A panel cold room is built from insulated sandwich panels: two thin steel skins bonded to a foam core, usually polyurethane, that lock together at the joints. The same panels are used for small kitchen chillers, large freezer stores and insulated rooms in packhouses. Whether you need a full panel kit, a few replacement panels or a new cold room door, tell us the sizes and thickness. Panel suppliers and cold room builders near you quote directly. Sending a request is free and does not commit you to anything.
Panel thickness and temperature
Thickness is the first choice. As a rough guide:
- 75 mm or 100 mm for chiller rooms holding produce, drinks or dairy.
- 100 mm or 150 mm for freezer rooms at about -18 °C or colder.
- Thicker panels where the room stands in a hot building or in the sun.
Thicker panels cost more per m² but keep the cooling system from working as hard. Freezer rooms also need an insulated floor to stop the ground below freezing and lifting the slab.
Joints, finishes and doors
Panels join with tongue and groove edges, often pulled tight with cam locks, and the joints are sealed with silicone inside and out. Food rooms usually use smooth white steel skins that wipe clean; some use stainless steel where hygiene matters more. Ask how corners and the ceiling are hung. The door is the weak point of any room: choose hinged or sliding, check the gasket, the inside release and, on a freezer room, the door heater strip. A strip curtain behind the door helps keep cold air in.
Prices and what affects them
Suppliers quote panels at about R790 to R890 per m² before VAT, or about R1,200 to R3,200 per panel, depending on thickness, length and finish. To estimate how much you need, add the area of all four walls and the ceiling, then the floor for a freezer room. Doors, corner profiles, sealants and fixings add to the total. A builder who supplies the cooling system as well will quote the complete cold room.
Used cold room panels
Used panels for sale can save money, but check every one. Dents and bent edges stop joints sealing. Wet or crushed foam loses its insulation and can grow mould. Panels cut for another room may not suit your size. Ask the seller for the thickness and lengths, and look at the tongue and groove edges before you pay.
What to include in your request
- Room inside size or the panel area in m²
- Chiller or freezer, so the right thickness
- Skin finish: white steel or stainless
- Doors needed: size, hinged or sliding
- Delivery address and offloading access
Cold Room Panels for different clients
- Households: a small insulated room in a garage for game meat or home catering stock
- Landlords, guest houses and B&Bs: panels for a cold room at a lodge, guest farm or function venue
- Shops, cafes and supermarkets: a back-of-shop chiller built from panels behind a supermarket or butchery
- Restaurants, butcheries and caterers: walk-in chiller and freezer rooms for restaurants, bakeries and caterers
- Farms, packhouses and dairies: insulated produce stores, packhouse rooms and abattoir chillers
- Factories and cold stores: large cold stores, insulated warehouses and clean rooms in food factories
- Schools, clinics and public buildings: panel cold rooms for hospital and school kitchens and food banks
- Technicians and repairers: panel kits, doors and replacement panels for cold room contractors
Frequently asked questions
How much do cold room panels cost per m²?
What thickness panel do I need for a freezer room?
Can I replace a damaged panel in an existing cold room?
Who supplies the panels quoted through this site?
Cold Room Panels by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg