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| Item | Unit | USD | R | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial verification, per circuit (IEC 60364-6)Continuity of the protective conductor, insulation resistance, earth loop impedance and RCD trip time, measured circuit by circuit and written up. IEC 60364-6 requires this before an installation is energised, and no schedule in these markets prices it, because it is usually not done. Estimated from an electrician’s day rate against the number of circuits one person tests in a day. The bill bought the board and the earth electrode and verified neither, which is the same shape as a missing line anywhere else in this product: it looks exactly like a test that costs nothing. | per circuit | $4 – $12 | 64 R – 191 R | Estimated |
| Isolation valve, per fixtureA quarter-turn brass ball valve and its connection, one at each fixture and one on the incoming main. Estimated from merchant prices for 15 and 20 mm valves; no published schedule separates them from the fixture. Without them an installation has no way to isolate a branch, so changing a tap means shutting the whole house off: and in practice means the tap is not changed. | per valve | $6 – $18 | 96 R – 287 R | Estimated |
| Wall copingA weathered cap over the top of a wall, cast in place or precast, throwing water clear of both faces. Estimated from the concrete, the formwork and the mason’s time for a 300 mm cap rather than from a published rate, because coping is normally swallowed inside a per-metre wall price. An uncapped wall takes rain straight into its top course, and the first failure of a boundary wall here is almost always the top three courses rather than the foundation. | per metre | $6 – $16 | 96 R – 255 R | Estimated |
| Damp-proof courseBitumen felt or polythene laid in the bed joint above ground level, breaking the path water takes up through the masonry. Estimated from roll prices at the width a 150 to 200 mm wall needs. Rising damp is what makes the bottom of a rendered wall blister and shed within two or three wet seasons, and the cure after the fact is to take the render off and start again. | per metre | $1 – $4 | 19 R – 56 R | Estimated |
| Gate lock and drop boltA lock and a drop bolt into the threshold, which is what secures a gate rather than what hangs it. **Deliberately not hinges or paint** : the gate leaf here is priced through the boundary’s own material with a fabrication factor whose written basis already names the frame, the hinges and the paint, so buying them again would charge the same money twice. That is the mistake `knownCosts` exists to avoid, and it is easier to make when adding a line than when removing one. Estimated from merchant prices for a padlockable gate lock and a galvanised drop bolt. | per set | $60 – $200 | 956 R – 3,188 R | Estimated |
| Formwork, per m² of contact areaSheet, bearers, nails, props and release oil, measured the way a bordereau measures it, per square metre of concrete face formed, with the sheet amortised over about four uses. **Nothing in this product priced formwork at all**, and no concrete rate here claims to include it, so every reinforced element was quietly assumed to cast itself. It is not a small line: on a boundary wall with posts and two tie beams the formed area is roughly twice the wall’s own footprint. Estimated from plywood and melamine sheet prices in this market against a four-use life; a merchant quotation would replace the sheet share directly. | per m² formed | $4 – $11 | 64 R – 175 R | Estimated |
| Binding wire (for tying reinforcement)Annealed wire for tying bars and links into a cage. Ordered at 12 kg per tonne of reinforcement, which is the middle of the 10 to 15 kg range trades work to. Estimated from merchant prices for annealed wire by the coil. It is a trivial cost and a total stopper: a cage cannot be tied without it, and it was missing from every bill this product has ever produced. | per kg | $2 – $4 | 24 R – 56 R | Estimated |
