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Maintenance is Key to Adobe Survival
By Kathyrn Fletcher and Alana Coons
July/August 2022
 First, the remaining loose plaster must be removed and the underlying adobe repaired where needed. |
 The adobe mud plaster is applied. |
 The new coat of lime whitewash is applied by hand. Looking good! All photos by Kathryn Fletcher |
The Warner-Carrillo Ranch House recently received essential repair and replastering of its exterior walls. It is always fascinating to watch the process and layers involved in adobe care. Mark Sauer Construction, Inc., has been taking care of this work since the original restoration in 2011.
With the harsh and extreme weather of the beautiful but windswept valley at Warner's, an adobe requires ongoing maintenance. We repair and replaster the ranch house about every two years, basically still using the historic process.
Cyclical maintenance is key to successful adobe building survival. Once the restoration of the 1858 ranch house was completed in 2011, we designed a program of continuing maintenance.
The recent repairs and replastering cost approximately $8,500. Donations are always welcome and appreciated to help us offset the considerable cost of operating this rare survivor of 19th-century California and a National Historic Landmark. Interior plaster and carpentry repairs are to be done in the fall of 2022.
The ranch house tells its story in the context of the evolving American West. Situated directly beside the emigrant trail, it represents Native American, Mexican, and American contact; the frontier period of the westward migration; the Gold Rush; and the cattle ranching industry from 19th-century California through the 20th century to today.
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