Green building machine

By Bridget Cook
The Pakenham resident is identified as a Master Builders Green Living builder, since completing the required training. This titles his business as one skilled in the design, construction and maintenance of structures that adopt the best practice for sustainability in the built environment.
Mr Single started out implementing measures to improve his water and energy efficiency in his own home.
When Mr Single travelled to Wales, he said he visited a place that had employed practices that were environmentally friendly for years.
“They had been doing things since the ’70s that we had only just started to do now,” Mr Single said.
“After that, we decided that when we would build, we would try to make the houses as environmentally sustainable as we could.”
In his own house, in Pakenham, all rainwater is captured and retained on the site, with the assistance of an infiltration bed.
“95 per cent of our rain water is captured and put into a tank. We have a 22,500 litre tank and a 9000-litre reserve tank for garden use only,” he said.
“We have not used mains water in five years, since we turned the meter off.”
Each downpipe on Mr Single’s house has a tap attached which runs without power.
Water from Mr Single’s washing machine runs through a pipe to an outside storage compartment. This water is then used to pump through the toilet.
“Toilets use about 20% of our water and that’s about how much comes out of the washing machine,” he said.
“It’s a simple thing really.”
Mr Single has also installed a two-panel solar hot water system, and makes a small amount of electricity through photovoltaic cells.
He builds about 10 houses a year around Pakenham. In each, he applies measures to ensure they receive a six-star thermal rating.
Mr Single said installing some of this equipment was not always cheap, but was better for the environment.
“It’s not always completely viable from a business point of view, but we do it because we want to,” he said.
For more information on George Single Builders contact 5941 2679 or 0419 362 650.