| Weep hole (75 mm PVC sleeve through the wall)A short PVC sleeve cast or built through the wall just above ground on the exposed face, with the mason’s time to place it. Estimated from offcut pipe prices and a few minutes’ work each; no schedule prices a weep hole, because it is the first thing left out. Leaving them out is not a saving of this size : an undrained wall carries roughly **1.75 times** the push of a drained one, because saturated backfill adds full hydrostatic pressure that no friction angle reduces. | per weep hole | $2 – $7 | 32 R – 112 R | Estimated |
| Filter fabric (behind the wall)A non-woven geotextile wrapping the granular drainage blanket so the fines in the retained soil do not migrate into it. Estimated from roll prices for a light non-woven grade. Without it the drain silts up and becomes more soil within a season or two, which is worse than never building it: the wall is then loaded as an undrained wall by a detail everybody believes is working. | per m² | $1 – $4 | 19 R – 56 R | Estimated |
| Concrete curing (sheeting and water, 7 days)Polythene sheeting at 200 microns used twice over, the water to keep the surface wet for seven days, and the labour of wetting it. An outright estimate: no schedule in these markets prices curing separately, because it is almost always buried in a concrete rate and therefore almost always skipped on site. It is priced here for the opposite reason, in this climate a slab above about 32 °C loses water faster than bleed replaces it, and concrete that dries before it hydrates never reaches its grade whatever the mix design said. A well-batched concrete badly cured is weaker than a badly batched one cured properly, so this is the cheapest line in the bill measured against what it protects. | per m² of surface | $1 – $2 | 10 R – 26 R | Estimated |
| Movement joint (backer rod and sealant)Compressible filler and a gun-applied sealant, per metre of joint height. Nothing in these packs is comparable enough to scale from, a joint is a backer rod and a cartridge, not a coating sold by the square metre, so this is an outright estimate from what a hardware merchant charges for polyurethane sealant and closed-cell filler at the coverage a 15 mm joint uses. It is a small line against the wall it protects: a 140 m run needs about 55 m of joint, and leaving it out is why a new boundary wall cracks in its first dry season. | per metre | $3 – $8 | 48 R – 128 R | Estimated |
| Consumer unit, per way (three phase)A three-phase way: the same protective device on a busbar fed from three lines rather than one, so the board, the main switch and the incoming device all cost more for the same number of circuits. Priced from this market’s own single-phase way at the premium wholesalers quote for the three-phase range. No regional survey separates them. | per way | $42 – $120 | 670 R – 1,897 R | Estimated |
| Supply cable (3 × 10 mm²)Single-phase supply, three cores: line, neutral and earth against the four of a three-phase run. Priced from this market’s own four-core cable at the ratio of the copper in it, which is what a merchant charges for cable, the drum is sold by weight of conductor. No regional survey separates the two sizes. This is what an ordinary house here is connected with; three-phase is for a workshop, a borehole pump of any size, or a house large enough to need the load balanced. | per metre | $6 – $17 | 100 R – 263 R | Estimated |
| Copper supply pipe (ø 22)Copper, soldered. Rare here and dear: it is imported, it needs a plumber with a torch, and the offcuts walk off a site. It is specified where hot water runs through a roof void or where a client wants a system that outlives the building. Priced at the multiple of PPR that importers quote for tube of the same bore; no regional survey covers it, and in most of these markets a merchant will order it in rather than stock it. | per metre | $14 – $50 | 223 R – 789 R | Estimated |
| Pressure PVC supply pipe (ø 25)Pressure PVC, the cheaper supply pipe and the one most self-builds here use for cold runs. It is solvent-welded rather than fusion-welded, so it needs no heating iron and any mason can lay it : which is why it is common : and it must not carry hot water or run in sunlight, where it goes brittle. Priced from this market’s own PPR at the discount merchants quote; no regional survey separates supply pipe by material. | per metre | $3 – $8 | 41 R – 131 R | Estimated |
