Small Adobe Desert Home. Full build, all solar - off grid. Near Bisbee AZ. Creative formula was used

An adventure into adobe building with an age old material used worldwide. Our formula is lite weight adobe for increased temperature resistance. No Portland cement was used. Total of 14 inches thick with exterior coatings. An unconventional mix with steel rebar bonding inside. Built in the harsh desert climate. Made to last with minimum maintenance.

[@nononoisaidnope]

I love this very much. I just bought 40 acres right in between big bend ranch state park and big bend national park in the solitario area of the county where I'll be living. I have to have an adobe home and this seems so much bigger than I'm capable of but I'm going to do it somehow. My daddy was from Puerto rico. Hearing salsa playing in the background made this the best video!!? I loved watching this!

[@Arizona-Desert-Rat-Realty]

Think this is the first Pored Adobe home construction build I have ever seen.

[@Tammy-og8hl]

Isn't it a great privlage to live in Cochise County Arizona! It's definitely the best move I have ever made. So beautiful, peaceful and at the same time full of life.

[@sashamoore9691]

I’m glad I chose northwestern Arizona. It’s gorgeous, the mountains, history and people all made it worth while

[@AhJodie]

Very nice video, hard working people, good to see how much has to be done too! Thank you!

[@sonnyroy497]

I lived in Bisbee for a short while in 2008. They had a nice old hotel with a dining area called The Copper Queen.

[@Adnancorner]

I wish I can live there... planting trees making it a secret paradise.

[@everydayisnew1831]

I used to live in Sierra Vista as a child. If you haven't visited Safford yet, check it out. It's beautiful!

[@Adrian-yv1te]

Greetings from Tucson! Phenomenal work, Arizona’s culture is amazing. I grew up playing mariachi music, love everything about this

[@focusonevideos]

When i first got to Bisbee a bunch of us went to Naco MX restaurants. The security was not like now. We still had bobwire fences on the boarder.

[@shawncurtis3686]

Thumbs up, glad this wasn't another fancy rich people build an earth "friendly" house video.

[@Reciprocity_Soils]

Step by step and with many hands, we share the beauty and enjoy the land. ^ ^ Thanks for taking the time to share your work and wonderful home. Peace and health ~

[@colliecoform4854]

Beautiful area, beautiful build. I would have liked to see the inside.

[@Brian-os9qj]

Nice works folks.

[@sonnybliss4345]

What a great video and dream come true for the owners.

[@janerussell8145]

Nice video. Loved it till the end, Lol, you forgot to show the inside. Would have loved to see the bathroom & patio especially.

[@focusonevideos]

Coming eventually

[@Arizona-Desert-Rat-Realty]

You finish build turned out great, congrats you all!

[@jamariquai01]

Congratulations, to you making your dream a reality

[@brianr6364]

I love this video! It's a beautiful vision, project and home! Thank you for sharing! :)

[@LuisSoto-bx7ey]

Nice video, you were right when you said that in 10 years a lot of people will move to live off the grid and that is my dream too.

[@focusonevideos]

Just keep thinking that way. It will happen

[@SimonMester]

I am starting my construction in Hungary in a week. Adobe I'll be making by hand on a concrete foundation. It's in the middle of an acacia forest, that used to have an adobe farmhouse on that foundation. I'll make a clearing, put up solar, rain collection, and never rely on the grid again. I'm only 30 so I'm glad I'm starting now while I'm strong.@@focusonevideos

[@dbenci2071]

Nice, I am pursuing a similar dream in golden valley, I do wish I bought more remotely, but I am happy

[@geaj4214]

I love this. I wish I could get my house sold and live like you.

[@focusonevideos]

You have to want it enough! Then after a while it will happen.

[@Arizona-Desert-Rat-Realty]

I like your Rock Removal Technics!

[@rayleeeastlick3989]

Klamath falls Oregon is listening and watching

[@emmahardesty4330]

Good job, good home, good approach to living in the fine Arizona desert. Thanks for sharing, and best wishes.

[@focusonevideos]

Thanks so much

[@pervezak]

Inspirational. Will build my cottage with adobe, Bamboo, and thermocol insulation.

[@zacktaylor3441]

Off grid until the well goes dry from the burgeoning population coming from california and texas. This aquifer like essentially all in arizona are now over stressed and more and more “off grid” households are having to haul water. For those thinking of making a move...I hear Oregon is nice...

[@dhh488]

Very nice home. I hope you can spend many happy and healthy years there.

[@maverickgood5204]

Beautiful!

