Construction & Trades calculators, in short
Bids go wrong in three places: ordering the wrong quantity, marking up materials with a number that is really a margin, and pricing labor off the base wage. These calculators cover all three before the quote goes out.
Popular tools in this category
- Concrete Calculator — Turn slab or round-column dimensions into cubic yards, cubic metres, and 40, 60, and 80 lb bag counts, with waste and cost included.
- Square Footage Calculator — Measure a room or area in feet and inches and get square feet, square yards, square metres, a waste-adjusted total, and the number of boxes to buy.
- Construction Material Quantity Calculator — Turn slab, footing, column, gravel, or topsoil dimensions into cubic yards, bags, tons, and an estimated material cost.
What can you calculate here?
- Concrete, gravel, or topsoil quantity in cubic yards, bags, or tons, with a waste allowance
- A customer price from material cost and markup, with the margin it truly yields
- True hourly labor cost including payroll tax, workers comp, and benefits
- Your total burden percentage over the base wage
- A full job bid price from labor, materials, overhead, contingency, and target profit (Job Bid Calculator)
- A billable hourly labor rate from wage, burden, and markup (Labor Markup Calculator)
Which calculator do you need?
- If you're trying to price a whole job with overhead and profit, use the Job Bid Calculator.
- If you're trying to set a bill rate from wages and burden, use the Labor Markup Calculator.
- If you're trying to check what a finished job actually earned, use the Job Profit Calculator.
- If you're trying to order concrete for a slab or footing, use the Concrete Calculator.
- If you're trying to order gravel or base by the ton, use the Gravel Calculator.
Tools by task
Most used: Job Bid Calculator · Labor Markup Calculator · Job Profit Calculator
Price and bid a job
- Job Bid Calculator — Build a job price from labor, materials and other costs plus contingency, overhead and a target profit margin.
- Labor Markup Calculator — Turn a base wage into a bill rate: add labor burden, apply markup, and see the real margin per hour.
- Labor Burden Calculator — Add payroll tax, workers comp, benefits, and other burden to a wage to get your true hourly labor cost.
- Construction Material Markup Calculator — Apply markup to material cost and see the customer price, gross profit dollars, and the resulting gross margin.
Check what a job earned
- Job Profit Calculator — Gross and net profit on a job, margin vs markup, break-even price, and the price needed to hit a target margin.
Estimate materials
- Concrete Calculator — Turn slab or round-column dimensions into cubic yards, cubic metres, and 40, 60, and 80 lb bag counts, with waste and cost included.
- Gravel Calculator — Gravel, crushed stone or road base in cubic yards, tons and cost.
- Paint Calculator — Paintable wall area, gallons to buy and cost for a room.
- Square Footage Calculator — Measure a room or area in feet and inches and get square feet, square yards, square metres, a waste-adjusted total, and the number of boxes to buy.
9 calculators
Construction
Concrete Calculator
Turn slab or round-column dimensions into cubic yards, cubic metres, and 40, 60, and 80 lb bag counts, with waste and cost included.
Construction
Square Footage Calculator
Measure a room or area in feet and inches and get square feet, square yards, square metres, a waste-adjusted total, and the number of boxes to buy.
Construction
Construction Material Quantity Calculator
Turn slab, footing, column, gravel, or topsoil dimensions into cubic yards, bags, tons, and an estimated material cost.
Construction
Construction Material Markup Calculator
Apply markup to material cost and see the customer price, gross profit dollars, and the resulting gross margin.
Construction
Job Bid Calculator
Build a job price from labor, materials and other costs plus contingency, overhead and a target profit margin.
Construction
Labor Markup Calculator
Turn a base wage into a bill rate: add labor burden, apply markup, and see the real margin per hour.
Construction
Labor Burden Calculator
Add payroll tax, workers comp, benefits, and other burden to a wage to get your true hourly labor cost.
Construction
Paint Calculator
Paintable wall area, gallons to buy and cost for a room.
Construction
Gravel Calculator
Gravel, crushed stone or road base in cubic yards, tons and cost.
Every construction & trades calculator
Each tool below shows the formula it uses, a worked example, and what the result means in practice.
- Concrete CalculatorTurn slab or round-column dimensions into cubic yards, cubic metres, and 40, 60, and 80 lb bag counts, with waste and cost included.
- Square Footage CalculatorMeasure a room or area in feet and inches and get square feet, square yards, square metres, a waste-adjusted total, and the number of boxes to buy.
- Construction Material Quantity CalculatorTurn slab, footing, column, gravel, or topsoil dimensions into cubic yards, bags, tons, and an estimated material cost.
- Construction Material Markup CalculatorApply markup to material cost and see the customer price, gross profit dollars, and the resulting gross margin.
- Job Bid CalculatorBuild a job price from labor, materials and other costs plus contingency, overhead and a target profit margin.
- Labor Markup CalculatorTurn a base wage into a bill rate: add labor burden, apply markup, and see the real margin per hour.
- Labor Burden CalculatorAdd payroll tax, workers comp, benefits, and other burden to a wage to get your true hourly labor cost.
- Paint CalculatorPaintable wall area, gallons to buy and cost for a room.
- Gravel CalculatorGravel, crushed stone or road base in cubic yards, tons and cost.
Common questions about construction & trades calculations
- How much waste should I add to a material order?
- Ten percent is a common default for concrete, gravel, and soil, and more for cuts and irregular shapes. The Construction Material Quantity Calculator applies whatever allowance you enter to the raw volume.
- Should I quote markup or margin to a customer?
- Quote whatever number you want to earn, but check it in margin terms before you send it. The markup and margin tools show what a given markup actually leaves you on the invoice.
- How do I price an hour of labor?
- Start from the burdened cost, not the wage, then add the profit you need. The Labor Burden Calculator gives the burdened figure, and the Labor Markup Calculator turns it into a bill rate with the margin it produces.
- How do I price a whole job?
- Add labor, materials, and other direct costs, then layer contingency, overhead, and target profit on top. The Job Bid Calculator does this in one place and shows your break-even price.