| Stair nosing (aluminium or PVC)A pre-formed aluminium or PVC stair nosing, sold by the metre and fixed to the front edge of each tread. It takes the wear and stops the arris of a cast step breaking away, which is what makes an unnosed concrete stair look derelict in two years. No regional survey prices it; the band is scaled from this market’s own skirting, which is the same kind of extruded trim bought the same way. | per metre | $6 – $22 | 100 R – 351 R | Estimated |
| Exterior paint (20 L drum)Exterior acrylic, sold in the same 20 L drum as the interior grade. It carries more binder and a UV package because this face takes full sun and driven rain through a wet season, and an interior paint put outside chalks within a year. Priced from this market’s own interior paint at the premium merchants quote for the exterior grade, since no regional survey separates the two : the Kinshasa paint survey does not even state its container size, which is why the interior figure is itself an estimate. | per drum | $72 – $180 | 1,148 R – 2,806 R | Estimated |
| Primer or sealer (20 L drum)New render is alkaline and thirsty: without a sealer the first top coat is drunk into the wall, the colour goes patchy and the covering rate collapses, so the paint saved is spent twice over. Priced from this market’s own paint at the discount a primer usually carries, since no regional survey separates the two. A repaint over sound existing paint needs none, and the element lets it be unticked. | per drum | $38 – $100 | 606 R – 1,658 R | Estimated |
| Door ironmongery (lock, handle, 3 hinges)A lock case, a handle set and three hinges. Doors here are sold as a leaf and a frame and nothing else, `door_timber` is a timber door with frame, so a house with twelve doors needs twelve sets and the bill had none of them. No regional survey prices ironmongery; the band is scaled from this market’s own timber door, at the fifth of the door price merchants quote for a plain mortice set. A cylinder lock on an external door costs more and a padlock hasp costs less: this is the ordinary internal set, and somebody fitting security ironmongery overrides the line. | per set | $14 – $62 | 223 R – 988 R | Estimated |
| Electrical point, surface mountedSurface-mounted point: PVC trunking and clips on the face of the wall, no chase cut and no making good. Priced from this market’s own chased point rate less 20 per cent, the chasing and the render patch are what the two installations differ by, and on blockwork that is about a fifth of the point. No published survey separates the two: CYPE and the regional schedules price a chased point, because that is what a specification asks for. It is the cheaper build and the common one in a rented shop, a workshop, or any wall somebody expects to open again. | per point | $18 – $36 | 287 R – 574 R | Estimated |
| Ridge capping (pre-folded)A pre-folded ridge cap, sold in 2 m lengths at roughly the price of one sheet, which is the ratio merchants across the region quote. No published survey covers it, regional price surveys track cement, steel and sheeting, never the accessories, so the band is scaled from this market’s own sheet price and moves with it. It is a real line rather than flat sheet: a cap is folded to the ridge angle and costs more per square metre than the sheet it closes. | per metre | $11 – $21 | 175 R – 335 R | Estimated |
| Roofing fixings (box of 100)Self-drilling screws with EPDM washers, sold by the box of 100 at any hardware merchant. No published survey covers this item: regional price surveys track cement, steel and sheeting, never fasteners. The band starts from a retail price of 0.12 to 0.25 USD a screw observed across the region, and scales with this market’s own sheet price. At 7 screws/m² it is 1 to 2 per cent of the sheet cost, an error here does not move a roof budget, while omitting it drops a real item: a 300 m² roof needs about 2,100 of them. | per box of 100 | $18 – $42 | 287 R – 670 R | Estimated |
| Grey cement (50 kg bag) | per bag | $6 – $6 | 89 R – 99 R | Sourced |