[@BlueBeeMCMLXI]

Thanks for brief details on mix of the building material.

[@tiffanym4202]

It's beautiful! Well done! Thank you so much for showing us the process...and hello from SV.

[@aaronvallejo8220]

The multitude of birds and their symphony of songs in that part of Arizona will astound you every morning. The high desert there is just beautiful!

[@amechealle5918]

Your beautiful home is a blessing. Just watching your video made my day. It was always my dream to live off the land after spending a few weeks of the summer with family friends who lived a dedicated natural life. Sadly It’s not meant for me as I have MS and building my own home would be too much for my body. Saving your video to watch again. Thank you for posting! 💕

[@focusonevideos]

You are so welcome!

[@benjaminjacques3371]

Beautiful home 🤙🏼

[@focusonevideos]

Thank you!!

[@offthegriddownunderaustral8814]

You should build Bro!! it is a great medium to work with,

[@tarvindurbin5974]

Absolutely Incredible !!! There is Richness in Solitude ....

[@corybrown8196]

awesome. just awesome

[@byronnavarro5745]

I will love to have the blue print I am 6 years from retirement and I will build a casita for my self in the mountains of Guatemala surrounded by Caffe fields

[@focusonevideos]

Plenty plans on line. Its do what you want.

[@MrLemonbaby]

Nice pace of the narrative, instructive, real little gem of a vid. Thank you.

[@focusonevideos]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@bobbihanratty8792]

Looks so great!!! Happy for you both.

[@ex-engineer6657]

Awesome and inspiring, thanks.❤

[@fredk4136]

What a magnificent video and story. The build is unique and beautiful. Thanks for sharing it with us.

[@scottmcfarland2149]

WOW!!!! AMAZING BUILD!! Paradise ✌️

[@helencook4248]

LOVE THIS VIDEO, WISH I WAS THERE

[@RedandAprilOff-Grid]

Awesome, thanks for sharing! 👍😊🏠

[@adamrobson80]

Enjoyed that like 👍 👌 ☺

[@marliliya2]

What a lovely story.

[@bernardspeed7239]

Great job thank you for sharing recently moved to Arizona from Chicago in process of building a house now

[@motuw8949]

Beautiful

[@SamsLiberty]

Thanks for sharing!😀

[@awesomearizona-dino]

Great work. We are looking in that area for off grid also. Gotta wait till daughter is done with school.

[@vantelontheroad1750]

Welcome to Cochise County. We live in Benson. Love your project.

[@detoxlady6777]

This is amazing

[@testicularoxide5055]

Awesome!👍

[@riorimac4304]

I love your casita. What a wonderful idea... Congrats !

[@focusonevideos]

Thanks so much! 😊

[@AbenaMcKenzieSoapiphany]

Your Naration is awesome! Love your Adobe home. 💜🇺🇲

[@focusonevideos]

Thanks so much! 😊

[@focusonevideos]

Thanks

[@markfcoble]

Looks familiar.... Thanks!

[@JessiFayS]

Thank you for sharing! All the teamwork was wonderful to watch. I'd love to see how the development of the 600 acres is going (provided the community approves). I like the whole teamwork approach!!

[@focusonevideos]

Owner has 600 acres. We have 10.

[@1legfr8trucking76]

So beautiful congrats

[@focusonevideos]

Thank you!!

[@tmb2226]

A dream come true.

[@jklynb]

Wow ! My dream come true!

[@focusonevideos]

Yes it is

[@superinfinite88]

I wish I can afford to do this

[@SAR9331]

The hard part is getting the right land. The rest you can do over time.

[@Just..Me..]

It’s not as expensive as you think.

[@Stl10699]

Stop wishing and start working...

[@llcoolrobb69]

looks like a lot of work

[@focusonevideos]

Mind blowing amount of work.

[@guyontiveros5296]

Love you're house I am also looking to make a tiny home on my property

[@guyontiveros5296]

I would love to come see it

[@stevenlight5006]

Your lucky too

[@ka-peach7945]

I couldn't wait to see the final product. How it all looked. And that was left out!!! WTF

[@focusonevideos]

You can sign off on no inspection. Need county land. Need to know what your doing, while managing everyone else. And fire the slow people.

[@therehastobesomethingmoore]

Si rather than making bricks, they just make forms and pour in the mud mixture ? Thinking about trying something similar in Guatemala.

