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South African Building Cost Estimator

Project Balance

Keeping internal spaces aligned with the external envelope.

Internal sm: 0 / 0 m² Shell sm: Awaiting Footprint Data...
Project Details
Build delivery & estimation basis
Owner-managed / self-build uses indicative supplier / shop price allowances and direct-trade labour allowances, with no main-contractor margin. A VAT-registered main contractor view applies your selected overhead and profit allowance, then VAT once to the full construction estimate. This is a planning guide for budgeting, self-procurement, direct labour or comparing independent supplier and contractor quotes; PriceYourBuild does not sell, order or supply materials or labour.

New to the estimator? Read How to Estimate the Cost of Building a House in South Africa

Start with a quick house estimate

Don't have your wall sketch or room schedule yet? Enter the approximate total floor area of your proposed home for an initial estimate, then refine it later. Garages and patios are separate selections.

m²

Enter an area and we'll suggest a typical starting layout. You can change it now or refine it later using the Room Schedule.

0 uses the area-based allowance. Enter your planned duration to budget monthly site costs. Consider 5–6 months for an owner-managed programme; each extra month changes the estimate. The Design Brief shows the cost impact.
Geotechnical Profile & Footprint
Calculates Brickforce from wall runs and whole 20m rolls; final spacing remains subject to approved details.
Used only for preliminary ground-slab edge formwork on strip or stepped foundations.
Retaining Walls & Drainage
Building Form & Wall Structure
This drives the compatible priced wall system; the BOQ retains the selected brick, block, or facebrick resources.
Choose mobile crane only where the engineered beam, access or erection method requires it.
Staircases & Upper Level Framing
House Measurements

Optional for your first estimate · Complete this section to refine your quantities.

Typed external-shell measurements

This is not a room-by-room schedule. Type the building's outside dimensions and external wall changes only. You can switch to the visual sketch at any time; both methods update the same external shell.

  1. Enter the overall external width and depth.
  2. Add an external wing only where the outside wall line extends.
  3. Add a courtyard cut-out only where the outside wall line recesses.
  4. When the external shell is complete, add bedrooms, kitchens, bathrooms, and other internal spaces in Rooms & Areas.
Ground Floor External Shell

Enter the overall dimensions of the enclosed dwelling's external wall outline. Garage, patio, and carport allowances are added separately.

Across the outside wall line
Along the outside wall line
Standard is 2.7m
External Shell Changes

Add an external wing only where the outside wall line extends, or a courtyard cut-out only where it recesses. These changes do not create rooms.

0 of 6 additions used (outside wings 0/3; inside cut-outs 0/3).
Maximum 3 outside wings, 3 inside cut-outs, and 6 additions per floor.
First Floor External Shell

Enter the upper storey's external wall outline. Use external-shell changes below only where the outside wall line steps back or extends.

Across the outside wall line
Along the outside wall line
Standard is 2.4m
Upper External Shell Changes

Add upper-floor step-backs, external extensions, or courtyard cut-outs only where the outside wall line changes. This is not a room schedule.

0 of 6 additions used (outside wings 0/3; inside cut-outs 0/3).
Maximum 3 outside wings, 3 inside cut-outs, and 6 additions per floor.

Optional for your first estimate · Complete this section to refine your quantities.

Room areas are approximate net internal areas, measured between finished wall faces. The fit check reserves 12% of the external house floor area for circulation and 10% for walls and partitions. Unallocated internal space is allowed; the construction estimate still uses the full external house area. Garages are separate.

Deducts upper-floor slab area and usable first-floor space.
Awaiting Storey Input
Primary Rooms Schedule Matrix

Enter 0 m² for a room that is not included. Included rooms must be at least 4 m²; bedrooms must be at least 6 m².

Additional Bedrooms

Use this for Bedroom 4 and beyond so door and electrical allowances remain accurate. Maximum 7 additional bedrooms.

Need supplementary spatial footprints? Add your bespoke functional specifications below. Maximum 12 custom rooms.
Kitchen & Bathroom Schedules

Enter 0 m² for a kitchen or bathroom that is not included. Included kitchen and bathroom areas must be at least 4 m².