| Scaffolding, erect and hireDerived from this pack’s labourer wage (15.0 to 22.0 a day) at an output of 2.5 to 6 m² of face erected, moved and struck per worker-day; hiring the equipment weighs less than the labour. Measured on the face worked above 2 m: below that you work off the ground or off trestles and nothing is hired. **Nothing in this product bought any**, when a 2.40 m wall rendered on both faces is not built from the ground. | per m² of elevation | $3 – $9 | 40 R – 140 R | Derived |
| Slab proppingDerived from this pack’s labourer wage (15.0 to 22.0 a day), plus the hire of the props. A suspended slab is held by its props for three weeks before it carries its own weight: the formwork gives it its shape, the propping stops it coming down. Formwork has been priced since 2026-08-21 and what holds it up still was not. | per m² of soffit | $4 – $12 | 60 R – 195 R | Derived |
| Setting outDerived from this pack’s labourer wage (15.0 to 22.0 a day) at an output of 5 to 12 m of perimeter set out per worker-day: profiles, lines, level and the day of the gang that marks it. It is the first spend on any site and no element carried it. Setting out wrongly is not corrected, it is demolished. | per metre of perimeter | $1 – $4 | 20 R – 70 R | Derived |
| Mixing water, deliveredA cubic metre of concrete takes about 180 litres of mixing water, and on most sites here it arrives by tanker or in drums rather than through a connection. Estimated at the price of a tanker load spread over the volume of concrete, not at the metered price of water. Distinct from curing, already priced separately: this one goes into the mix, that one protects it after the pour. | per m³ of concrete or mortar | $2 – $7 | 30 R – 117 R | Estimated |
| Hand excavation, ordinary groundDerived from this pack’s labourer wage (15.0 to 22.0 a day) at the usual output for hand digging in ordinary ground, 1.5 to 2.5 m³ per worker-day: 22.0 ÷ 1.5 at the top of the band, 15.0 ÷ 2.5 at the bottom. A fixed price in dollars would mean nothing here, earthworks are almost entirely labour, and the labourer’s wage varies sixfold across the markets in the catalogue. Hard, rocky or waterlogged ground is outside this band and is handled case by case. | per m³ | $6 – $15 | 96 R – 234 R | Derived |
| Washed crushed sand (0/5)This market has no separate survey for crushed sand. Derived from this pack’s natural sand (22.0 to 42.0) at the ratio of 1.5 surveyed in Kolwezi on 2026-08-21, where Dilala natural sand is delivered at 20 USD/m³ and Katonto crushed sand at 30 USD/m³. It is the ratio that is carried over and not the price: crushing and washing cost much the same anywhere, whereas the price of natural sand depends mostly on the distance to the river. | per m³ | $33 – $63 | 526 R – 1,004 R | Derived |
| River sandNo published survey converted. Sand does not travel: it is the least transferable line in the pack. Markedly dearer than elsewhere in this product because extraction is regulated, taxed and policed, licensed quarry sand rather than river sand picked up. | per m³ | $22 – $42 | 351 R – 670 R | Estimated |
| Crushed stone (19 mm)No published survey converted. Industrial quarries with certified grading, which is a different product from the artisanal crushing of the other markets in the pack: and it is paid for as such. | per m³ | $28 – $52 | 446 R – 829 R | Estimated |
| Rubble stoneNo published survey. Little used in foundations here: the reinforced strip footing is normal practice and rubble is mostly a landscaping wall material. | per m³ | $20 – $38 | 319 R – 606 R | Estimated |
| Reinforcement barNo South African steel merchant’s rate converted. South Africa makes its own steel (ArcelorMittal SA) and certifies it to SANS, which puts this line above the markets importing uncertified re-rolled bar. The certification is a real part of the price. | per tonne | $780 – $1,250 | 12,434 R – 19,927 R | Estimated |
| Steel section (IPE, HEA)Sections made locally. **Structural steelwork here is a mature industry**, with certified shops and fabrication standards that are actually applied: fabrication costs proportionally less than elsewhere in this product, but the material costs more. | per tonne | $950 – $1,500 | 15,144 R – 23,912 R | Estimated |
