Found out my 1970s adobe walls are held together with mud and horsehair

Pulled off some old drywall in my kitchen last weekend. Saw the original adobe bricks underneath. Looked close and there's actual horsehair poking out of the mud mortar. Found an article from UNM's architecture library that says that's how they did it here up through the 50s. Bricks are basically sun-dried earth, straw, and manure mixed in. Crazy to think my house is standing on stuff my grandpa could have made in his backyard. Has anyone else found weird old materials in their reno?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_sarah24d ago

Oh man, so your house is basically held together with craft supplies and lawn clippings. That's wild. Hope your grandpa's recipe holds up better than my attempt at making bread during quarantine.

robert27524d ago

Nah, bread's easy if you just eyeball it and don't overthink the measurements like some people.