This material calculator helps you estimate material required to complete a construction.
Our material calculator is an online tool that helps you calculate how much material you need to complete any construction project. This tool only requires basic information such as the size of the area (length, width, and depth) and material type and that’s it. The calculator then shows you how much material you’ll need to cover that specific area right away.
For Example,
If you are going to paint a wall, this calculator will tell you how much paint you need to buy according to the wall size. This way, you can make sure you buy the right amount of material, not too much, or not too little. So that you can easily complete your project without wasting money or running out of supplies.
The construction material calculator can estimate the results for different types of materials, such as:
✔️ Limestone
✔️ Gravel
✔️ Recycled Concrete
✔️ Sand
✔️ Black Dirt
✔️ Sand Stone
✔️ Crusted Stone
✔️ Basalt
Calculating the amount of material needed is much easier with the material calculator. But if you prefer to calculate it manually, use the following formulas:
For most of the materials, you first need to figure out how much area the material will fill. This is what we call the “volume”. The formula to calculate volume is:
This formula gives you the volume in cubic units (e.g., cubic feet).
For many projects, the volume is measured in cubic yards, especially when you have to work with aggregates or concrete. So to convert the above cubic feet values into cubic yards, you can use the following formula:
Because 1 cubic yard is equal to 27 cubic feet, so we will divide cubic feet values by 27
When it comes to calculating the material in tons, your next step and final step is to convert the volume into weight. To do this, you can use the below formula:
The different types of materials have different ranges of densities. To make it easy for you, we have included a table below so that you can make your concepts more clear:
| Material | Type/ Size | Density Ton/yd³ |
|---|---|---|
| Limestone | ⅜” Chips | 1.323 |
| Limestone | Grade 8 | 1.314 |
| Limestone | ¾” Stone | 1.273 |
| Limestone | 1 ½” Stone | 1.39 |
| Gravel | 1 ½” Gravel | 1.391 |
| Gravel | ¾” Gravel | 1.404 |
| Gravel | ⅜” Pea Gravel | 1.363 |
| Recycled Concrete | Grade 8 | 1.269 |
| Sand | FM02 | 1.283 |
| Black Dirt | Black Dirt | 1.303 |
| Sand Stone | Sand Stone | 1.96 |
| Crusted Stone | Crusted Stone | 1.35 |
| Basalt | Basalt | 2.538 |
Let’s go through a real-life example to have a better understanding:
Scenario:
Let’s say you plan to create a pathway in your garden. The path is 12 feet long, 4 feet in width, and 0.5 feet in depth. Now you need to figure out how much gravel you will need to cover the entire path.
To calculate the volume in cubic feet, use the above-discussed formula, which is:
Now, add the values into the formula:
Use the conversion formula:
Now, add the values into the formula:
In this case, you need approximately 0.9 cubic yards of gravel for your garden path.
If you want to calculate the material needed in tons, you need to know the density of the gravel first. Let’s assume the gravel you are using has a density of 1.4 tons per cubic yard.
Now, use the formula:
Add the values into the formula:
So, in this case, you will need approximately 1.26 tons of gravel to cover your garden path.