| Concrete block 190 mmDerived from the sourced cement price excluding VAT, plus aggregate, industrial moulding and margin. South African blocks come out of certified plants with controlled grading and strength, not a neighbourhood mould: it is a different product from the West African block and it costs about twice as much. | each | $1 – $2 | 15 R – 26 R | Derived |
| Concrete block 90 mmThe same derivation as the 190 mm block, in proportion to the volume of material used. | each | $1 – $1 | 10 R – 17 R | Derived |
| Concrete block 140 mmSame derivation, in proportion to the volume of material used. | each | $1 – $1 | 13 R – 22 R | Derived |
| Concrete block 190 mmDerived from the sourced cement price excluding VAT, plus aggregate, industrial moulding and the maker’s margin. | each | $1 – $2 | 15 R – 26 R | Derived |
| Half block 15 × 20 × 20A half block, moulded in the same shortened mould and sold from the same yard. The price is derived from the full block of the same thickness at 60%: the material halves, but moulding, handling and curing cost the same per piece, so a half block never sells at half price. No direct survey confirms it yet; this is a reasoned order of magnitude, not an observed price. | each | $0 – $1 | 8 R – 13 R | Derived |
| Half block 20 × 20 × 20A half block, moulded in the same shortened mould and sold from the same yard. The price is derived from the full block of the same thickness at 60%: the material halves, but moulding, handling and curing cost the same per piece, so a half block never sells at half price. No direct survey confirms it yet; this is a reasoned order of magnitude, not an observed price. | each | $1 – $1 | 9 R – 15 R | Derived |
| Concrete block 240 mmSame derivation, in proportion to the volume of material used. | each | $1 – $2 | 19 R – 32 R | Derived |
| Solid block 140 mmThe same derivation as the 140 mm hollow block, with solid material in place of the voids. | each | $1 – $2 | 18 R – 30 R | Derived |
| Stabilised compressed earth blockA real alternative trade but a marginal one, carried by a few social housing projects. It runs into approval: a product not certified to SANS struggles to get plans passed, which limits its use far more than its price does. | each | $1 – $1 | 8 R – 18 R | Estimated |
| Fired brick (imperial or maxi)Two products under one name: the imperial facing brick and the structural maxi, in different formats at different prices. **It is the dominant walling material in South Africa**, unlike every other market in this product where the cement block rules: the South African house is traditionally double-leaf fired brick. | each | $0 – $0 | 2 R – 7 R | Estimated |
| Mud brickMarginal in formal building and excluded from plan approval in urban areas. Still used in informal rural building, which is not what this product prices. | each | $0 – $0 | 1 R – 3 R | Estimated |
| Structural timber (SA pine, treated)**The only market in the pack where structural timber is a standardised industrial product**: plantation pine, mechanically graded to S5/S7, CCA pressure treated and stamped. The treatment is not an option to be left out here, it is in the product and in the price, which explains the gap with the West African forest markets, where timber is cheaper and untreated. | per m³ | $320 – $560 | 5,101 R – 8,927 R | Estimated |
| Profiled sheet (IBR, 0.5 mm)IBR or corrugated profile, in galvanised steel or pre-painted Chromadek, cut to length. An industrial product with a guarantee, not the 0.20 mm sheet of the neighbouring markets: which is why this line is at twice the price. | per sheet | $22 – $42 | 351 R – 670 R | Estimated |
| Fibre-cement corrugated sheetAsbestos-free sheet, certified to SANS. Asbestos has been banned since 2008, which is not the case everywhere else in this product and makes a price comparison misleading. | per sheet | $18 – $32 | 287 R – 510 R | Estimated |
| Concrete roof tile**The dominant roof covering in South African housing**, unlike the rest of this product where sheeting rules. Industrially made concrete tile, laid on treated pine trusses. | each | $1 – $2 | 12 R – 26 R | Estimated |
| Floor tilingImported and locally made tile. The band is wide because it covers everything from the cheapest to large-format porcelain. | per m² | $9 – $40 | 143 R – 638 R | Estimated |
