South Africans entertain outside, so the built-in braai area is one of the most common home projects in the country — and one of the most reliably over-budget. Bricklaying, a countertop, plumbing to a sink, an electrician for lights and plugs, and a roof over the whole thing: it is four trades and a project manager for what people imagine is a weekend job.
The delivered alternative is a single unit that arrives complete. Here is what it costs and where the money goes.
What a delivered outdoor kitchen costs
| Length | Price ex VAT | Approx. weight | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.5 m | R 154 400 | ±500 kg | The compact entertainer |
| 2.9 m | R 164 500 | ±600 kg | Extra prep space |
| 3.5 m | R 183 700 | ±700 kg | Takes the double grill and kettle grill |
| 3.9 m | R 196 800 | ±750 kg | The largest, for serious entertaining |
All four are 0.8 m deep and 2.4 m high, in a wide range of custom colours. Every one arrives with the same core specification: a remote-controlled motorised lift-up roof, a quartz stone countertop with a water-barrier edge, a stainless-steel sink with a pull-out faucet, embedded plumbing and electrical with an outdoor distribution box, recessed lighting and an adjustable LED ambient strip.
The frame is corrosion-resistant galvanised steel with an aluminium-alloy shell, and the interior panels are aluminium honeycomb — high-temperature resistant and wipe-clean after the braai. It is built to live outdoors permanently rather than to be covered up in winter.
Building versus buying
A masonry braai area is genuinely the better answer in some cases — if it has to match existing brickwork, tuck into an awkward corner, or form part of a larger renovation already underway. What it is not is quicker or more predictable.
- Trades. A built braai area needs a bricklayer, a plumber, an electrician and someone for the countertop and roof. The delivered unit needs a level base and two connections.
- Price certainty. You are quoted a figure for a finished unit rather than a rate against a scope that grows.
- Time. Weeks of site work versus a delivery, positioned and connected.
- It can move. A built braai stays with the house. The unit does not have to.
- Layout. This is where building wins — a delivered unit comes in four lengths and one depth, and that is that.
Which extras are worth it
The unit arrives with the countertop, sink, plumbing, electrics and lighting already in. What it does not arrive with is anything to cook on — that is a deliberate choice, because how South Africans cook outside varies enormously.
| Extra | Price ex VAT | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Single gas grill | R 9 300 | The default choice on any length |
| Double gas grill | R 14 100 | 3.5 m and 3.9 m only |
| Kettle grill | R 8 200 | 3.5 m and 3.9 m only — for charcoal |
| Induction flat-top stove | R 4 500 | Pans and sides, not braai duty |
| Extractor fan | R 3 400 | Matters most under a closed roof |
| Bar fridge | R 3 300 | Saves the trip inside |
| Stainless-steel countertop | R 7 800 | Over the quartz, for heavy use |
| Extra cabinet module | R 3 100/m | Storage is the thing people underestimate |
| Outdoor speaker | R 1 900 | Low cost, high use |
| Starry-sky ceiling | R 4 700 | Pure theatre, and it works |
The constraint worth planning around: the double gas grill and the kettle grill are only available on the 3.5 m and 3.9 m units. If you braai over charcoal as well as gas, that decides your length before anything else does. Choosing the 2.9 m to save money and then wanting a kettle grill is the one regret this product reliably produces.
How to choose a length
- Start with how you cook. Charcoal as well as gas means 3.5 m or larger, because of the kettle grill restriction above.
- Then count the people. Prep space is what runs out when you are feeding twelve, not cooking surface.
- Then check the wall. 0.8 m deep and 2.4 m high, so you need the run of space and the height clearance for the roof to lift.
- Then add storage. Extra cabinet modules at R 3 100 per metre are cheap next to the unit and get used every single time.
If the outdoor kitchen is going in alongside a guest unit or a rental cabin, it is worth pricing them together — an Apple Cabin or nature cabin with a proper entertainment area beside it is a materially better letting proposition than either on its own.
Configure a length with the extras you want and see the price update as you go.
See the outdoor kitchensQuick answers
Ours run from R 154 400 ex VAT for the 2.5 m up to R 196 800 for the 3.9 m, delivered ready to use with the motorised roof, quartz countertop, stainless-steel sink and embedded plumbing and electrics included. Cooking appliances are extras, from R 9 300 for a single gas grill.
Sources
Figures we quote from outside our own price list, and where they came from. Prices for our own units come from the same catalogue the product pages use.
- SANS 10400 — the application of the National Building Regulations — sans10400.co.zaRelevant to any permanent outdoor structure, and to the electrical and drainage work feeding it.
- What it costs to build a house in South Africa — ooba Home LoansContext for the conventional building rates a masonry braai area is quoted against.
Price one, or come and see one
The quote builder prices a specific configuration in a couple of minutes. Or book a free viewing and walk through the units at our showroom in Centurion — no deposit, no obligation.