Free tool
Construction material calculator
Work out the cement, sand, crush, bricks and steel for concrete, brick walls, plaster and steel bars, in the units you buy them in: bags, cft and trolleys, bricks and kg.
- Free, no account needed
- Wastage included
- Add your rates for a cost
Calculator
Work out your materials
Add each part of the work and give its size, then calculate. Concrete, walls, plaster and steel can go in together, up to 30 parts at a time.
Reading the numbers
What the numbers include
The quantities are what to buy, not only what ends up in the work. Each one carries an allowance for wastage and is rounded up to what a supplier sells: whole 50 kg bags of cement and whole bricks. Sand and crush are given in cft and in trolleys of 100 cft.
Concrete, mortar and plaster are measured as finished work. Cement, sand and crush take up more room dry than they do once mixed with water, so the dry materials come to more than the finished volume: about 1.54 times for concrete, and about 1.3 times for mortar and plaster.
Steel is weighed from the bar size and length, with an allowance for laps and bends. Shuttering, labour and delivery are not included, and a cost, when you add your rates, is for the quantities to buy at those rates.
Measuring
How to measure each part
A tape and the drawings are enough. Measure the finished work, not the materials.
- Concrete
- Give the length and width in feet and the thickness in inches. For footings, columns or beams of the same size, enter one and say how many there are. If you already know the volume in cft, measure by volume instead.
- Brick walls
- Add up the length of walls of the same thickness and height, in feet, and give the height. Enter doors and windows in square feet so they are left out.
- Plaster
- Enter the area to plaster in square feet. Count each face of a wall on its own, and add ceilings if they are plastered too.
- Steel bars
- Count the bars of one size and give the length of one bar in feet. Add a row for each bar size.
- Feet and inches
- Type lengths the way a drawing prints them, such as 12'-6" or 12 6, or in metres such as 3.8m. The calculator reads them as feet.
Beyond one calculation
Plan the whole job in Smart Construction
This calculator works out one part at a time. Smart Construction takes the whole job, from the first plan to the last delivery on site.
- Plan every part of the house or building, from the foundations to the plaster, in one place.
- Price the plan at the rates you actually pay your suppliers, not a price list.
- Track what is bought on site against the plan, so an overrun shows while you can still act on it.
Book a demoor send your details and we will call you back.
Talk to our team
We respond to qualified enquiries quickly during Pakistan business hours.
- Fast response
- No obligation
- Smart Construction team
Questions
Material calculator questions
Still have a question?
Ask our team during Pakistan business hours, in English or Urdu.
+92 333 2466662Chat on WhatsAppIs the material calculator free to use?
Yes. It is free and needs no account. We do not keep the measurements you type. If you send the form on this page, we keep your contact details and the totals you worked out, so our team can call you back with them in hand.
Does the calculator include wastage?
Yes. It adds 2% to cement, 5% to sand, crush and bricks, and 3% to steel, then rounds cement up to whole bags and bricks up to whole bricks, because that is how you buy them.
How many bags of cement does a cft of concrete need?
Before wastage, a cft of M15 (1:2:4) concrete needs about 0.18 of a 50 kg bag, so a bag makes about 5.7 cft. A bag makes about 10.5 cft of lean PCC (1:4:8) and about 4.5 cft of M20 (1:1.5:3).
How big is a trolley of sand or crush?
The calculator takes a tractor trolley as 100 cft. Trolleys differ between suppliers and cities, so ask yours what they load, and go by the cft figure when in doubt.
Which steel bar sizes can I work out?
Bars from 1/4 in (2 sutar) to 1 in (8 sutar). The weight comes from the bar size and length, with an allowance for laps and bends, and is given in kg and in tons.
Can I plan a whole house with it?
You can add up to 30 parts at a time, which covers most houses in outline. Smart Construction plans the whole job, prices it at your own rates and follows the buying on site. Book a demo to see it on your own project.
See it on your own projects
Book a walkthrough built around how your company plans, buys and builds, or compare Smart Construction plans in rupees first.
Call +92 333 2466662 during Pakistan business hours, or book online.