SA Affordable Housing January - February 2019 // Issue: 74 | Page 20

issued. The appointment of properly Plumbing Industry
Registration Board (PIRB) licensed installers is therefore
also paramount in ensuring a high standard of workmanship
and compliance. Remember, no COC, no occupation.”
A plumbing COC should be issued to the owner within
five days of work being completed for any plumbing job
done where the total value is larger than R1 500. A COC is
also essential for the installation, replacement or
relocation of any electric water heating systems, all
individual and separate installations on site, and for the
installation, construction or alteration for any above or
below ground sanitary drains.
Kyle explains that often the failures when it comes to
using plumbing materials are not malicious but are borne
instead by a lack of knowledge on the part of either the
developers or the installers.
“There are two essential reasons why sub-standard
materials are used, the first one is driven by financial
factors and the cheapest short term and irresponsible
solution is opted for while the other is ignorance of the
required and mandatory National Standards,” he says.
Explaining that the SABS materials are available to ensure
correct compliance with the requirements.
“A few examples of material Specifications are SABS 226
for Taps, SABS 151 for Geysers, SABS 198 for Geyser
Control Valves. Even with knowledge of the standards
however, materials can still be misapplied. An example is
the use of any form of piping material made of a plastic
material externally where it will be subject to the outside
environment, even though it is a SABS compliant-material,”
he says.
Kyle explains that at the end of the day best practice
dictates that developers must ensure there is long term
accountability and responsibility held on their part and
that water supply and drainage installations are compliant
with national regulations and local by-laws.
“They must ensure that work done offers sustainability,
longevity and low future maintenance and operating
costs,” he says. He hastens to add that this does not
necessarily mean things need to be that much more
expensive.
One company that has taken up the challenge to offer
quality plumbing products in the affordable housing sector
seriously is Hans Grohe, which was recently awarded the
‘Sustainable Product of the Year for Africa’ award at the
second Real Estate Development Awards in Ghana. Winners
were picked based on a nominations process done by
buyers and weighed against the number of projects
completed and the ultimate sustainability of using the
product in Africa.
Laurinda Marsh, Hansgrohe project sales manager for
Sub-Saharan Africa, comments, “We specialise in offering
consumers the best experience with water, and in Africa we
are constantly reminded how valuable that resource is.
Hansgrohe supplies most projects in Africa with EcoSmart
solutions to save water and energy, as well as ensure return
on investment.”
Sustainability is an important aspect when considering
building affordable homes in Africa, particularly with
regard to the plumbing sector, with water being such a
scarce resource. It is therefore an important aspect to
consider for any developer but concern in the industry is
that taking the step to worry about sustainability may
impact on the economic viability of a development.
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JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2019
FEATURES
Sustainability is an important aspect when considering building
affordable homes in Africa, particularly in the plumbing sector.
This is not so, says Kyle, who states that knowledge of
plumbing and the by-laws can ultimately result in savings
in surprising places on a project, which can keep the costs
down despite all the right things being done.
“When we refer to ‘affordable housing’ we are probably
referring to a home that has the following fixtures: one
toilet, one wash hand basin, one shower and one single
bowl sink, which would result in a peak flow demand of
roughly 20ℓ per minute if water efficient fittings are
installed, such as a 10ℓ litre per minute shower rose and
5ℓ per minute taps.
“In today’s water strapped environment everyone
should consider water efficiency in their homes. A flow-rate
of 20ℓ per minute will result in a water velocity of around
2m per second which is perfectly acceptable in terms of the
National Standards,” he says, adding, “Assuming the above
stats, this means that the service pipe feeding the house
and the balanced pressure system (mandatory) can be
piped out using piping material and fittings that have an
equivalent internal diameter of 15mm instead of 20mm.
15mm geyser pressure control valves can also be utilised
resulting in a combined cost saving.”
Often costs savings also come from simple common-
sense adjustments that can be overlooked in the grand
scheme of planning a development.
“By keeping the groups of terminal fittings within close
proximity of one another and positioning the geyser as
close to the cluster of fittings the amount of piping needed
can be substantially reduced as well as the length of dead
legs, resulting in a more energy and water efficient
system,” says Kyle.
“Careful planning and documentation of pipe routing
can also result in substantially reducing the number of
fittings and pipe lengths. All too often though one sees
this being left in the hands of an incompetent installer,”
he says.
Kyle insists that in the end it is all about careful planning
and consulting with professionals who take the national
regulations and the mandatory requirements and
principles into account.
“By doing so there is a strong possibility that they can
offer sustainable and manageable products to end users at
a very similar or at least comparable cost to non-compliant
and unacceptable ones,” concludes Kyle. “Achieving good
and cost effective, sustainable results is all about
accountability, careful planning and execution.”
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