Adobe Homes need to be sealed.

Most adobe homes need to be sealed with a speciality water repellent.

In May 2024, I received a call from a customer named Ian, who lives in the small town of Rio Rico in southern Arizona. He had concerns about his burnt adobe home, which was built in the typical Santa Fe style with a flat roof and no overhangs or porches. The house was experiencing problems in certain areas.

We talked on the phone for a while, and Ian sent me 20 pictures via text. From these pictures, it appeared that his house was constructed from the best burnt adobe ever used in southern Arizona homes: Querobabi adobe, made in Querobabi, Mexico. This particular adobe is fired and has a characteristically beautiful, deep red color.

Ian said the home was built in the 1980’s, and if memory serves me correctly, he is the second owner and has owned it for the past twenty years. But the key piece of information he gave me was the unfortunate fact he had never had the house treated with a quality water repellent made specifically for adobe, like the Silox Adobe and Rammed Earth Water Repellent. Below are some pictures texted to me:

The picture above shows the front of Ian’s burnt adobe house. Notice the covered porch, the parapet wall, and the several damaged adobe faces. Given the number of adobes that need repair, I would classify this particular wall as having slight to moderate damage.

Picture B is a shot from inside the porch area which is protected from the elements. Notice what appears to be an almost pristine condition of the adobes in this area due to the protection from rain and wind erosion.

Here is a picture of the parapet which appears to be directly above Pictures A and B. Notice the severe amount of deterioration on these adobes.

Here is a closeup of the end portion of this same parapet wall. Notice the severe deterioration of most of the adobes shown in this small area.

Picture E is the same parapet wall but seen from a slightly different angle. Again, an advanced degree of deterioration can be seen.

Picture F is another close-up of the same parapet wall, but in a slightly different location, showing the same advanced deterioration of this part of his exposed home. Unfortunately for Ian, his decision not to treat his home—at the very least, he should have treated these parapet sections with a quality water repellent like the Silox—has resulted in his home needing repairs worth thousands of dollars.

Why do I say this? Adobe repair on this scale is extraordinarily expensive due to the skilled nature of repairing each damaged adobe, as seen in these photographs. Take Picture D, for example. I count 26 adobe faces that will require our proprietary repair method—26 out of the approximately 35 adobes visible in this one picture. Adobe Masters charges for each adobe face as seen in these photographs. The pictures Ian sent me represent only a small percentage of the home’s total exterior area. If the severely deteriorated areas are indicative of the rest of the home, there could easily be hundreds of adobe faces needing “refacing.”

This kind of adobe restoration is done entirely by hand and requires training and skill to ensure the repaired adobes match the originals. It is not easy and is expensive, especially given this level of deterioration. The tragic part of this story is that most of this costly and necessary repair work could have been avoided if Ian and the previous homeowner had simply treated these exposed areas with a specialty adobe water repellent like the Silox.

A broad “rule of thumb” is this: when it is time to re-coat your flat roof with a quality elastomeric (around the five year mark), it is also time to think about possibly retreating your adobe with a quality water repellent like the Silox. At the very least, at the five year mark after sealing your adobe, perform a water test on all four sides of your home to see if you are due for another treatment.

Homeowners can repair and seal their homes themselves if they are willing to do the work. I provide all the training and materials needed for those who wish to tackle the job on their own. While it is not necessarily an easy task and requires skill and know-how, most homeowners can successfully manage it with proper training and tools. I have a dedicated page on this website for do-it-yourselfers, showing exactly how I have sealed hundreds of homes over my nearly 40 years in this business.

I also have a complete “do it yourself” video course where you can learn in step by step fashion how to repair your own adobe home. You can learn about this course and its pricing here. If you have any questions, please feel free to call, text, or email me at 520-331-4004 or at adobemastr@gmail.com.

In conclusion, Ian’s house is a perfect example of why adobe homes need to be regularly treated with a quality water repellent. The undeniable evidence for this is to compare the condition of the adobes under covered porches with those exposed on the parapet sections of the home.