July covered the 36 most volatile materials. This cycle covers all 87 in the library, so the trades that were still on a June capture — glazing, electrical, ironmongery, ceilings, external works — now carry September dates alongside everything else. Ninety-three rates moved; the aggregate barely did.
Rate update
Timber is the one to watch
- 93/134
- Rates moved
- 87
- Materials repriced
- +23.6%
- SA Pine 50×76
- −17.4%
- Rhinolite skim
The needle
Three things that moved it
01 · Timber
+23.6%
Roof timber kept climbing
50×76 SA Pine is up again, now R34.76 a metre against R28.11 in July. Roof trusses follow at +13.5% and timber frames at +9.0%. This is the one clear directional move in the whole cycle.
02 · Masonry
+6.6%
Brick went up, as flagged
Union Bricks let the R3 200 price lapse on 31 July and republished at R3 400. We called this in issue 01. Mass brickwork is up 1.5% and one-brick walls 1.8% — contained, because the cheaper suppliers held.
03 · Ceilings
−17.4%
Rhinolite came off hard
All three suppliers are selling below the July basket — Cashbuild R398.95 against R527.95 six weeks ago. Skim coat drops 7.7% and plaster rates ease with it.
Coverage
What this cycle touched
- 87
- Materials
- 261
- Supplier listings
- 19
- Trade bills updated
- 2 642
- Priced rows
UpDown
| Material | Movement | Change | Previous rate | New rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drainage fitting no | +32.7% | R 93.06 | R 123.46 | |
| Sheet-metal flashing m | +14.8% | R 188.00 | R 215.86 | |
| Precast paving m² | +13.7% | R 528.41 | R 601.00 | |
| Roof truss no | +13.5% | R 1 198.93 | R 1 360.69 | |
| DPC m² | +12.1% | R 23.00 | R 25.79 | |
| Roof timber member m | +11.8% | R 51.39 | R 57.46 | |
| Cable ladder/tray m | +11.5% | R 148.77 | R 165.83 | |
| Timber frame no | +9.0% | R 351.14 | R 382.91 | |
| LED downlight no | −35.7% | R 351.23 | R 225.78 | |
| Valve/stopcock no | −23.5% | R 203.77 | R 155.83 | |
| Urinal no | −22.9% | R 3 127.07 | R 2 410.74 | |
| Concrete roof tiling m² | −21.9% | R 252.88 | R 197.44 | |
| Ridge/hip tiling m | −13.1% | R 101.98 | R 88.67 | |
| Tap/mixer no | −12.6% | R 494.76 | R 432.51 | |
| Cable m | −8.8% | R 54.11 | R 49.38 | |
| Light/switch point no | −7.7% | R 633.91 | R 584.82 | |
−40%0%+40% |
Read-across
What this means for your bills
Practical read-across
- The headline is stability, not movement. 49 rates up, 44 down, median change close to zero. On a mixed bill the net effect is close to nil. The individual percentages matter; the aggregate does not.
- Roof carpentry is the exception. Timber has now risen two cycles running. Any roof package priced before July is understated, and a truss quotation older than six weeks should be refreshed before award.
- Four lines now benchmark against standard-grade items. LED downlights, urinals, valves and concrete roof tiles are priced this cycle on the standard product a typical bill would specify, rather than a premium variant. Treat the new figures as the working benchmark, not as evidence of a falling market.
- Trades that were on a June capture are now current. Glazing, electrical, ironmongery, ceilings and external works were outside the July volatile set. They have been re-sourced and carry September dates.
On the watch list
- Hot-dip galvanising still has no published rate. Second cycle running. It is carried at the June figure and must be quoted for any structural steel package — do not price it off the sheet.
- Nutec Hardware has closed its online store. One of our three fibre-cement sources is gone. Its July price is carried for now; a replacement supplier is needed before the next cycle.
Sense-check
Where the finished rates land
Rate movements are only half the picture. The other half is whether the building they add up to still prices sensibly. Our cost pages carry planning-stage build rates by city, excluding VAT, professional fees, land and site works:
| City | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johannesburg | R 9 000 | R 11 000 | R 14 000 |
| Cape Town | R 10 170 | R 12 430 | R 15 820 |
| Durban | R 9 990 | R 12 210 | R 15 540 |
| Bloemfontein | R 7 650 | R 9 350 | R 11 900 |
Read the band, not the midpoint. A bill priced off this library should land inside it; if it does not, the difference is in the specification, the site, or the preliminaries — and it is worth knowing which before you submit.
The workbook
Where the numbers live
Download
The priced rate library
2 642 priced rows across 19 trade bills, each carrying its source citation, plus the full rate build-ups and the supplier price library behind them. Settings, preliminaries, piling, lateral support, provisional sums and the final summary are unchanged from the previous version.
setout-rate-library-2026-09.xlsxXLSX · 1.4 MB · 34 sheets
Method
How the rates are built
ASAQS Standard System build-ups — materials at quantity × supplier price, labour at the BIBC schedule plus 30% employer on-cost, then 12.5% profit. Quantities and labour constants did not change this cycle. Supplier entries: 87 verified against the live supplier page, 43 taken from Builders listings, and 131 held at their July price where the retailer no longer publishes one. These are estimating benchmarks — verify against project quotations before any tender award or adjudication recommendation.
By Setout. General guidance, not project-specific advice.
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