisely its sensitivity to water and moisture, so it is so important to find the right solution for a reliable and at the same time environmentally friendly cladding of its walls.

Options for finishing adobe walls outside the house

There are several options for finishing adobe houses outside:

siding and composite cladding;
stone house;
tiling;
plaster coating followed by painting with facade paint;
fur coat finish.

Fans of modern trends in the exterior decoration of adobe houses come to the decision to use siding coatings, often forgetting about the harmfulness of certain types of plastic. Usually siding attracts with its practicality in operation and hermetic protection against moisture and dampness of coatings. Although such covering of an adobe house is done using the technology of ventilated facades, however, plastic heated in the sun can emit harmful substances that eat into the walls. Most do not consider this moment to be a fact, however, in any case, if we compare living natural and synthetic materials, an advantage in safety for human health will nevertheless be given to environmentally friendly natural building materials.

The imposition of a stone house on a stone is considered to be an environmentally acceptable method of protecting such a house from moisture, but it is not accessible to everyone at its cost. Often, stone implies the use of such materials: wild stone, artificial stone, shell rock, sandstone. The stone also has a natural ability to "breathe", while allowing "live and breathe" also adobe blocks.

Tile cladding with ceramics, although more time-consuming to work and less durable, but also, like stone, refers to environmentally friendly materials. But there is one “but” - this is a tile adhesive for outdoor work, which just can be quite toxic. Therefore, to achieve greater harmlessness in the decoration of external adobe walls, cement mortars, or anchor or wire devices and fixtures are used.

Plastering adobe walls with subsequent painting is a very environmentally friendly way to wall your house. They must be plastered using a special plaster mesh, which must first be fixed on fragile walls. Many insulate walls using various heaters, such as special polystyrene foam. Plaster is applied on top and, after drying, the walls are painted with facade paint. Environmental friendliness and durability of such a coating are guaranteed!

Finishing an adobe house outside "under a fur coat" is also referred to as a safe method of facing. In addition, this method is considered quite economical and affordable at the cost of building materials for a "fur coat". The house is also well protected from moisture, and at the same time gives the chance to "breathe" adobe material.

Thus, we see that four of the proposed five methods are the safest in order to veneer and protect the walls of the adobe house from moisture and other undesirable effects.