[@Zee.Z33]

This is cool on how you guys build this 🔥💯 Alario a good worker because we’re Mexican the white dudes just move stuff around here and there. Nice vid🔥

[@focusonevideos]

Everyone worked their ass off. Or they left the next day!

[@boltup5566]

How do you keep cool? How hot does it get indoors?

[@focusonevideos]

Tiny AC inside, from solar

[@hedyparks3772]

Diamonds Valeria, the construction material itself is thermically the ideal material for desert climates. It stays relatively cool in hot times and warm in cold nights. with the overhangs there is hardly any sun hitting the windows on the sounth side which prevents the glass house effect. This is true green/ecological building!

[@hedyparks3772]

Thank you so much for sharing this video. very well done, short, concise yet just informative enough. One piece of info I am looking for is, what is the ratio of clay, sand, rocks, manure and/or straw if used. (as soils vary from place to place I am asking for the clay content specifically to adjust the mix for my situation) if not a direct answer a book or other reference that has the info of this this specific technique would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again

[@focusonevideos]

Do test runs for ratios. Depends on the quality of material used. Add some lime too.

[@1voluntaryist]

He used adobe found nearby, probably because it's naturally sufficient. This is approximately 70% sand, 30%clay, water, and maybe a waterproofer. For millennia this was from pools of asphalt oozing from the ground. Lots of various mixes make it complicated, unnecessarily. You can find out if your earth and mix will work by making test blocks.

[@bananapatch9118]

We are going to retire soon and move to Mexico, about 30 minutes north of Queretaro. I keep toying with the idea of slowly building my own home…wife thinks I’m crazy. I’m looking at cob, adobe, and earthbag, but adobe seems popular in mexico so…. I guess the first steps are buying the land, digging a well, and laying the foundation. The parts that make me nervous are the foundation, electrical ( I guess solar ), plumbing (i guess septic). I’ve never done anything like this before but I think I want to give it a shot….just take my time and make it a hobby for a year or two. I did think adobe was always adobe bricks ? Any advice ??? Thx !

[@focusonevideos]

I had a lot of remodel experience. Theres lots of vidoes, how to. Most Mexicans are good builders.

[@jamesgleason2682]

I have a home in Queretaro and a cabana in Amealco.

[@JamesG1126]

Drilling a well in the Queretaro area costs around $300 usd per meter. Super expensive.

[@85tv12]

We are about to start an earthbag build in Oaxaca.

[@protonneutron9046]

for materials like adobe it is better to use basalt reinforcement inside. 1) it doesn't rust. 2) it is much stronger 3) it has similar thermal expansion properties to adobe, unlike steel.

[@focusonevideos]

This is a dry climate. Steel was cheap at the time.

[@protonneutron9046]

@@focusonevideos doesn't matter. There is always enough O2 and moisture in the adobe to rust the steel.

[@baltazarpizano8007]

Great video! Curios to know if you had to drill a well, or was it already in place? Any idea how deep it is?

[@focusonevideos]

Had well, its 1000 feet deep

[@1voluntaryist]

You didn't give the square footage, the cost, the build time, the waterproofing stucco formula, a tour of the finished inside/outside, the energy generated by the PV, the battery type, how it's heated, how hot it gets inside or exactly how/why the formula was creative. Do you grow your food? How far are you from a store? I would have used interlocking blocks to avoid mason work, mortar. Also, I would have used emulsified asphalt as waterproofing, no need for stucco. Did you build an adobe road by ramming? if not, do you have it wash out? I would skip the windows, use skylights.

[@focusonevideos]

400 sqft, 80 sqft, bathroom

[@he7is7at7hand]

I would love to see a house plan on this thing

[@Adrian-yv1te]

Same here!

[@focusonevideos]

Most workers cant read plans. Only my self and one worker could.

[@shamanking5195]

were you require to have special permit to build the adobe house ??? I'm also in arizona and my dream is live of grid , I had no idea was possible to build an adobe house in Arizona. I'm glad I found your video. Thanks.

[@focusonevideos]

No permit. If you have a large supply of Adobe nearby your fine.

[@stevenlight5006]

Lots of money too.

[@scotteddy1468]

What a wonderful project. How long did it take? I have family in Pearce Arizona on the other side of the mountain. Just beautiful

[@focusonevideos]

3 years, 4 days a week.

[@amiramarzouk4284]

Can someone explain to me how they’re able to build these? Isn’t there building codes? I really want one but idk where to start!

[@blackgirloffgrid1054]

There are places with permissive codes , especially if a building is under 200 sq ft "out building" ... many ways to get around zoning

[@focusonevideos]

Sign off on no building code. Size of land has a lot to do with it.

