I finally saw the inside of an old adobe wall after a plumbing leak

Had a pipe burst in the laundry room last Tuesday, so I had to cut into the original adobe in my 1950s house. The stuff is basically mud and straw, held together by luck and prayers. Anyone else dealt with patching adobe and making it look half decent?

3 comments

3 Comments

dylanward1mo ago

Yeah, that "held together by luck and prayers" bit hits hard. I've patched a few adobe walls myself. For a decent look, mix sand and clay from a hardware store with some straw and wet it down until it's like thick mud. Let it dry for a day before you try to sand or paint it, otherwise it'll just crumble again.

laura2111mo agoTop Commenter

@dylanward one day? I usually wait at least three before touching it.

ninal917d ago

Three days minimum, honestly. I've learned the hard way with my little garden wall that if you even look at it funny before 72 hours are up it'll just fall apart again. One time I tried to smooth out a patch after two days and it basically turned back into mud in my hands. Also something nobody told me is that if you're doing it in humid weather, you might need to wait even longer before you touch it. I think a lot of people rush the drying part and then wonder why their repair doesn't hold up.

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