Dirt Dobber Construction (DDC) offers a full turn key service for Compressed Earth Block (CEB) and bond beam erection.

How are the blocks erected?

Blocks are either dry stacked or wet stacked. “Dry stack” is exactly what it implies; the blocks are stacked on top of one another until reaching the desired height without slurry. The “wet stack” method is preferred by our team. It uses “slurry” to bind the blocks together as seen in the photograph to the right.  

What is Slurry?

Slurry is finely ground sand particles left over from the CEB manufacturing process. It is the same material as the block. Those particles are placed into a mixer and water is added to form slurry pictured to the left.

Are Compressed Earth Buildings hard to build?

No! Anyone can be trained to erect a CEB building. In 2010 one-hundred incoming freshman volunteers assisted in the construction of a CEB home in Abilene, Texas. However, while the volunteers had no construction experience, within 30 minutes of instruction, the walls began to erect, laying close to 1,000 blocks in one day. Seen below.

Are the CEB’s fully cured?

The initial curing process deals with moisture absorption and the sweating of the blocks to achieve hardness. To finalize the curing process the blocks must be exposed to carbon dioxide in the air. Blocks are removed from the pallets and stacked to allow the air to pass by the blocks, taking only an hour or so. Pictured right.  

How long does it take to build a CEB house?

A well trained Mystro (Block layer) can lay 840 to 900 blocks per day with a well trained slurry maker assisting him. A experienced crew of 4 can erect a 1,500 square foot house in approximately 5 days.

Are all the walls CEB, or can you use traditional interior wood framing?

While both the interior and exterior walls can be CEB, sometimes that's not economical or desired. The CEB wall system is a cheap and easy material to build a structure with. Its best quality, if used in conjunction with passive energy strategies, is its natural ability to phase change with the atmospheric conditions that can yield very high performance and huge reductions in cooling costs. Pictured  to the top left is a traditional CEB building with 14” width exterior walls and 8” width interior walls. Pictured  to the bottom left shows a hybrid CEB home with a 14” exterior CEB wall system and a light framed studded wall system in the interior. Both are CEB homes and have very high energy performance achieving a 80% reduction in cooling costs as compared to a light framed home of the same size and polar orientation.

What is a Bond Beam?

Bond beams are unique to monolithic structures (one system) and are necessary to connect the wall systems of the buildings. They act like a pressure ring that runs the full length of the wall system. Bond beams can be made from wood or concrete. A concrete bond beam is pictured below.

How do you install electrical and plumbing systems?

Electrical Circuits and Plumbing Pipe are cut into the wall surface. Electrical systems are incased in metal conduit. After the electrical and plumbing systems have been toped off, the cuts in the blocks are simply filled in with slurry to create a smooth surface ready to receive whatever wall finish requested by the home owner. Electrical outlets are pictured below.  

What finishes can you have on a CEB wall?

Any finish. However, while a true CEB wall will experience a process called heat flux over the course of a day, the selection of stabilization chosen will either increase or decrease this process. The thermal properties and the sure mass of the wall system will achieve very high performance regardless of the finished material. The highest recorded performance is from a lime stabilized CEB wall system with lime plaster on both sides. A traditional CEB/ Natural Lime plaster finished wall is pictured to the right. If the highest energy performance is required, that's the best configuration. However, wall finishes for the exterior can also be brick, rock, wood or any combination to achieve the desired

aesthetic needs of the home owner. There will be some loss in performance but its marginal. Interior wall finishes is just as flexible. Gypsum board (sheetrock) can be attached directly to the CEB surface using 3” wood screws and can be finished out like any home. A modern Earthen home does not have to look like a early 1900 adobe building in New Mexico. It can look and feel like a ranch style and still achieve 80% reduction in cooling costs.