For the US & Canada
Material calculators that give you a shopping list
Measure in feet or metres. Get the answer in both, plus how many bags, boards, bundles or boxes to actually buy. No sign-up, no email, nothing to install.
Every calculator
We are building these in order of how badly the current results serve them. Marked soon means it is written but not published yet.
Concrete
- Concrete calculator CA data Slabs, sonotube footings and post holes, in cubic yards, cubic metres and bags.
- Sonotube & deck footing calculator soon Concrete per footing by tube size and depth, for a whole deck at once.
- Fence post concrete calculator soon Bags per post hole, with the post's real size subtracted.
Landscaping
- Mulch calculator CA data Bulk yards or bags, at the depth you actually want.
- Gravel calculator CA data Tons or tonnes by gravel type, for driveways, shed bases and paver base.
- Topsoil & garden soil calculator CA data Raised beds, lawns and top-dressing, in yards, metres, bags or litres.
- Paver calculator Pavers, base gravel, sand and edging, the whole patio shopping list.
Paint & walls
- Paint calculator soon Gallons or litres by coats, with doors and windows taken out.
- Drywall calculator soon Sheets, mud, tape and screws for walls and ceilings.
Flooring
- Flooring calculator soon Boxes of laminate, vinyl plank or hardwood, including waste.
- Tile & grout calculator soon Tiles, boxes, thinset and grout for floors and walls.
Roofing
- Roofing calculator soon Squares, bundles, underlayment and drip edge, adjusted for pitch.
Decks & fences
- Deck calculator soon Boards, joists, beams and screws, with span limits for your code.
- Fence calculator soon Posts, rails, pickets and concrete for a run of fence.
Comfort
- BTU & air conditioner size calculator soon What size unit a room needs, with sun, ceiling height and occupants.
- Insulation calculator soon Batts or blown-in to hit a target R-value, or RSI in Canada.
General
- Cubic yard calculator soon Convert any length, width and depth into cubic yards, metres, feet and tonnes.
- Square footage calculator soon Rooms, walls, odd shapes and land, in square feet and square metres.
Canada reference
Numbers that change by province, and that nobody currently publishes in a form you can actually use. Each page names the code, edition and table it comes from.
- Frost depth by province soon How deep footings have to go, province by province, with the code behind it.
- Roof snow load by Canadian city soon Ground snow load and rain load by city, from the National Building Code.
- Stair code by province soon Rise, run and headroom limits for each province, with the code reference.
- Deck joist span chart (Canada) soon Span tables by lumber size and spacing, as Canadian codes set them.
Why trust these numbers?
- Every figure taken from a standard names the code, edition and table it came from.
- Bag and box yields are labelled as typical, because brands differ, and we tell you to check the bag.
- Anything touching building code says to confirm it with your local building department, because it genuinely varies.
- The tables on each page are generated by the same code that runs the calculator, so they cannot drift apart.