Pricing Guide
How Much Does a Coolroom Cost in Sydney?
A straight answer from a builder, not a lead-farm listicle: what the parts cost, what moves the total up or down, and how to get a firm number for your site without a week of phone tag.
The Short Version
- Panel supply: typically $40 to $70 per square metre depending on core (EPS-FR or PIR) and thickness.
- Small modular walk-in coolrooms: commonly $6,000 to $15,000 installed depending on size and spec.
- Custom commercial rooms: priced on design. Size, temperature, doors, floor and site conditions set the number, which is why serious builders quote after a site inspection.
- Freezer rooms: cost more than the same-size coolroom, because sub-zero changes the panels, doors, floor and refrigeration.
Every figure above is a guide, not a quote. Two rooms with identical dimensions can land thousands of dollars apart once floor construction, door count and compliance requirements are on the table. That is not pricing games, it is the physics of holding temperature on your particular site.
What Actually Drives Coolroom Cost
Size and shape. Panels are the most visible cost, and bigger rooms need more of them, but cost per square metre usually falls as size grows because doors, refrigeration and setup spread across more area.
Temperature.The colder the room, the thicker the panel, the bigger the refrigeration and the more critical the details. A chiller at +4°C and a freezer at -20°C are different builds even at the same footprint. Freezers add heated door frames and, on permanent on-grade rooms, frost heave protection in the floor.
Panel selection. EPS-FR is the cost effective workhorse for standard cold storage and food grade rooms. PIR costs more per panel but delivers higher thermal performance and fire resistance, and is the default for freezers and stricter compliance environments.
Doors. Sliding, bi-part, hinged and custom sizes all carry different costs, and the door is the single most common failure point on a cheap build. A quality door with proper seals costs more on day one and less every day after.
Site conditions. Floor loading, access, drainage, power supply and council requirements are where identical-looking jobs diverge. This is the part no online calculator can see, and it is exactly what our free site inspection pins down before we put a number on paper.
Cheap Now vs Cheap to Run
A coolroom is a running-cost machine: every weak seal, thin panel and poorly placed door is a power bill surcharge that repeats monthly for a decade. The cheapest build almost never yields the cheapest room. When you compare quotes, compare panel specification, door quality and floor detail, not just the bottom line, and ask what the builder does when something fails in year three. Our answer: the crew that built it comes back.
How to Get a Firm Number
Use the online quote form: room type, rough size and timing take about two minutes, and the spec lands directly with our team. We call to confirm details, do a free site inspection, and hand you a written quote for your actual site. No obligation, and no guessing built into the number.
Coolroom Cost FAQs
How much does a small walk-in coolroom cost in Sydney?
Small modular walk-in coolrooms typically start around $6,000 to $8,000 supplied and installed, with the final figure depending on panel thickness, door selection and refrigeration. Custom-built rooms are priced on design.
How much do coolroom panels cost?
Panel supply typically runs $40 to $70 per square metre depending on core and thickness. That is supply only: a finished room adds doors, fixings, labour, refrigeration, flooring and compliance work.
Why is a freezer room more expensive than a coolroom?
Thicker (usually PIR) panels to hold sub-zero temperatures, heated door frames to stop ice on the seals, higher capacity refrigeration, and floor detail including frost heave protection on permanent on-grade rooms. Every one of those exists to keep running costs and failures down over the life of the room.
Is there a cool room cost calculator?
Instant calculators can only price the panels; they cannot see your floor, access, drainage or compliance requirements, which is where real money moves. Our online quote form captures your room spec in two minutes and we come back with a real number after a free site inspection.
Does a bigger coolroom cost more per square metre?
Usually the opposite: cost per square metre tends to fall as rooms get bigger, because doors, refrigeration and site setup are spread across more area. Which is why a quote for your actual size beats scaling someone else's price.
Get a Real Number for Your Site
Every project is different, so we start with a site visit rather than a guess over the phone. We assess your space, talk through temperature requirements and floor considerations, and put together a detailed quote based on what your business actually needs. No obligation, just a straight answer on what is involved and what it will cost.