SOLID EARTH ADOBE BUILDINGS
Earthbuilding Construction and Adobe Brick Manufacture
SOLID EARTH LTD takes pride in their range of high quality earthbuilding products.
Earth building products need to be ordered well in advance to allow enough time for production and drying. We operate on a first in first served basis. The brick manufacture is operated from October to April.
Please feel free to contact us for a quote or if you have any further queries
You can download an up-to-date Price List and Terms of Business from our Technical Information page.
We produce load-bearing adobe bricks of two different densities.
| Brick Type | Standard Sizes (L x D x H) |
| Square Brick (load-bearing) | 280mm x 280mm x 130mm |
| Corner brick (load-bearing) | 430mm x 280mm x 130mm |
| Half brick (veneer) | 280mm x 150mm x 130mm |
| Floor Tile | 280mm x 280mm x 40mm |
With an allowance of 20mm mortar these brick sizes provide a horizontal unit size of 300mm and a vertical unit size of 150mm, which makes the calculation of dimensions very easy. It is recommended to design to a 150mm module to avoid cutting. 23 bricks are required per square meter wall area.
With an allowance of a 10mm mortar bed these tiles are designed for a finished floor height of around 50mm. The tiles can be easily cut for fitting. 11-12 tiles are required per square meter floor area.
We can provide a ready to use earth mortar that is of the same origin as the Adobe bricks or tiles and matches them in color. Our mortar fulfills all requirements related to strength and shrinkage. 1 cubic meters of mortar is enough to lay 250 standard square bricks.
We can produce earth mixes to your requirements, i.e. cob mixes or light earth mixes, which are delivered to you wet and in bulk.
How are the adobe bricks made?
The adobe bricks are made in the time-honoured tradition of sun drying a mixture of clay and straw, cast by hand in wooden moulds.
What are the bricks made of?
We utilize the golden clays of the Nelson region, for a brick of strength, durability and appeal. Added light aggregates include untreated sawdust and paper pulp. Our bricks are made without cement.
How do the bricks perform?
Our bricks surpass the NZ Earthbuilding Standards' requirements. We regularly test for structural performance and durability. We have also had our light adobe bricks tested for thermal performance.
Download & view test results on our Technical Information page.
Our design and build 187m2 new home has been years in the planning. We discovered Verena and Scott and their awesome product while we were living in Nelson nearly ten years ago. Verena was exceptionally helpful with incorporating the earth bricks into our design. Throughout the whole process we have found Solid Earth Ltd extremely helpful, friendly and totally professional. The scientific and technical information supplied for Building Consent definitely helped our project cross the line. We would not hesitate to recommend Solid Earth Ltd to anyone considering using them for an earth brick project. Ali and Joy Kingan, Oamaru