[@inthegarden6556]

So you poured the Adobe then? Why did you go with poured Adobe vs rammed earth vs Adobe brick? My dream home is an Adobe Casita in norther California. What do you think is easier, rammed, poured or Adobe brick?

[@focusonevideos]

Adobe was readily available. Brick is easier and costs more.

[@inthegarden6556]

@ts films az what was the cost of brick do you know?

[@1voluntaryist]

If you're alone it's easy to make interlocking blocks, next rammed allows you to stop and use the same form over & over, poured requires you stop and wait for drying.

[@focusonevideos]

Complex question

[@AbidAli-bv2gl]

Excellent video. Your Narration is awesome, Hope you will not mind . I got 400SF from your answer. You did not answer per SFT cost. I bought 40 acres near Bisbee 5 years ago (N. High Lonesome Rd). Last December , I spent 10 days at Bisbee. Do you have any association. Please let me know

[@focusonevideos]

Always costs more than you plan for!!

[@moisespeji129]

Would you mine sharing the mix of your adobe? My plan of building this structure is in some part of asia? Thank you. Good job and good team work.

[@focusonevideos]

Depends on your soil. Lime Earth Sand Water

[@hollysegroves1717]

How long did it take to build? And how did you go about finding your workers?

[@focusonevideos]

About four years, 4 days a week

[@cooltimo]

Absolutely beautiful! If you don't mind sharing, what was total cost of the build (ballpark will suffice)?

[@focusonevideos]

$$$$

[@focusonevideos]

Expensivo

[@tsbrownie]

There are solar air conditioners. Do you have a backup solar water pump?

[@focusonevideos]

Demand hot water. 4A AC 120v.

[@focusonevideos]

4 A ac unit. Tiny, works fine

[@eugeniotapia6765]

Why did you decide only partial brick build and not from the start ?

[@focusonevideos]

Woman wanted something different.

[@FunPaa]

which is faster, economical, stronger & aesthetic - cob vs earth bag vs adobe earth

[@focusonevideos]

Depends whats laying around...

[@FunPaa]

@@focusonevideos Mud, Water, Straw, Cheap Manpower, Sun, Cow Dung

[@1voluntaryist]

@@FunPaa I've never understood why straw or dung is used. I got excellent results with just one additive, emulsified asphalt.

[@PDZ1122]

Unfortunately, similar dreams by many others have been destroyed by the covid-inspired greed of material suppliers.

[@melissaheart420]

Wow can they do this in Maricopa for me?

[@focusonevideos]

This was built without code, so likely not

[@sillyblind]

Palominas area. Bright Spot restaurant still there?😊

[@focusonevideos]

Yes 😊

[@ronmatthews2250]

How many square feet and what was the total cost ?

[@focusonevideos]

400 sq ft, $$$$

[@madelyncruz7598]

Hi, we just bought 4 acres in Sierra Vista and would like to know who your homebuilder was? Your reply would be appreciated. Thank you.

[@focusonevideos]

Me, and partner plus crew

[@focusonevideos]

Thats me.

[@jimh4167]

How many square feet is the Adobe home. The first building

[@focusonevideos]

400 sq ft, bathroom 80sq ft.

[@RVBadlands2015]

Do you still live in Cochise county in your Adobe home.

[@focusonevideos]

Yes I do.

[@adamrobson80]

Whsts Adobe concrete mixture with dirt

[@focusonevideos]

Adobe, lime, sand, water.

[@ignacioanaya3403]

Can I be your neighbor ?

[@johnfought9248]

How far is it to town?

[@focusonevideos]

4 miles

[@gunsandshit3074]

Who built this who was the company looking to do this please reach out to me

[@focusonevideos]

It was a DIY job.

[@theoracle5265]

How are the scorpions?

[@focusonevideos]

Well ive been bit 5 times. Once in a sweat. Always where gloves during construction. Missed rattle snakes several times! But keep snakes, or youll get a mouse - rat infestation.

[@theoracle5265]

@@focusonevideos this spring I was driving down my dirt driveway it's a short road and a rattle snake was sun bathing about 6 feet long I ran over it got to my shop and got a long handled shovel and chopped it up and kept the rattles

[@theoracle5265]

@@focusonevideos I like the way your house came out you guys did a great job!

[@AlonsoDelgadillo]

do you have the contact of the adobe workers?

[@focusonevideos]

They all have different jobs now. Or have left the area.

[@focusonevideos]

Long gone