Imagine this for a scenario: You’re pouring a concrete path in your backyard and guess the quantity of concrete you will need. You’ve bought one bag and hoped for the best. You then realize you need more, so buy one more bag. Lo and behold, it wasn’t enough, so it’s back to the store again to buy a third. You’ve wasted time, money, and now you have leftover concrete from buying too much! 

Before you started, you should have asked yourself: How much concrete do I need? You would then know to use a concrete calculator and cut out all that hassle!

How Much Concrete Do I Need?

A concrete calculator can help you establish how much concrete you need. Here’s how to use it: 

   1.	Measure the length, width, and height of your concrete slab. You will need the volume as dimensions as well.
   2.	Work out the weight (by the cement bag) 
   3.	Provide the bag size 
   4.	Enter the waste ratio (spillage, mistakes, etc.) 
   5.	You then get your answer in feet, but you can choose any unit you prefer

Using the Concrete Calculator in An Example

In this example, we are creating five concrete blocks for a wall. Each block measures two feet long, two feet wide, and two feet high. 

5 x (2 x 2 x 2)

You buy your pre-mixed concrete by the cubic yard, which is your default measurement. You then need to turn cubic yards into feet to match up with the construction industry. The concrete calculator lets you play with different units. 

Enter this information into your concrete calculator to narrow in on an answer. Find out the concrete density for your brand of choice. The default for the calculator is 150 lb/cubic foot. You can change this. 

You know how much the weight of the concrete will be, but check it for a single bag. The average is 60 pounds. You can then add waste of around 10 percent. Summing up these factors, the concrete calculator says you need 110 bags of concrete.

Cost of Concrete Slabs

A concrete calculator can help with many things, including concrete slab costs. Once you know how many bags of concrete you need, the sky’s the limit. Provide the price of the bag to get the value of the slab and the cost of paving. The calculator can also help with a volume cost per unit and a total material cost.

How to Make Concrete?

Producing concrete is time-consuming and costly. The process involves mixing water, cement, aggregates, and additives. For creating items, workers must be fast putting it into molds to set. For large operations, this takes place in a concrete plant. 

Much like baking, you must have all the ingredients right in concrete. If you don’t use enough paste, it will be porous. If you use too much, it will be smooth and susceptible to cracking. Get it perfect, and you’ll have no problems!

Cement vs. Concrete

Did you know that cement and concrete are not the same? Cement is an ingredient in concrete. You blend it with water to form a paste. The paste then combines with sand and gravel to create concrete.

Cement features calcium, limestone, and clay. It’s an exceptional binding agent but is prone to cracking. It’s also far less durable than concrete on its own.

Different Concrete Types

There is no “one size fits all” approach to concrete. Therefore, there is a significant range of concrete options! 

Plain: Features sand, aggregates, and cement
Lightweight: Concrete with low thermal conductivity 
Heavyweight: High-density concrete often used for radiation protection
Precast: Premolded, such as in blocks
Prestressed: With the addition of bars for tension
Reinforced: With the addition of steel for strength 
Glass: Glass concrete features glass as an aggregate 
Air-Entrained: Concrete with uniform particles 
Rapid Hardening: Quick-setting concrete for underwater use and roads 
Lime: A binding agent in concrete
Asphalt: For highways and airports 
Roller-Compacted: Minimal cement addition
Stamped: For architectural use 
Vacuum: More water for formwork
Pumped: High-rise building-suitable 
Self-Consolidated: It compacts itself 
Permeable: Water can pass through it
Ready-Mix: Transports in concrete trucks
Sprayed: Sprayed onto projects like tunnels

Things to Consider

Using a concrete calculator can save you a fortune! However, you won’t always use easy-to-measure concrete blocks. Use a volume calculator and density calculator for harder shapes.