Because stabilized Adobe was such a game changer in California, it deserves its own page on this website.  An asphalt emulsion additive to make adobe water resistant was well documented and actually patented by the American Bitumuls Co. in San Francisco.  The commercial brickyards that were certified to make Bitudobe or Caladobe bricks had to meet the quality standards set forth by the American Bitumuls Co.  The big brickyard in Escondido was one of those yards.  Many DIYers made equally good bricks, following the American Bitumuls process and testing procedures.

A Caladobe shower in a Larry Weir Adobe.  Larry was not afraid to get creative.  Used daily for 48 years with no issues.  The pan is concrete with pebble and button tile, as is the adjacent tub.  The adobe walls have a mortar wash coating, then a coating of pool paint.

The California stabilized brick movement started on a small scale in the mid 1930s, and took off after WWII.  Mentioned in the publication below, the only commercial stabilized Adobe brick yards in California in 1938 were the Hans Sumpf yard in Fresno, and a Government operation in Stockton.

A now-rare publication from 1946, by the American Bitumuls Co., is stored on the webmaster’s google drive.  Download it here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ovmZxh1DbOl6HTbYhvhbczx4YRDLhbhu/view?usp=sharing

Note that this publication references several other American Bitumuls Co. technical papers and publications.  Any additional research for these documents is likely best performed at the libraries and universities in the San Francisco Bay area.

So where does one obtain Bitumul/Asphalt Emulsion now?  Larry Weir used to get it here:   emultech.com

Historical fact: In California, “Big Concrete” and “Big Lumber” were so worried about the Bitudobe/Caladobe movement they ran negative propaganda campaigns against Adobe building, but that’s another story.