Extensions, back rooms, double storeys, plans, roofing, water and solar each go wrong in their own way. Below, every service names how it goes wrong, what you receive, what it costs and where we stop.
All seven follow the five promises on our About page: a written, itemised quote; price changes in writing; stage payments against photographed milestones; a weekly WhatsApp update; and certificates with a closed snag list before the final payment.
Add the room without adding a problem you will meet at sale.
For homeowners adding a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen or lounge to a house they plan to keep or one day sell.
Buyers ask for approved plans when you sell. Finding them afterwards is hard, because Johannesburg's building plan records are in a poor state.
Most owners hear "the plans can follow" and agree, because it saves time today. It costs you at the sale.
You receive a drawing of where the new walls, floor and roof meet the old house, agreed before building starts. It prevents the damp or cracked line that can open where new work meets old. You know it worked when the finished room shows no seam and matches the drawing.
You receive council-approved plans, submitted by a SACAP-registered professional, in your hands before work starts. It prevents the discovery at sale that your extra room does not officially exist. You know it worked when you hold the approved set and our start date falls after the approval date.
You receive the approved plans, the electrical certificate of compliance from the registered electrician, the plumbing certificate if plumbing was touched, and a snag list. It prevents you paying the last instalment for work you cannot prove. You know it worked when every document is in your hand and the snag list is closed before the final payment.
Statistics South Africa data, analysed by EstimationQS, puts additions and alterations in Gauteng at an average of R10,218 per square metre for January to April 2025. At that average, 30 m² comes to roughly R306,500. Online guides range from R8,500 to R22,000 per square metre, depending on specification.
That is a reference, not a quote. Ground, structure and finishes set your price, so Andrew quotes after seeing the site. The quote is itemised and includes plan approval and certificates.
We do not start before the plans are approved, even if you ask. If you want the room built this month and the paperwork later, we are the wrong builder.
Andrew replies to arrange a free consultation. A written, itemised quote follows once he has seen the site.
A back room earns only if it is legal, dry and has water.
For owners building a room on their own stand to rent out or to house family.
Whether a back room counts as a second dwelling, and what approval it needs, depends on your municipality and your zoning. Finding that out after you have built is the expensive way.
Water is the other half. In October 2026 Rand Water said it was pumping at maximum capacity during a week of outages. A finished room with no water is the first thing a tenant notices.
You receive Andrew's written answer, confirmed with the council and your plan professional, on whether your back room counts as a second dwelling and what approval it needs, before any drawing is paid for. It prevents building a room you cannot legally let. You know it worked when you hold the written answer and the submitted plan matches it.
You receive a damp-proofed floor and walls, the electrical certificate of compliance from a registered electrician and, if the room has a bathroom, the plumbing certificate. It prevents a room that smells of damp within a season and cannot be shown to a buyer on paper. You know it worked when the certificates are in your hand and the final walk-through with Andrew shows dry walls and floor.
You receive a tank sized for your household and the new room, on a prepared base, priced together with the building. It prevents a finished room that has no water the first time supply fails. You know it worked when the tank is full and connected at handover and you have seen it supply the room.
At the Gauteng additions average of R10,218 per square metre, a 25 m² room comes to about R255,000, before the tank, any bathroom and the plan fees. A JoJo tank of 2,000 to 5,000 litres sells for R4,000 to R10,000.
Andrew prices the room, the tank and the plan approval in one itemised quote. If you plan to rent the room out, bring your expected rent to the consultation, and he runs the payback with your numbers.
We do not promise a rent or a return, and we cannot make a back room legal where your zoning does not allow one. If the check says no, you hear it before you pay for a drawing.
Andrew replies to arrange a free consultation. A written, itemised quote follows once he has seen the site.
Go up only after the ground says yes.
For owners whose stand is too small to spread out on, or whose family needs more space without moving.
A second storey puts new weight on foundations and walls built for one. The house may carry it, or it may need strengthening, and nobody knows which until an engineer has looked.
A builder who quotes first and checks later is guessing with your money.
