The Bio-climatic Home
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The Series
Episode One, 12 January 2010
The Beginning
In this episode Michelle and Riaan have decided to build their bio-climatic home and after a bit of searching they select Le Jardin at Avianto as the place to build their new home. They meet with the estate owner, choose their site, and find the perfect architect. .
Episode Two, 19 January 2010
Breaking Ground In this episode Riaan and Michelle discover how much there is to learn about building a bio-climatic home and after some careful changes to the plans, they submit to the municipality and finally start digging the foundations.
Episode Three, 26 January 2010
Pleased to Meet You In this episode, Michelle and Riaan remember their first meeting with their construction company and find out more about the overall landscaping plans for the estate as well as the philosophy of Le Jardin.
Episode Four, 2 February 2010
Keeping Afloat Feeling the pressure of having to make so many decisions as they rush from meeting to meeting Michelle and Riaan decide where they want things like plug points, make changes to the plans, squeeze in some work, and Michelle learns about drainage pipes..
Episode Five, 9 February 2010
Green Loving In this episode we follow Riaan and Michelle as they passionately spread their message of green living to as many people as possible – while still trying to keep track of what is happening at the house. Riaan explains the role of polystyrene in the foundation surfacebed and, despite his schedule, manages to make it to site to see the concrete being poured.
Episode Six, 16 February 2010
Baby Steps It’s a lot of a little in this episode as Michelle talks to friends and businesses about recycling and being aware of the cumulative effect of poisons in our environment; we learn about the importance of insulation and Michelle & Riaan share their fantastic news with us that they are pregnant.
Episode Seven, 23 February 2010
Spreading the News In this episode, Riaan and Michelle start spreading the news about growing their new house and their new baby. We attend the launch of the Love & Mortar project as well as take a behind the scenes peek at a lunch / photo shoot where Michelle cooks up a storm for her friends.
Episode Eight, 2 March 2010
Ask the right questions The ground floor block & lintel are finished, Riaan is on site for the pouring of the concrete to the middle slab and superstructure brickwork starts on the outer walls; Michelle attends the World Solar Congress, they visit the brick manufacturer to find out how green they really are..
Episode Nine, 9 March 2010
What's on inside and what's on top The outer walls of the top floor superstructure brickwork are nearly done and Michelle & Riaan try to decide on steel or wooden roof trusses, check up on dry-walling and start designing their garden and grey water systems..
Episode Ten, 16 March 2010
While you were away Riaan and Michelle are off to the United States for work but while they’re away, things start going wrong. There is a delay confirming the roof they’re going to use – and suddenly, the days that the construction company has gained on the schedule start slipping away and the seasonal rains have started.
Episode Eleven, 23 March 2010
While you were away Riaan and Michelle are off to the United States for work but while they’re away, things start going wrong. There is a delay confirming the roof they’re going to use – and suddenly, the days that the construction company has gained on the schedule start slipping away and the seasonal rains have started.
Episode Twelve, 30 March 2010
Shape of things to come Michelle & Riaan visit the off-the-grid house of Henning Holm to find out how a family lives green; they visit Lafarge to find out more about their ‘sustainability’ claim, and Michelle and Riaan start working on the design for the fireplace and their kitchen counter.
Episode Thirteen, 6 April 2010
Fans & Fenestration Llewellyn van Wyk (from CSIR) visits the house to see how things are progressing, Michelle & Riaan are on site as the double-glazed windows are being installed, Michelle finds out more about environmentally friendly nappies and Riaan is a guest on Caspar de Vries’ new show.
Episode Fourteen, 13 April2010
Light up our life Michelle & Riaan start choosing their light fittings, make sure they’ve got all the solar panels they’ll need and get dressed up for a fun fashion shoot.
Episode Fifteen, 20 April 2010
BAck to nature Riaan & Michelle pack their bags to go away for their nature guiding course, we chat to Trevor about the development of the Le Jardin estate and Michelle goes shopping for bio-friendly products they can use in their grey-water system.