| Tile adhesive (20 kg bag)Locally formulated adhesive, sold in a 20 kg bag here rather than 25: confirm the packaging before comparing with any other pack. | per bag | $6 – $14 | 96 R – 223 R | Estimated |
| Tile groutLocal product, sold in 1 to 5 kg bags. Confirm the packaging before turning it into a price per kg. | per kg | $2 – $5 | 32 R – 72 R | Estimated |
| Acrylic paint (20 L tin)A mature paint industry (Plascon, Dulux, Duram) with real product guarantees. The 20 L drum is the standard container and it genuinely holds 20 L, which cannot be taken for granted elsewhere in this product. | per tin | $55 – $130 | 877 R – 2,072 R | Estimated |
| Polythene damp-proof membrane (250 µm)Green 250 µm sheet certified to SANS 952, which is the standard product required at plan approval here: a regulatory requirement, not optional good practice. | per m² | $1 – $2 | 13 R – 29 R | Estimated |
| Damp-proof course rollRoll certified to SANS 248. Required under the NBR: its presence is checked at inspection, which is true in no other market in the pack. | per linear metre | $1 – $3 | 21 R – 48 R | Estimated |
| SBS bitumen membrane 4 mmTorch-applied membrane, laid by an approved applicator with a guarantee. The guarantee is a real part of the price here. | per m² | $11 – $22 | 175 R – 351 R | Estimated |
| Liquid waterproofing (per coat)Acrylic or polyurethane resin with reinforcement. Two coats at least, which the measurement counts separately. | per m² per coat | $3 – $7 | 48 R – 112 R | Estimated |
| Cementitious tanking slurry, per kgWater-resistant mortar for wet rooms and light tanking, a certified local product. | per kg | $3 – $6 | 40 R – 88 R | Estimated |
| PVC ceiling panellingUsed mostly in low-cost housing and in bathrooms. The ordinary ceiling here is plasterboard, unlike the rest of this product. | per m² | $9 – $20 | 143 R – 319 R | Estimated |
| Plasterboard (Rhinoboard)**The country’s standard ceiling**, on timber or steel grid, with mineral wool insulation above it in almost all new building: Highveld winter nights fall below zero and the SANS 10400-XA energy regulations require thermal performance. | per m² | $12 – $28 | 191 R – 446 R | Estimated |
| SkirtingSkirting in timber, MDF or tile. Always laid and almost never measured, which is exactly why it has a line here. | per metre | $4 – $11 | 56 R – 175 R | Estimated |
| Metal door with frameSecurity door or steel door on a frame, an industrial product with certified ironmongery. The security gate is a separate and almost universal item here. | per door | $120 – $340 | 1,913 R – 5,420 R | Estimated |
| Timber door with frameHollow-core, semi-solid or solid door, with frame and ironmongery. A standardised retail product rather than a workshop build: the price is a catalogue price. | per door | $75 – $280 | 1,196 R – 4,464 R | Estimated |
| Glazed aluminium windowAluminium window with glazing to SANS 10400-N and the XA thermal regulations. Safety glazing is mandatory in several situations, which weighs in the price and has no equivalent elsewhere in the pack. | per m² | $130 – $300 | 2,072 R – 4,782 R | Estimated |
| Louvre windowRare in new building: it seals badly, which makes it incompatible with the SANS 10400-XA thermal requirements. Kept for replacements in existing openings. | per m² | $60 – $130 | 956 R – 2,072 R | Estimated |
| Burglar barSteel bars or a retractable grille, often required by the insurer to cover theft. **It is a condition of the policy here as much as a choice**, which makes it an item required in practice. | per m² | $35 – $90 | 558 R – 1,435 R | Estimated |
| Stair balustradeSteel, stainless or glass. SANS 10400-M sets the height and the load, and compliance is checked at inspection: it is a regulated element, not a finish. | per metre | $70 – $220 | 1,116 R – 3,507 R | Estimated |
| GutterSeamless aluminium or PVC gutter, fitted by a specialist. Sized to local rainfall intensities, which differ sharply from city to city: Durban exceeds 1,000 mm a year in summer rain, Cape Town takes its rain in winter and Johannesburg in short violent storms. | per metre | $9 – $24 | 143 R – 383 R | Estimated |
| Rainwater downpipePVC or aluminium, clips and bends included. Often run into a harvesting tank, an ordinary practice since the water restrictions. | per metre | $6 – $16 | 96 R – 255 R | Estimated |