Kitchen Component & Scullery Schedules (max 4) Itemised Runs
Bathrooms, En-Suites & Wet Areas (max 6) Plumbing Packs
Garages (max 4) Priced as dwelling construction
Envelope & Roof
Windows, External Doors & Estimated Lintels
No opening schedule is needed. The estimator derives standard masonry lintels and wall-opening deductions from the selected Window Area Level and the external-door allowance. The BOQ identifies this as a preliminary standard-opening allowance; unusually wide sliders, stacking doors and engineered spans remain subject to the final drawings and engineer's design.
Coastal selections add explicit 316 stainless-steel window hardware, roof fastener and carport-connector allowances.
Non-Standard External Openings

These are additional to the standard-door allowance and include their own preliminary supply, installation and opening-detail allowance. Final lintels, beams, glass performance and weatherproofing must follow the approved drawings.

Add each fireplace separately so different rooms can use different types. Maximum 6 fireplaces in total.

No fireplaces added.

Roof Profile & Styling
Automatic geometry is for a single gable, hip, or mono-pitch roof only. Use measured runs for L, U, valley, or complex roofs.
Select either option or both. Opening surrounds use the estimate's window and external-door quantities.
Primary Core Surface Finishes
Applied to living, bedroom and other dry areas. Bathroom floors are priced separately in porcelain tile.
Uses the bathroom schedule by default. Select measured only where your drawings define a different tiled wet-floor area.
Used only with “Use my measured wet-floor area”. Do not re-enter the whole house floor area.
Patterned tile, vinyl and timber layouts allow extra cutting waste on the primary dry-area finish.
Internal Walls & Partitions
Ceilings & Cornices
Built-in Joinery

Enter bedroom wardrobes separately from laundry, linen and other utility storage so each scope can carry its own specification. The combined allowance cannot exceed 200 linear metres.

Bedroom Wardrobes
Laundry, Linen & Utility Storage
Internal Doors & Privacy Architecture

The engine automatically links structural doorways to your room allocations. Specify the core joinery properties below:

External Works
Site Works & Infrastructure
Uses the entered boundary length for the line, plus one energizer, earth and warning set.
Available only for a Brick / Masonry Boundary Wall; costed to the entered boundary length.
Hardscaping & Driveway Surfaces
Choose what the driveway and hardscaping are made from: pavers, concrete, asphalt or gravel.
Enter the total area finished in this material, including driveway, paths and other hardscaping.
Utility & Covered Outdoor Areas
Vehicle Storage Configuration

Each carport now includes its selected frame, roof covering, support bases and normal drainage detailing. Cantilevered carports are costed as fabricated structural steel and include an engineering allowance.

Outdoor Living Areas
Verandas, Patios & Balconies
Enter the usable outdoor floor area, not the house roof area.

The surface/base and selected cover are priced separately. Covers can be selected with a concrete slab or timber deck; roof spans, drainage and final connections remain subject to the approved design.

Building Services
Services & Sustainability Infrastructure
Choose what the system should support; package size remains a separate allowance.
Quote-controlled only: the estimate will flag system-specific detection, isolation and any approved suppression equipment, but will not add an unverified fire-system price.
Battery systems require manufacturer-approved siting, ventilation, isolation, separation, signage and emergency-access design. Do not assume a Class-D extinguisher or generic aerosol unit is suitable for lithium-ion storage.
Water Storage & Reuse
Adds one modelled first-flush, inlet-screen and ordinary connection allowance only when a rainwater tank system is selected.
External Utility Connections
Enter the expected drilled depth, not the pump depth.
Heating & Climate Control
Security
Live Material Quantity Indicators
Foundation Trenches:0.0 m
Concrete Base:0.0 m³
Internal Partitions:0.0 m
Core Brickwork:0 units
Plaster Surface Area:0.0 m²
Gross Interior Paint Basis:0.0 m²
Roof Truss Footprint:0.0 m²

Please confirm both acknowledgements before we prepare your estimate.


Your acknowledgement applies while this estimate remains open.
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