Getting a unit onto a stand in KwaZulu-Natal is as much about access as about the building. Describe both in a free request for granny flats in KwaZulu-Natal, and a builder serving towns, townships and farms across KwaZulu-Natal will price it.
Granny Flats for KwaZulu-Natal
Planning a granny flat in KwaZulu-Natal? Say how big it must be, how many bedrooms and bathrooms, where it will stand on the plot, and whether you already have approved plans and a slab. Builders and suppliers who work in KwaZulu-Natal and across KwaZulu-Natal will quote the unit, the slab and delivery.
New to this? Read the granny flats guide for the choices and the points worth checking before you pay.
On the ground in KwaZulu-Natal
Schools across the province use prefab classrooms, from rural Zululand to fast growing areas near Cornubia and Ballito. Contractors at Richards Bay, the Durban harbour and near King Shaka airport hire site offices and ablution units. Wooden cabins and chalets suit guest farms near Underberg, Himeville and the Champagne Valley, and granny flats in Durban North, Amanzimtoti and Scottburgh are often let to holiday visitors or students.
Sizes run from small studios to 2 bedroom units. Before you agree to anything: approved plans needed: it is a dwelling.
Prefab and timber building in KwaZulu-Natal
Humidity is the steady enemy of prefab buildings in KwaZulu-Natal. On the coast from Port Shepstone to Ballito and Richards Bay, salt air rusts steel and fixings, and damp gets into any timber that is not sealed. Inland, the Midlands around Howick and Nottingham Road and the Drakensberg foothills near Underberg and Bergville build log cabins, chalets and cottages for guests. Durban townships such as Umlazi, KwaMashu and Inanda add backyard rooms and granny flats on steep stands, and sugar cane and timber farms need staff housing. Steep slopes, heavy summer rain and termites in the warmer areas call for a careful base and treated wood. Plans go to the local municipality before anything is built.
The requests we see from KwaZulu-Natal usually come from:
- Backyard landlords and families: a 1 or 2 bedroom unit on the plot let out for steady monthly rent
- Homeowners: a cottage behind the main house for an elderly parent or a grown child
- Lodges, guest farms and resorts: a self-catering guest cottage beside the owner's house on a guest farm
- Farms and smallholdings: a small cottage for a farm manager or family near the main farmhouse
Getting it right in KwaZulu-Natal
Common here: backyard rooms on steep stands, Midlands and Berg cabins, cane farm housing. Ask each supplier or builder about this: ask for coated roof sheets and fixings near the sea, and how they handle the slope. Where they work from: yards around Durban, Pinetown and Pietermaritzburg; others near Richards Bay.
Weather first: humid summers, heavy rain and coastal salt air; snow and frost in the Berg. Then the client: in KwaZulu-Natal most requests come from backyard landlords and families, usually for a 1 or 2 bedroom unit on the plot let out for steady monthly rent.
Where we take requests around KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal is a big province for a flatbed. Requests from Durban, Pietermaritzburg, Umhlanga, Ballito, Richards Bay, Newcastle, Port Shepstone and the farms around them go to suppliers who already make that trip; say how good the last stretch of road is.