| Supply pipework (PEX or copper)Crimped PEX or copper, laid by a plumber registered with the PIRB. Registration is compulsory and so is the certificate of compliance: the labour is dear and traceable. | per metre | $4 – $11 | 64 R – 175 R | Estimated |
| Waste pipework (PVC ø 110)SANS-certified ø 110 PVC, fittings included. Connection to the municipal sewer is the rule in town, unlike every other market in the pack where the septic tank dominates. | per metre | $6 – $15 | 96 R – 239 R | Estimated |
| Plumbing point (WC + basin)Fitted point, fixtures included, by a registered plumber issuing a certificate of compliance. **The dearest item in this product on this line, by a distance**: it is the regulated labour that makes the gap, not the ceramic. | per point | $320 – $620 | 5,101 R – 9,884 R | Estimated |
| Sanitary ware (WC, basin, taps)A branded set of fittings, with a guarantee. A mature market, from the cheapest retail range to European sanitaryware. | per set | $180 – $750 | 2,869 R – 11,956 R | Estimated |
| Electrical point (socket or light)Point fitted by a registered electrician, under a certificate of compliance required for any sale or letting of the property. The CoC is what makes this line three times dearer than elsewhere in this product. | per point | $22 – $45 | 351 R – 717 R | Estimated |
| Distribution board, per wayProtected way to SANS 10142-1, residual current device included. The South African standard is more prescriptive than IEC 60364 on this point and its application is policed. | per way | $28 – $70 | 446 R – 1,116 R | Estimated |
| Earth electrodeSANS 10142-1. **It is the only market in the pack where having no earth is not a possibility**: without it there is no certificate of compliance, and without a certificate the property is neither sold nor let. | per installation | $110 – $300 | 1,754 R – 4,782 R | Estimated |
| Supply cable (4 × 10 mm²)Cable certified to SANS 1507, armoured for burial. It follows the copper price: and cable theft is a real site risk here that feeds through into prices and into programme. | per metre | $9 – $22 | 143 R – 351 R | Estimated |
| Storage tank, per litreJoJo tank or equivalent, a guaranteed industrial product made locally. It became ordinary equipment after the 2018 Cape drought and the Johannesburg cuts. | per litre | $0 – $0 | 2 R – 5 R | Estimated |
| Submersible pumpBranded pump with guarantee and service. The rating follows the designWater calculation and not the catalogue. | each | $300 – $1,100 | 4,782 R – 17,536 R | Estimated |
| Tank tower, per metre of heightSteel tower or platform, designed and certified. Less common than elsewhere: municipal mains pressure is generally sufficient and the tank sits on the ground with a booster pump. | per metre | $180 – $520 | 2,869 R – 8,290 R | Estimated |
| Electric water heater, per litreThe South African geyser, 100 to 200 L, with the valve, drip tray and insulation that SANS 10254 requires. Those fittings are not optional and they are in the price. | per litre of capacity | $2 – $5 | 35 R – 80 R | Estimated |
| Solar water heater, per litreThermosiphon or pumped system, installed to standard. Historically subsidised by Eskom, which left a body of certified installers unique in this product: and SANS 10400-XA now requires part of the hot water to be made by something other than an electric element. | per litre of capacity | $5 – $13 | 80 R – 207 R | Estimated |
| Instantaneous gas water heaterLPG appliance, fitted by a registered gas installer with a certificate of compliance required. Reticulated gas is rare: the bottle is the norm. | each | $180 – $520 | 2,869 R – 8,290 R | Estimated |
| Generator, per kVASilenced diesel set with automatic changeover. The residential market has swung to inverters and batteries since the 2022 load shedding: the generator remains the answer for heavy loads and commercial sites. | per kVA | $260 – $1,400 | 4,145 R – 22,318 R | Estimated |
| Solar PV, per WpPanel, hybrid inverter and certified installation, with municipal permission to connect in several cities. Dearer per Wp than the other markets in the pack **because the installation is to standard, guaranteed and declared**, not because the equipment is. | per Wp | $1 – $2 | 14 R – 29 R | Estimated |
