Unique house in Marloth Park an environmentally-friendly marvel

MARLOTH PARK – With increasing pressure worldwide to be more “green” and South Africans’ struggles with the increasing price of utilities and load-shedding, Lisa English’s house is a great example of what can be achieved by exploring a different approach to construction and living in general.

English, who hails from Johannesburg, wanted to build a retirement home in Marloth Park and was keen to explore a different and more eco-friendly way of construction. Her aim was to also make it cost-effective and sustainable and, with the help of experts and architects researched the possibilities for over two years.

“I wanted to see if it could be done as quite a few space frame houses had been built in the country. I also wanted to minimise the impact my construction and home would have on Marloth Park’s environment,” she explained.

She moved to Marloth Park in 2014 after obtaining her National Home Builders Registration Council certificate to build the home herself. Assisted by experts and a few workers, she completed the build in 2015, after nine months of hard work and perseverance.

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Only the foundation is brick, while the walls are steel-welded frame with a polyurethane core and plastered, the windows are laminated glass and the roof is Chromadek treated with nano-paints.

In her research, she and the companies who assisted her looked at whether the building materials are biodegradable and what impact they will have on the environment when it lands on the landfill.

“I can demolish the house and everything will be biodegradable or recyclable,” she said.

English explained that the house is completely sealed and has an insulation barrier. This means that air conditioners use less electricity as the house is kept at a constant temperature.

The windows are designed in such a way that it cuts down on UV rays and on the western wall there is a two-metre overhang to block the Lowveld sun from heating up the house. The walls are also higher than standard.

Despite the unique construction method and materials, the house looks and functions just like any other, including the walls being sturdy enough to install cupboards and air conditioners.

English emphasised that it is important to get the right companies to assist in a design such as this and to ensure that they actually practice the environmentally friendly measures they advocate.

She urged people who want to build with brick and mortar to use old-school or other innovate ways to insulate their homes against the Lowveld heat and make the construction more energy-efficient.

English’s home also features on-site water treatment plant, which is approved by various authorities such as the SABS and Rand Water and recycles all of the water used in the house. The water goes to a sealed septic tank and then into the plant, recycled through pumps and ozone and oxygen treatments. The water can then be used for irrigation, to flush toilets, fill the pool and is even safe to drink.

She currently has a solar geyser and would like to go completely off the grid in the future.

English also has recycle bins at the house and utilised the recycling system that Marloth Park’s residents put in place.

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Thanks to her innovation, the Nkomazi Local Municipality achieved a second position in the Mpumalanga Greenest Municipality Competition in December 2015, earning them R250 000.

English urged all residents of the Onderberg to do their part in helping the environment. She stated that the best way is to start small by separating your trash for recycling or just cutting down on your water and electricity usage.