Burnt Adobe Homes in Tucson

May 14, 2008

I’ll admit - I’m a sucker for a classic Tucson wire-cut double red brick house. But every once in a while, tucked into those brick homes, is a burnt adobe home, a personal favorite.

In the older burnt adobe homes, the bricks are usually reddish in tone, and are much larger than your typical brick. Walls built with burnt adobe blocks are usually at least 8″ thick, if not more. In theory, the thick adobe wall has enough thermal mass that it will absorb heat during the day and release it at night to keep an ado be home at a fairly stable temperature. Some people confuse them for slump block homes, but slump block isn’t nearly as thick as burnt adobe.

Newer adobe homes tend to be more of the tan-ish, grey-ish variety. One of my favorite builders, Stellar Gray, specializes in adobe homes.

Especially for the older burnt adobes, the bricks can be damaged pretty easily by running water, and just from wind and dirt and rain hitting the bricks. The burnt adobe bricks have sort of a hard layer around the outside, and once that has worn off, the bricks can erode pretty quickly.

Don’t get me wrong, a house built of burnt adobe bricks will still probably outlast you and I in terms of lifespan! There are several companies in town that can help you repair and maintain your burnt adobe home, but some erosion is inevitable. All part of the character of the adobe home.

Clay Mine Adobe, a company that manufactures adobe bricks, has a decent photo gallery and description of how the bricks are made.

I don’t have a good way of linking to them here, but today in MLS, there are 209 homes listed as Burnt Adobes in the Tucson MLS, from $118,900 to $1,950,000. Drop me an email and I’ll send you the current list - be helpful if you gave me a price range too!

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