| Battery, per nominal kWhLithium iron phosphate in the overwhelming majority of new installations, lead having all but vanished from housing here. By far the deepest market in this product, shaped by a decade of load shedding. | per kWh | $220 – $480 | 3,507 R – 7,652 R | Estimated |
| Hand-drilled borehole, per metre (to 40 m)No South African driller’s rate obtained. Hand drilling is in fact rare here: the bedrock is hard on the Witwatersrand and the trade is mechanised. The line is kept for consistency of the model rather than for real use. | per metre | $90 – $190 | 1,435 R – 3,029 R | Estimated |
| Rig-drilled borehole, per metre (beyond 40 m)No rate obtained. **This is the normal method here**, with a geohydrological study first and a declaration to the Department of Water: drilling is regulated and domestic use must be registered. An estimate, not a survey. | per metre | $200 – $420 | 3,188 R – 6,695 R | Estimated |
| Labourer | per day | $15 – $22 | 239 R – 351 R | Sourced |
| BricklayerAbout two to three times the legal floor, the usual gap between labourer and skilled worker in a formal market. To be replaced by the building Bargaining Council rates, which exist and have not been obtained. | per day | $26 – $45 | 414 R – 717 R | Estimated |
| Carpenter / shuttering handThe same grade as the mason. Roof carpentry here is largely prefabricated into industrial trusses, which moves part of the work from the site to the shop. | per day | $26 – $45 | 414 R – 717 R | Estimated |
| SteelfixerThe same grade as the mason. Less called on than in West Africa in housing: the South African house is loadbearing brick on a footing, not a concrete frame. | per day | $26 – $45 | 414 R – 717 R | Estimated |
| Registered electrician**A registered profession issuing a certificate of compliance required** for any sale or letting. It is not a dearer trade, it is a closed one: the gap with the other markets in the pack is the barrier to entry, not the standard of living. | per day | $45 – $90 | 717 R – 1,435 R | Estimated |
| Registered plumber (PIRB)The same standing as the electrician: registration with the PIRB is compulsory and a certificate of compliance follows. The same reason for the same gap. | per day | $45 – $90 | 717 R – 1,435 R | Estimated |
| PainterBetween the labourer and the mason: the movement is learned quickly but the finish shows, so the rate sits above the labourer. | per day | $20 – $34 | 319 R – 542 R | Estimated |
| TilerThe same grade as the mason: the difficulty is in the setting out and the flatness, not in the strength. | per day | $26 – $45 | 414 R – 717 R | Estimated |
| Site foremanSupervision, about twice a mason. In a formal market they also carry the safety responsibility under the Construction Regulations, which makes it a skilled position rather than a gangerman. | per day | $55 – $110 | 877 R – 1,754 R | Estimated |
A foreign invoice gets compared against a delivered local price while carrying none of the charges that get it to the same place. Enter your supplier’s CIF quotation: duty, the agency levies and VAT are added in the order the administration applies them.
With no quotation entered, the local price stands in as a worked example.
| CIF value (before the border) | $1,000 |
| Customs duty (10%) | + $100 |
| Maritime freight levy | + $59 |
| Import quality inspection | + $20 |
| Industrial Promotion Fund | + $20 |
| Clearing agent and file charges | + $30 |
| VAT (16%) | + $180 |
| Landed cost, charges included | $1,450 |
Once cleared, importing costs more than the local market.
Landed cost, charges included: $1,450 · Local market: $1,000
Total charges on the CIF value: 40% · Industrial inputs
Assigning a material to a duty band is an interpretation: the rate follows the HS code your agent declares, and agents differ. The rates and the VAT are sourced; the split between agencies is our apportionment of a sourced total.
Some prices above are estimates because no published survey exists. Pick up to eight and Claude will search the web for recent figures and show you its sources. Nothing is changed automatically, and a result with no source is shown as not found rather than as a number.