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- Share, print or citeCopy a link with your numbers.
Calculators
- Concrete slab calculatorCubic yards and bags
- Paint calculatorGallons for a room
- Mulch calculatorCubic yards and bags
- Room AC BTU calculatorENERGY STAR sizing
- Gravel calculatorCubic yards and tons
- Fence post concreteBags per post
- Tile calculatorTiles and boxes
- Flooring calculatorBoxes of plank or laminate
- Drywall calculatorSheets for a room
- Roofing shingles calculatorSquares and bundles
- Square footage calculatorRectangle, circle, triangle
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How the estimates work
Every calculator here shows its working. Volumes are length × width × depth, converted to cubic yards or cubic feet, plus the waste allowance you choose. Bag counts use the yield printed on standard bags (a 60 lb bag of concrete mix makes about 0.45 cu ft). Paint uses 350 sq ft per gallon per coat unless you change it, a figure typical of manufacturer labels. Room AC sizes follow the ENERGY STAR sizing chart.
Pick the right calculator
- Pouring a slab, footing or post holes? Use the concrete calculator. It switches between ready-mix yards and bags.
- Painting a room? Enter the wall dimensions; doors and windows are subtracted automatically.
- Landscaping? Mulch and gravel are sold by the cubic yard or bag; 2–3 inches is a common mulch depth.
- Tile, drywall or flooring? Enter the area and add 10% for cuts, more for diagonal layouts.
- Buying a window AC? Size by room area, then adjust for sun, occupancy and kitchens.
Before you buy
- Measure twice and sketch the area with dimensions.
- Round up to whole bags, gallons or sheets: returning a spare is easier than a second trip mid-job.
- Check the product label: yields and coverage vary by brand and surface.
- For structural work, follow local code and the manufacturer instructions; these tools estimate quantities, not engineering.
What BuildRuler does
BuildRuler works out how much material a home project needs before you go to the store: concrete in cubic yards and bags, paint in gallons, mulch and gravel by the yard or bag, tile and flooring with a waste allowance, and room air-conditioner size in BTU. Every result shows the formula and the yield it assumes.
Where the numbers come from
Bag yields use manufacturer figures (for example, an 80 lb bag of concrete mix yields about 0.6 cubic feet). Air-conditioner sizing follows the ENERGY STAR room AC guide. Volumes are length × width × depth with the waste allowance you choose. See the editorial policy for how pages are checked.