Free calculator
Bar bending schedule calculator
List the bars in a beam, column or slab, and get each one's cutting length with its bends, hooks and laps, how many to cut, and the weight of steel by bar size in kg and tons. The same cutting rules as the Material Planner.
- Free, no sign-up
- Answers as you type
- Works on your phone
Calculator
Make your bar bending schedule
Add a mark for each bar: its member, shape, legs, size, and how many there are. The schedule gives each bar's cutting length with its bends, hooks and laps, and the weight by bar size.
Steel in the schedule
- To buy
- 101.2 kg3% more for cutting waste
- Bar marks
- 4All counted
By bar size
- 3 sutar, 3/8 in60 bars, 221.2 ft; buy 38.9 kg
- 37.72 kg (0.038 t)
- 4 sutar, 1/2 in4 bars, 59 ft; buy 18.4 kg
- 17.88 kg (0.018 t)
- 5 sutar, 5/8 in6 bars, 90 ft; buy 43.9 kg
- 42.64 kg (0.043 t)
- Grand total
- 98.25 kg (0.098 t)
Cutting lengths by the same rules as the Material Planner in Smart Construction. The bars, shapes and numbers come from the structural engineer's drawings; this counts and weighs them, it does not design them.
Your schedule
Bar bending schedule
Every mark with its cutting length, number and weight, for the bar bender on site.
| Mark | Member | Shape | Bar | Cutting length | Number | Total length (ft) | Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beam B1, bottom bars | Straight bar | 5 sutar (5/8 in) | 14'-9" | 4 | 59 | 27.94 |
| 2 | Beam B1, bent-up bar | Crank bar, 2 cranks | 5 sutar (5/8 in) | 15'-6 1/4" | 2 | 31 | 14.7 |
| 3 | Beam B1, top bars | Straight bar | 4 sutar (1/2 in) | 14'-9" | 4 | 59 | 17.88 |
| 4 | Beam B1, stirrups | Stirrup | 3 sutar (3/8 in) | 3'-8 1/4" | 60 | 221.2 | 37.72 |
| Total | 70 | 370.3 | 98.25 |
Cutting lengths take off the bends and add the hooks and laps, to the nearest 1/4 in. Order 3% more for cutting waste, as the totals above show.
Reference
Cutting length formulas
Each shape, the legs it is measured by, and the straight length of bar it is cut from.
| Shape | Measured by | Cutting length |
|---|---|---|
| Straight bar | a, length | a |
| L bar | a, long leg; b, bent leg | a + b - 2d |
| U bar | a, base; b, leg; c, second leg, if different | a + b + c - 4d |
| Stirrup | a, width; b, depth | 2 × (a + b) + 2 hooks of 9d - 3 bends of 2d - 2 bends of 3d |
| Crank bar | a, length end to end; b, crank height | a + (0.42 × b - 2d) for each crank |
A bar longer than a 40 ft stock bar adds one lap for each stock bar after the first.
Reference
Bends, hooks and laps by bar size
What each bend takes off a bar, and what a hook and a lap add, for every size.
| Bar | 45° bend, 1d (in) | 90° bend, 2d (in) | 135° bend, 3d (in) | Hook, 9d (in) | Lap, 40d (in) | Lap, 50d (in) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 sutar, 1/4 in | 0.25 | 0.5 | 0.75 | 2.25 | 10 | 12.5 |
| 3 sutar, 3/8 in | 0.38 | 0.75 | 1.13 | 3.38 | 15 | 18.75 |
| 4 sutar, 1/2 in | 0.5 | 1 | 1.5 | 4.5 | 20 | 25 |
| 5 sutar, 5/8 in | 0.63 | 1.25 | 1.88 | 5.63 | 25 | 31.25 |
| 6 sutar, 3/4 in | 0.75 | 1.5 | 2.25 | 6.75 | 30 | 37.5 |
| 7 sutar, 7/8 in | 0.88 | 1.75 | 2.63 | 7.88 | 35 | 43.75 |
| 8 sutar, 1 in | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 40 | 50 |
| 10 sutar, 1 1/4 in | 1.25 | 2.5 | 3.75 | 11.25 | 50 | 62.5 |
| Bar | 45° bend, 1d (mm) | 90° bend, 2d (mm) | 135° bend, 3d (mm) | Hook, 9d (mm) | Lap, 40d (mm) | Lap, 50d (mm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 mm | 6 | 12 | 18 | 54 | 240 | 300 |
| 10 mm | 10 | 20 | 30 | 90 | 400 | 500 |
| 12 mm | 12 | 24 | 36 | 108 | 480 | 600 |
| 16 mm | 16 | 32 | 48 | 144 | 640 | 800 |
| 20 mm | 20 | 40 | 60 | 180 | 800 | 1,000 |
| 22 mm | 22 | 44 | 66 | 198 | 880 | 1,100 |
| 25 mm | 25 | 50 | 75 | 225 | 1,000 | 1,250 |
| 32 mm | 32 | 64 | 96 | 288 | 1,280 | 1,600 |
Bend deductions are taken off the sum of the legs; hooks and laps are added to it.
