Before you ask for a cold room price, it helps to know the three things that set it: the size of the room, how cold it must run, and how far the condensing unit sits from the box. A walk-in chiller for a restaurant, a freezer room for a butchery and a produce room on a farm are all built from the same parts, sized differently. Tell us what you want to store and where, and cold room suppliers and builders near you quote directly. The request is free and there is no obligation.
What a cold room price includes
A quoted cold room is normally a package. Check that every quote lists the same parts:
- Insulated cold room panels for walls and ceiling, and a floor or floor insulation where needed.
- A hinged or sliding insulated door, with a heater strip on freezer rooms.
- A condensing unit outside and an evaporator inside, with piping and refrigerant.
- A temperature controller with an alarm, lighting and a pressure relief port on freezer rooms.
- Delivery, assembly, electrical connection and commissioning.
Sizes and typical prices
Suppliers' price lists put a 2.4 m by 2.4 m cold room at about R47,000 to R55,000 and a 3 m by 3 m room at about R52,000 to R63,000, with freezer rooms costing more. Installation is often quoted separately at about R8,000 to R25,000 on top of the room, depending on access, pipe runs and electrical work. Work out the size from what you need to store, the shelving, and space to walk and turn with a crate. A room that is too big costs more to build and run; one that is too small gets overloaded.
Chiller room or freezer room
A chiller room for vegetables, dairy, drinks or meat that is sold within days runs at a few degrees above freezing. A freezer room runs at about -18 °C or colder and needs thicker panels, often 100 or 150 mm against 75 or 100 mm for a chiller, plus an insulated floor, a door heater and a bigger refrigeration system. Some sites build a combination room with a chiller in front and a freezer behind.
Site, power and running
Choose a level floor, shade for the condensing unit and good airflow around it. Check that your DB board can take the extra load; the builder will tell you what supply the unit needs. Food businesses usually keep daily temperature logs, so ask for an alarm that alerts you if the room warms up. When something goes wrong later, see cold room repairs.
What to include in your request
- Inside length, width and height you want
- Chiller or freezer, and what you will store
- Where the room and condensing unit will go
- Floor type and access for panels
- Power supply available at the DB board
Cold Rooms for different clients
- Households: a small walk-in chiller for game meat or a home catering business
- Landlords, guest houses and B&Bs: a shared cold room for a lodge, guest farm or wedding venue kitchen
- Shops, cafes and supermarkets: a back-of-shop chiller for drinks and dairy at a supermarket or bottle store
- Restaurants, butcheries and caterers: walk-in chiller and freezer rooms for restaurants, caterers and butcheries
- Farms, packhouses and dairies: produce, milk and meat cold rooms on farms, packhouses and abattoirs
- Factories and cold stores: cold storage rooms for distributors, factories and food processors
- Schools, clinics and public buildings: food storage rooms for hospital kitchens, school feeding schemes and prisons
- Technicians and repairers: cold room kits and panels for refrigeration contractors to install
Frequently asked questions
How much does a cold room cost in South Africa?
Is a used cold room for sale worth buying?
Can a cold room be built inside an existing building?
Who will quote me for a cold room?
Cold Rooms 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