Mud Talks
Conversations with Adobe in Action board member Quentin Wilson (and other practitioners from the field) on building and maintaining your own earthen home.
Episodes
April 2, 2024 • 61 mins
In our twenty-fourth Mud Talks podcast, we speak to future adobe owner builders Jaimus & Kim about the steps they have taken to get their property ready for an upcoming off-grid adobe home build in Eastern Arizona.
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November 29, 2023 • 40 mins
In our twenty-third Mud Talks podcast, we speak to owner builder Rex Edhlund about his adobe blockmaking operation and plans to build his own adobe home in Pioneertown, CA.
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July 18, 2023 • 53 mins
In our twenty-second Mud Talks podcast, we speak to Dan Krause about his owner builder adobe experience in the Taos, New Mexico area. Dan has participated in all 8 of our online courses at Adobe in Action and also gave a podium presentation about his project at Earth USA 2022. You can download his full paper about the project here. Dan recently became a board member at Adobe in Action. Listen as he walks you through his personal ow...
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May 20, 2023 • 20 mins
In our twenty-first Mud Talks podcast, we listen to Stephen Hren deliver his podium presentation "Experiments in Modernizing Cob Construction" at the Earth USA 2022 Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Download his accompanying PDF research paper here.
Stephen Hren is a general contractor, writer, and home inspector living in Durham, North Carolina. He has been building with cob for over two decades.
Earth USA 2022 was the 11th Intern...
Stephen Hren is a general contractor, writer, and home inspector living in Durham, North Carolina. He has been building with cob for over two decades.
Earth USA 2022 was the 11th Intern...
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April 5, 2023 • 17 mins
In our twentieth Mud Talks podcast, we listen to Lola Ben-Alon deliver her podium presentation "Pedagogical and Research Frameworks for Earth Architecture" at the Earth USA 2022 Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Download her accompanying PDF research paper here.
Lola Ben-Alon is an Assistant Professor at Columbia GSAPP, where she directs the Natural Materials Lab and the Building Tech curriculum. She specializes in socially and en...
Lola Ben-Alon is an Assistant Professor at Columbia GSAPP, where she directs the Natural Materials Lab and the Building Tech curriculum. She specializes in socially and en...
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In our nineteenth Mud Talks podcast, we listen to Scarlett Lee deliver her podium presentation "Flood-Resilient Earthen Construction Technology: When Earth Meets Fabric" at the Earth USA 2022 Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Download her accompanying PDF research paper here.
Scarlett Lee is a PhD Candidate & Tutor of Architectural History at the University of Edinburgh, UK. She was the winner of the 2022 Fred Webster Earthbui...
Scarlett Lee is a PhD Candidate & Tutor of Architectural History at the University of Edinburgh, UK. She was the winner of the 2022 Fred Webster Earthbui...
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February 2, 2023 • 30 mins
In our eighteenth Mud Talks podcast, we listen to architect Ben Loescher and professional engineer Anthony Dente deliver their podium presentation "Legal Adobe in California - A Pathway for Building Permits" at the Earth USA 2022 Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Download their accompanying PDF research paper here.
Earth USA 2022 was the 11th International Conference on Earthen Architecture & Construction hosted by Adobe in Ac...
Earth USA 2022 was the 11th International Conference on Earthen Architecture & Construction hosted by Adobe in Ac...
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December 20, 2022 • 78 mins
In our seventeenth Mud Talks podcast, we listen to architect Mark Chalom deliver his keynote address "Building with Earth - Past, Present and Future from my Street Corner" at the Earth USA 2022 Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Mark specializes in blending handcrafted Traditional and Contemporary styles with sustainable technologies. Mark’s experience spans both design and construction of environmentally appropriate buildings. Si...
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August 17, 2022 • 41 mins
In our sixteenth Mud Talks podcast, we speak to Jim Hallock of Earth Block International / Native Earth Block. Jim left traditional construction methods nearly 30 years ago for a life devoted to building with a healthy, sustainable, and superior product - Earth - and has since become the Western Hemisphere’s preeminent expert in Earth Block creation and construction. Due to the chemical sensitivity of his wife, Nora, Jim left Calif...
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With Mud Talks 15-8 we wrap up a special eight-part miniseries dedicated to the topic of preserving earthen architecture. In this final episode of the series we speak to Jake Barrow, Cornerstones Community Partnerships Program Director. We speak about wood elements in earthen structures and their preservation as well as the importance of maintenance plans and cycles for earthen structures.
Resources & Further Reading:
Adobe Conservat...
Resources & Further Reading:
Adobe Conservat...
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With Mud Talks 15-7 we continue a special eight-part miniseries dedicated to the topic of preserving earthen architecture. In this seventh episode of the series we speak to Angela Francis, Cornerstones Community Partnerships Project Manager. We speak about traditional plasters & plaster/surface conservation.
Resources & Further Reading:
Adobe Conservation - A Preservation Handbook pp. 127 to 148, 155 to 158
by Cornerstones Community P...
Resources & Further Reading:
Adobe Conservation - A Preservation Handbook pp. 127 to 148, 155 to 158
by Cornerstones Community P...
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With Mud Talks 15-6 we continue a special eight-part miniseries dedicated to the topic of preserving earthen architecture. In this sixth episode of the series we speak to Pat Taylor, Historic Preservation Specialist & General Contractor. We speak about basal/wall stabilization and stitching techniques as well as repairing structural cracks.
Resources & Further Reading:
Adobe Conservation - A Preservation Handbook
pp. 99 to 115, 117 to...
Resources & Further Reading:
Adobe Conservation - A Preservation Handbook
pp. 99 to 115, 117 to...
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With Mud Talks 15-5 we continue a special eight-part miniseries dedicated to the topic of preserving earthen architecture. In this fifth episode of the series we speak to Pat Taylor, Historic Preservation Specialist & General Contractor followed by Calvin Chimoni from El Morro National Monument. We speak about raw material identification & testing, making adobe bricks as well as working with earth & stone.
Resources & Further Readin...
Resources & Further Readin...
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With Mud Talks 15-4 we continue a special eight-part miniseries dedicated to the topic of preserving earthen architecture. In this fourth episode of the series we speak to Jake Barrow, Program Director at Cornerstones Community Partnerships. We speak about earthen building assessments, identifying damage & structural issues as well as basic engineering principles & seismic/structural retrofit of historic earthen buildings.
Resources...
Resources...
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February 16, 2022 • 55 mins
With Mud Talks 15-3 we continue a special eight-part miniseries dedicated to the topic of preserving earthen architecture. In this third episode of the series we speak to Pat Taylor, Historic Preservation Specialist & General Contractor followed by Eric Liefeld, President of Mesilla Valley Preservation, Inc. We speak about capillary action, permeability and salt attack – including sources, processes and effects of deterioration.
Res...
Res...
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With Mud Talks 15-2 we continue a special eight-part miniseries dedicated to the topic of preserving earthen architecture. In this second episode of the series we speak to Francisco Uviña, Project Consultant and Director of the Historic Preservation and Regionalism Certificate Program at the University of New Mexico’s School of Architecture and Planning. We speak about typical architectural styles, features & materials found in ear...
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With Mud Talks 15-1 we begin a special eight-part miniseries dedicated to the topic of preserving earthen architecture. In this first episode of the series we speak to historical architect Randy Skeirik and Jake Barrow from Cornerstones Community Partnerships about the use of the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties in connection with earthen structures.
Resources & Further Reading:
US Nation...
Resources & Further Reading:
US Nation...
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November 5, 2021 • 33 mins
In our fourteenth Mud Talks podcast, we speak to Lisa Morey of Colorado Earth - Colorado's own Compressed Earth Block Maker. Lisa is a professional engineer and architectural designer who has been working in the construction industry since 2000. Join us for this episode to hear more about Lisa’s mission to scale the natural building industry in Colorado by offering an affordable wall system made from locally obtained material.
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July 14, 2021 • 42 mins
In our thirteenth Mud Talks podcast, we speak to Mike Lopach, the original founder of Adobe in Action. Mike has moved on to a new project in Scottsdale, Arizona called Brick by Brick. He and his team are using a manual block press to make CEBs (compressed earth blocks) together with people experiencing homelessness. Mike introduces us to some of the key differences between adobe and CEB production as well as his complete CEB produc...
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February 26, 2021 • 40 mins
In our twelfth Mud Talks podcast, we tackle one of the more challenging topics for the adobe owner builder - plumbing & electric. Quentin Wilson gets this topic started for us in Part I by focusing on essential planning and logistics questions. In an upcoming Part II episode on this topic we'll continue the conversation with Ethan Novikoff about his recent owner builder plumbing & electric experience with some good advice on what y...
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