How it is worked out
From the drawing to cutting lengths and kg
A bar bending schedule lists every bar in a member with its shape, size, cutting length and number, so the bar bender can cut and bend the steel and the site can order it. The drawing gives each bar's shape and legs; the schedule turns them into the length of straight bar to cut.
A bar bent round a corner comes out longer, measured along its outside legs, than the straight piece it was cut from, so each bend takes a little off: 1d at 45 degrees, 2d at 90 and 3d at 135, where d is the bar's diameter. A hook at the end of a stirrup adds 9d. A crank, a bar bent up at 45 degrees over a support, adds 0.42 times its height, because the slope is 1.414 times the height it climbs.
So a straight bar is cut to its length, a; an L bar to a + b - 2d; a U bar to a + b + c - 4d; a stirrup to 2 x (a + b) plus two hooks of 9d, less three 90 degree bends and two 135 degree bends, which comes to 2 x (a + b) + 6d; and a crank bar to a + (0.42 x b - 2d) for each crank. These are the rules the Material Planner in Smart Construction uses, so a schedule here and one there agree.
Steel comes from the mill in bars of about 40 ft. A longer run is made of two or more bars lapped, overlapped by 40 or 50 times the diameter as the drawing says, and each lap is added to the cutting length: one lap for each stock bar after the first.
Each bar weighs d x d / 162.2 kg a metre, d in mm, so the schedule's total length of each size gives its weight. Order about 3% more than the total for cutting waste, as the Material Planner does. The bars, shapes, sizes and numbers are for the structural engineer to set; the calculator schedules and weighs them, it does not design them.
On site
Terms you will hear
- Bar mark
- The number a schedule gives each shape of bar in a member, painted or tagged on the bundle so it goes to the right place.
- Cutting length
- The length of straight bar cut to make one bent bar: its legs, less the bends, plus any hooks and laps.
- Stirrup
- A closed ring of thin bar round the main bars of a beam or column, also called a ring or a tie, finished with two hooks.
- Crank
- A bend that lifts a bottom bar to the top over a support, at 45 degrees; a bar with them is a crank or bent-up bar.
- Hook
- The end of a bar bent right round to grip the concrete, 9 times its diameter on a stirrup.
- Lap
- Where one bar overlaps the next to carry the load across, 40 or 50 times the diameter.
- Cover
- The concrete outside the bars. A stirrup is sized to the member less the cover on each side.
Questions
Bar bending schedule questions
Still have a question?
Ask our team during Pakistan business hours, in English or Urdu.
+92 333 2466662Chat on WhatsAppWhat is the cutting length of a stirrup?
2 x (a + b) + 6d, where a and b are the stirrup's width and depth and d its bar's diameter: two hooks of 9d, less three 90 degree bends of 2d and two 135 degree bends of 3d. A 9 x 18 in beam with 1.5 in cover takes a 6 x 15 in stirrup; in 3 sutar (3/8 in) bar that is 2 x (6 + 15) + 6 x 0.375 = 44.25 in, 3'-8 1/4".
What is the cutting length formula for a bent-up bar?
a + (0.42 x b - 2d) for each crank, where a is the bar's length end to end and b the height of the crank: a 45 degree slope is 0.42 times its height longer than the level bar, and its two bends take 1d each. A 5 sutar bar 14'-9" end to end with two 1'-2" cranks is cut to 15'-6 1/4".
How is the steel in a beam calculated?
Schedule each bar, cutting length times number, and weigh each size at d x d / 162.2 kg a metre. The example beam, 15 ft long and 9 x 18 in, with two 5 sutar bars at the bottom and one bent up, two 4 sutar bars at the top and 3 sutar stirrups every 6 in, takes 49.1 kg, about 3.27 kg a running foot. Two of them take 98.2 kg, 101.2 kg to buy with 3% for waste.
Why is a length taken off for each bend?
A bar bent round a corner stretches on the outside of the bend, so measured along its outside legs it comes out longer than the straight piece it was cut from. Taking 1d off for a 45 degree bend, 2d for 90 and 3d for 135 gives the straight length to cut, so the bent bar fits the drawing.
How long is a lap in a steel bar?
As the drawing says, usually 40 or 50 times the bar's diameter: for a 4 sutar (1/2 in) bar, 20 in at 40d and 25 in at 50d. The schedule adds one lap for each 40 ft stock bar after the first that a run needs.
How much does a steel bar weigh per metre?
d x d / 162.2 kg a metre, with d in mm: a 4 sutar bar rolled to 1/2 in (12.7 mm) weighs 0.994 kg a metre, and a 12 mm bar 0.888 kg. The steel weight calculator has the chart for every size.
Plan the materials for the whole job
Smart Construction plans every part of a building from the foundations up, prices it at the rates you actually pay and follows the buying on site.
Call +92 333 2466662 during Pakistan business hours, or book online.