Home improvement in Mpumalanga

The Highveld: hail country

A study of South African Weather Service hail records from 1962 to 1986 found the highest frequency of hail days at any point in north-eastern South Africa on the Mpumalanga Highveld. The season runs mainly from October to March, peaks in November, and most storms arrive in the afternoon.

If you live on the Highveld, treat hail as a design condition rather than bad luck. Ask roofing contractors how their proposed covering stands up to impact, and how roof-mounted solar panels and solar geysers will be protected. Covered parking under a carport saves a lot of panel-beating. Frosty winters also make underfloor heating and heat pumps worth pricing; see underfloor heating costs.

Undermined ground and boreholes around eMalahleni

Coal mining has left land around eMalahleni (Witbank) where development is restricted because of old underground workings. Subsidence occurs in places, particularly where the pillars of coal originally left to hold up the workings were later mined out and the tunnels collapsed.

Mining has also fractured rock and changed groundwater in the area, and some borehole water is no longer suitable for domestic use. If you are buying land or planning new building work here, check its mining history first. If you rely on a borehole, have the water tested before you connect it to your house supply or pool, and talk to a plumber about filtration.

Rooftop solar: Mbombela, eMalahleni and Steve Tshwete

The City of Mbombela accepts rooftop solar and other small-scale embedded generation onto its network, with an official application process and an approved SSEG tariff. Registered SSEG capacity in the city rose from 15 MWp in 2020 to 35 MWp in 2023. eMalahleni likewise has an application process and an approved tariff.

In Steve Tshwete, which includes Middelburg, you need the municipality's written approval before connecting solar to the grid. Separate building approval applies to tall installations: roof panels more than 1.5 m proud of the roof surface or 600 mm above the ridge, or free-standing arrays over 2.1 m.

Whichever municipality you are in, make the application part of your installer's job, and use the solar power cost guide to compare prices.

Lowveld homes and quotes

In the wetter Lowveld, focus on gutters, waterproofing and keeping vegetation trimmed back from roofs and walls; a tree felling contractor can deal with overhanging branches. When you are ready, Home Improvement Hub lets you request up to three quotes for free, drawing on 200+ registered providers nationally.