Need lapa designs in Eastern Cape? Thatch.co.za puts homeowners, estates, lodges, guesthouses and farms in Eastern Cape in touch with lapa designers, builders and thatchers serving towns and cities across Eastern Cape. Send one request with the size of the building, the roof shape and the pitch, and they quote you directly, free and with no obligation.
Lapa Designs and Building in Eastern Cape
Planning a lapa in Eastern Cape? Say how many people it should seat, whether you want a braai, bar or pool lapa, the style you have in mind and the space you have. Lapa builders serving Eastern Cape and Eastern Cape can then suggest a design and quote you directly.
The main lapa designs page explains the options, the materials and the costs in more detail.
What to know locally in Eastern Cape
In St Francis Bay, owners often follow local architectural guidelines that ask for a <a href="/thatch-houses/">thatched roof</a> and white walls, so check the rules before planning. Game reserves around Makhanda and the Sundays River valley ask for chalets and bomas. In rural areas around Mthatha, Butterworth and the Wild Coast, <a href="/rondavels/">rondavels</a> are built and re-roofed in the traditional way. Gqeberha suburbs such as Walmer and Lorraine have garden lapas.
Thatch in Eastern Cape
Few provinces have as much variety under thatch as the Eastern Cape. Round homesteads with grass roofs are part of village life across the former Transkei around Mthatha and the Wild Coast. The private game reserves between Makhanda, Alicedale and Port Alfred have thatched lodges and bomas. Coastal towns such as Jeffreys Bay, St Francis Bay, Kenton-on-Sea and Port Alfred have holiday homes, and St Francis Bay is known for its white walls under dark thatch roofs. Gqeberha and East London have garden lapas. The weather swings from wind and salt on the coast to dry Karoo heat around Graaff-Reinet. Grass grows in the east of the province, and Cape reed comes from the southern Cape.
The requests we see from Eastern Cape usually come from:
- Homeowners: a braai or pool lapa sized for the family table and placed out of the wind
- Farms and smallholdings: a large farm lapa for gatherings, with a long table and a big built braai
- Game lodges and bush camps: a boma with an open centre for the fire and seating under thatch around it
Local tips for Eastern Cape
Thatchers serving Eastern Cape mostly work from here: gqeberha, East London and St Francis Bay; rural crews in the Mthatha area. The jobs that come up most: coastal holiday homes, game reserve lodges, rondavels, re-thatching older roofs. When you ask for quotes, in St Francis Bay, ask for the local roof guidelines before you get quotes.
Around Eastern Cape the largest group asking is homeowners, which usually means a braai or pool lapa sized for the family table and placed out of the wind. Before you agree to anything: seating, fire distances and orientation. Getting a crew there: crews from Gqeberha and East London; reed from the southern Cape.
Service area: Eastern Cape and surrounds
Across Eastern Cape our network reaches Gqeberha, East London, Mthatha, Makhanda, Jeffreys Bay, Port Alfred, Graaff-Reinet and the towns between them. Outside the bigger centres, ask where the crew is based and how long they need to stay on site.