You receive a structural engineer's written assessment of whether your foundations and walls can carry a second storey, and what strengthening would cost. It prevents you paying for drawings of a floor your house cannot support. You know it worked when the assessment is in your hands before drawings are ordered and the quote follows its findings.
You receive a written programme with the dates the old roof comes off and the new roof goes on, and what covers the house in between. It prevents a house left open to the weather with no end date. You know it worked when each date appears in the weekly WhatsApp update, with a photograph, until the new roof is on.
You receive council-approved plans before building starts. At completion you receive the certificates from the registered tradespeople and a snag list you walk through with Andrew. It prevents paying in full for a storey with open items. You know it worked when the list is closed, in writing, before you make the last payment.
Online guides put building costs in Gauteng between R8,500 and R22,000 per square metre, depending on specification. A second storey also carries the engineer's assessment, any strengthening, and a roof that comes off and goes back on, which a ground-floor extension does not.
For that reason Andrew names no figure until the engineer has reported. The quote is itemised and written once he holds the findings.
If the engineer says your foundations cannot carry a second storey, or strengthening costs more than you want to spend, we tell you to stop. You will have paid only for the assessment.
Andrew replies to arrange a free consultation. A written, itemised quote follows once he has seen the site.
Plans approved by the council, with a status update every week.
For owners who need drawings and council approval for an extension, a back room or a second storey.
The law gives the City of Johannesburg 30 days for a building under 500 m². Approvals in Gauteng take 6 to 12 weeks in practice.
The wait is worse when nobody tells you where your application stands.
You receive the plan set, drawn and submitted through the City's system by a SACAP-registered professional. It prevents a submission from someone who may not submit it. You know it worked when the professional's SACAP number is on your paperwork and checks out on the SACAP register.
You receive a short WhatsApp message each week saying where your application stands, including the weeks when the answer is "no movement". It prevents waiting in silence and not knowing whether to chase. You know it worked when the message arrives every week. If a week passes without one, tell us.
You receive structural drawings and the engineer's sign-off whenever walls, foundations or a new storey are involved. It prevents a submission missing structural information. You know it worked when the engineer's name and registration number are on the drawings.
House plans in South Africa range from about R15,000 for basic services to R100,000 and more for custom design, according to ProCompare's 2025 guide. Andrew lists drawings and engineer as separate lines in the written quote, so you see the cost of approval before you commit.
We cannot make the council faster, and we will not promise an approval date. We promise the weekly update, and that nothing is built before the approval arrives.
Andrew replies to arrange a free consultation. A written, itemised quote follows once he has seen the site.
A roof designed for what sits underneath it.
For owners replacing a roof, or adding one over an extension, a back room or a new storey.
A roof drawn on its own can leak where it meets the old roof, and may not be able to carry solar panels later.
The roof sits on top of everything else, so a failed roof damages the work beneath it.
You receive roof drawings made together with the walls and, for a new storey, with the engineer's drawings. It prevents a roof that does not match the walls beneath it. You know it worked when the roof and the walls appear in one drawing set.
You receive a drawing showing how the new roof meets the old, agreed before the roof is ordered. It prevents the leak at the junction. You know it worked when Andrew walks you through the detail on site before the roofers start, and the ceiling at the join stays dry after the first heavy rain.
You receive a written note on whether the new roof can carry solar panels and where they would sit. It prevents finding out after the roof is on that panels would need strengthening. You know it worked when the note is in your quote file and Andrew can point to the spot on the roof.
Andrew does not publish a price per square metre for roofing. Pitch, span, material and the condition of the walls decide the number, and he writes the quote after inspecting the house.
If your walls are damp or moving, we say so and quote the wall repair first. We will not put a new roof on a wall that cannot hold it.
Andrew replies to arrange a free consultation. A written, itemised quote follows once he has seen the site.
Water that lasts the outage, and is safe to drink at the end of it.
For households that lose supply and want storage, and households that want the stored water safe to drink.
In October 2026 Rand Water said it was pumping at maximum capacity during a week of outages. A tank that is too small runs dry on day two.
