Sprinklers often cause serious damage to adobe walls.

Improperly set up and maintained sprinkler systems can cause serious damage to adobe walls. The pictures below were taken at Brandi Fenton Park in Tucson, AZ. There is an old, historic adobe building on the north side of the park, next to the memorial garden dedicated to the young teen-ager, Brandi Fenton, in whose honor the park was named after; she was killed in a car crash.

The picture above shows the sprinklers operating close to the old adobe walls of the historic building. While the water from the sprinklers stops six feet or more short of the walls, it’s not enough to prevent at least some damage. Strong winds can blow the water onto the walls, causing potential harm.

The picture above is a close-up of the brick patio and the old adobe wall, telling an interesting story. If you enlarge the picture, you can see adobe particles that have delaminated from the wall and fallen onto the patio (see “Sprinklers 3” below for a better view). This “shedding” process can be severe, leading to significant deterioration of the wall over time.

Second, notice the black mold at the edge of the brick patio and the bottom of the adobe wall, right at the cement footer. Black or green mold is typically found in areas of significant moisture, usually on the north side of adobe homes or buildings. As expected, this area is on the north side of the building.

Third, notice the ponding water on the brick patio. Thankfully, this ponding is not directly next to the adobe wall. However, the presence of black mold, which indicates excessive moisture, suggests that during rain, this ponding might extend all the way to the wall at times.

The picture above, Sprinklers 4, show a better view of the adobe wall. Notice the deterioration on this old mud adobe. Again, note the delamination of the adobe particles on the brick patio.

The picture above, Sprinklers 5, is a close-up of this adobe wall, showing varying degrees of deterioration. Notice the wet marks near the bottom of the drain pipe; these are from the wind blowing sprinkler drops onto the pipe. While the water hitting the wall is not always visible because the adobe absorbs it, you can see a few darker adobes in the middle of the picture, indicating they are wet.

The picture above, Sprinklers 6, is a close-up of a damaged section of the adobe wall. Notice the advanced deterioration of many adobes. While the exact cause of this damage can’t be solely attributed to sprinkler issues, I believe the sprinklers are a contributing factor. It’s possible that, in the past, the sprinklers were hitting the walls, causing significant damage. This problem may have been addressed by redirecting or recalibrating the sprinkler system to prevent water from hitting the walls.

Regardless of the exact cause of this advanced deterioration, the pictures of the sprinkler system provide an excellent example of how sprinklers can cause significant damage to adobe walls, particularly natural, sun-dried mud adobe.

If you have adobe repair questions, please contact Roy Spears at (520) 331-4004 or email him at adobemastr@gmail.com.