38 free calculators for trades and homeowners

9 calculators

Concrete, Masonry & Stone

Aggregate, block, brick, mortar and stone quantities for concrete and masonry work.

Buying by weight, buying by volume

Almost everything in this category is sold two ways and the two rarely agree. Quarries price by the ton, landscape yards by the cubic yard, and big box stores by the bag. The calculators return all of them so you can take whichever figure matches the quote in front of you.

Density is what connects the two, and it is the number worth checking. A cubic yard of crushed limestone weighs noticeably more than the same volume of lava rock, and damp stock weighs more than dry. Every aggregate tool here lets you overwrite the density with the figure on your supplier’s sheet.

Before you order aggregate

  • Measure the finished depth, after compaction.
  • Ask the yard for the density of the exact product.
  • Check the delivery minimum — part loads often cost the same.
  • Split irregular areas into rectangles and add them.

Questions

About these calculators

Ask us something else

Whichever your supplier quotes in. The two are not interchangeable without knowing the density, which is why these calculators show both. If a yard quotes tons and you have a volume figure, ask them what tonnage they use per cubic yard rather than assuming a standard.

Because masonry units are specified by their nominal size, which includes the joint. A nominal 8 × 16 in block is actually 7⅝ × 15⅝ in, so 1.125 blocks cover a square foot of wall with the joint included. Adding a separate mortar allowance to the count would double-count it.

Five percent on straightforward block or brick walls, ten on aggregate where spreading and compaction lose material. Increase both where there are many cuts, returns or openings, because every cut produces an offcut too small to use elsewhere.

Other categories

Keep browsing

Roofing & Siding Landscaping & Outdoor Pool & Recreation Drywall, Flooring & Interior Lumber & Materials Project Cost Calculators