Measuring the volumes of concrete needed for any job can be a tricky process and it is something that you need to be very accurate with!
No-one wants to have their slab or footings poured and still have a half-full truck sitting out the front. You’ll either need to pay for them to take it back, find a hole for it or dump it in the skip (the skip company aren’t going to be happy)
You equally don’t want to be left a little short, this is just the worst, I’ve done it once before.
To ensure I get the quote and order right, here is a look at 3 simple tools that I use. They all have different purposes, let’s dive in.
Calculator.net - https://www.calculator.net/concrete-calculator.html
If you have dug the foundations & finished the form-work on-site, this is a really great tool to get the volumes you need or to cross-check against your initial quote to make sure you are ordering the right amount. Just enter your measurements from site and this will give you the volumes you need.
Tip: Always ensure you allow a % for wastage, I am comfortable with the accuracy of my measurements so I allow approximately 5% on most jobs.
Cemex https://www.cemexusa.com/products-and-services/product-calculators
Cemex are a global material supplier and have built some really great calculators to help the industry figuring out how much materials they need. They include, ready-mix concrete, asphalt, aggregates, blocks, block fill, mortar, render and sand calculators.
With all of these at your fingertips, you’ll always know how much materials you need
ConX https://www.conxjobs.com/measure
Before any orders are made it is essential that you win the job. To produce a winning quote you must get accurate quantities from the construction plans. ConX has built a simple to use tool for concreters to do their material takeoffs in just a few minutes.
Upload your plans to measure the volumes of concrete and area for steel reinforcing with just a few clicks. ConX is also a great place to store all of your plans and quotes in one place so you never need to go looking for them in your emails again.
With ConX you will never need to print plans again, your quoting time will be drastically reduced and accuracy will be increased. Upload your plans and try it for free here
Conclusion:
These 3 calculators all have different functions and are extremely valuable. Use ConX when you are in the quoting phase to ensure you win the job and use the calculator to cross check when it comes time to order the concrete 👍