A tank that lets light in can grow algae, and a tank that is never cleaned can turn the water you stored.
You receive a tank volume calculated from your household's daily use and the number of days you want to cover, on a prepared base. It prevents running dry on day two. You know it worked when the number of days the tank covers is written in the quote.
You receive a tank with a sealed lid, shaded or dark-lined, and a printed cleaning schedule. It prevents algae and contamination in the water you stored. You know it worked when you can see the sealed lid and the schedule is in your hand.
You receive a purification unit specified for the water that fills your tank (municipal, borehole or rain), fitted at the drinking tap by a PIRB-registered plumber, with the plumbing certificate. It prevents drinking untreated stored water. You know it worked when the plumber's PIRB number and certificate are in your hand and the unit's specification names your water source.
JoJo tanks of 2,000 to 5,000 litres sell for R4,000 to R10,000. A JoJo bulk-storage listing from 2024 priced a 5,250-litre tank at R7,544 and a concrete base slab at R6,095, both including VAT.
Add the plumbing, a pump if you need one, and the purification unit, and you have the shape of the number. Andrew itemises each part.
We specify purification for the water that goes in. If your source is a borehole or rain, the unit differs, and we tell you what we cannot know until the source is checked. We do not promise bottled-water quality.
Andrew replies to arrange a free consultation. A written, itemised quote follows once he has seen the site.
Solar sized to your bill, filed and certified.
For households whose electricity bill justifies it, and who want the system registered properly.
Demand for residential solar has fallen an estimated 65 to 80 percent from its 2023 peak, because load shedding has eased. The case for solar now rests on your bill.
Eskom's tariff rose 12.74 percent for direct customers in April 2025, and municipal tariffs rose 11.32 percent from July 2025. A further 5.36 percent is approved for 2026.
You receive a system size calculated from your electricity bills and from when your household uses power. It prevents paying for panels your usage does not justify. You know it worked when the sizing and a payback figure appear in the quote, worked from your own bills.
You receive the registration filed with your distributor, Eskom or your municipality, before installation, with a written record of the filing. It prevents an unregistered system. Johannesburg has said it wants to use satellites and drones to find them. You know it worked when you hold the filing reference.
You receive the electrical certificate of compliance from a registered person, as the Electrical Installation Regulations require. It prevents a system nobody is accountable for. You know it worked when the certificate is in your hand with the electrician's registration number on it.
Andrew does not publish a price for solar. System size, battery or no battery, and the condition of your roof move the number. He prices from your bills after seeing the roof.
City Power says it charges no fee to register a system. Any filing work we do is its own line in the quote.
We do not promise a bill saving. If your bill is too low for solar to pay back in a time you would accept, Andrew says so at the consultation and does not quote.
We also cannot speed up City Power. It requires approval before installation and has a backlog of earlier applications. Where it applies to you, we tell you what to expect.
Andrew replies to arrange a free consultation. A written, itemised quote follows once he has seen the site.
Four combinations come up often. In each, the two services share one quote and one programme.
The room has water the first time supply fails.
The roof comes off for the new floor, so one programme covers both.
The roof is checked for panels before it is built, and solar is sized after.
Approval comes first, and the build starts after it, in the same quote.
You can hire the bricklayer, the roofer, the electrician and the plumber yourself and save the builder's margin. Some owners do this well.
The cost is time and coordination. Someone books each trade after the one before it finishes, decides who fixes a bad junction, and chases every certificate. If that someone is you, it comes out of your weekends and your working days.
If you are comparing quotes, compare what each one includes. Ask whether the price covers plan approval, the certificates, and a final payment held until the snag list closes. A quote that leaves those out looks cheaper because it does less.
Send Andrew the other quotes. He will mark what each one leaves out.
Andrew comes to the site. Bring anyone who has a say in the decision, so the quote answers their questions too. The meeting covers four things:
You leave without a price. The written, itemised quote follows once he has seen the site.
Send your suburb, the service you need, a short description and a few photos of the space if you have them. Andrew replies to arrange a free consultation, and you receive a written quote once he has seen the site.