Episode Sixteen, 27 April 2010
Something Old, Something New The doors start being installed, international businessmen arrive to show off the latest designs in solar panels, Michelle investigates the growing problem with rubbish in SA and we join them for a visit to the doctor.
Episode Seventeen, 4 May 2010
A Promise of Power The house is starting to get a more finished look as Riaan and Michelle finalise the exterior plastering and start choosing their tiles; Michelle starts working from home as her baby-bump gets bigger and there is exciting news about the latest, greatest solar panels….
Episode Eighteen, 11 May 2010
From Nature to Nurture Despite working from home, Michelle is as busy as ever working on a book to spread the green word; Riaan & Michelle go shopping for fireplaces and the landscaper starts translating Michelle’s vision for their indigenous garden into a practical design.
Episode Nineteen, 18 May 2010
How Green is Our House? Riaan and Michelle get together with Lisa Reynolds from the Green Building Council to look at the green design principles integrated in their house – this gives them an overview of how their house rates according to the estate architectural guidelines, the incoming SANS204 legislation and the guiding framework of the Green Star Rating system.
Episode Twenty, 25 May 2010
Running Out of TimeRiaan has to make a plan on site when construction timetables clash, Michelle realises that she’s running out of time to get ready for the baby; Riaan is in the workshop as their cupboards start being built and Michelle gets pampered at her baby shower..
Episode Twenty One, 1 June 2010
The Circle of Life After lots of investigation of the best system to use, Michelle & Riaan’s grey-& black water system is installed; Riaan is supportive during baby-class; it’s time to choose cornices and confirm taps and Michelle visits the Lion Park as a guest of DeafTV.
Episode Twenty Two, 8 June 2010
Clean and Green
Riaan starts creating the nursery at their existing home while Michelle deals with her frustrations in creating their garden when Herdre presents the first landscaping plans; Eskom gives their stamp of approval on the house for being energy efficient as well as using ‘clean’ energy sources, while Michelle’s finds her advanced pregnancy is now making site visits a challenge.
Episode Twenty Three, 15 June 2010
Green goes Glam Michelle admires the finished nursery; Riaan is on site for the installation of the kitchen cupboard carcasses and gets busy with his welding torch when he visits the metal studio making their balustrades; and Michelle is honoured by Glamour Magazine as their media ‘Woman of the Year’ at a sparkling function at The Grace hotel.
Episode Twenty Four, 22 June 2010
The Final Countdown With the budget starting to take strain, Riaan and Michelle debate about putting in a pool; Michelle’s design for the walkway to the lapa presents a challenge for the building team; the kitchen counter-tops and balustrades are installed and the countdown to baby’s arrival is now just days away…
Episode Twenty Five, 29 June 2010
Rainn arrives Michelle’s plan for a natural birth are up-ended when Rainn has to arrive by Caesar; the finishes on the floors and walls start, work gets going on paint-washing the cupboards and a sleep-deprived Riaan gets busy installing various water and waste systems at the house.
Episode Twenty Six, 06 July 2010
Green Building Conference Michelle is invited to speak at the Green Building Expo while Riaan goes shopping for garden equipment; the solar panels for hot water and electricity start being installed and both of them are nervous about Michelle’s first visit to site since Rainn was born..
Episode Twenty Seven, 13 July 2010
SnaggingWith final installations and building snagging starting to happen on site, Herdre and Michelle can finally get started on the garden and Michelle and Riaan decide to call in an expert to help them with their décor and furniture.
Episode Twenty Eight, 20 July 2010
The elements of the home The house is ready to live in, but the garden is still a work in progress and the search for the right furniture continues as it is all hands on deck to find the last elements to make their house a home
Episode Twenty Nine, 27 July 2010
Moving In Michelle and Riaan finally move in and start experiencing all the benefits of their bio-climatic home – just in time for their first dinner-party!.
Episode Thirty, 03 August 2010
Looking back It’s been 9 months of building, years of research – and they had a baby in the middle of it all – Michelle and Riaan remember the long journey it took to get them here. And as they close the chapter on building their house, they start the next one of bringing up baby.