Know what your project really costs — before you call a contractor.
Free calculators and guides built from sourced data, with every number explained.
Prices pulled live from public BLS/FRED data — and every figure on the site traces to a named source.
9 calculators liveLive FRED pricingImperial + MetricSources named
Calculators
The full live set — driveways, slabs, footings, columns, walls, stairs. Material cost flows from the BLS ready-mix index where relevant; labor and fees are sourced ranges, not quotes.
Calculator
Gravel calculator
Convert length, width, and depth into cubic yards, tons, bags, and cost for 10+ gravel types at about 1.4 tons per cubic yard.
Calculator
Concrete calculator
A 10-by-10-foot slab 4 inches thick holds 1.23 cubic yards; order 1.36 with 10% extra, or 62 eighty-pound bags.
Calculator
Concrete slab cost calculator
Installed concrete slab cost; a 12-by-12-foot patio at 4 inches runs about $650 to $790, with live material and a labor range.
Calculator
Concrete bag calculator
Counts concrete bags for slabs, footings, and post holes at 40, 50, 60, and 80 lb sizes; a 10-by-10 slab needs 62 eighty-pound bags.
Calculator
Concrete weight calculator
A cubic yard of concrete weighs about 4,050 lb, roughly 2 US tons or 1,840 kg, at a density of 150 lb per cubic foot.
Calculator
Driveway area calculator
Driveway area in square feet and square metres for rectangle, round, or L-shape; a two-car parking area covers 360 to 480 sq ft.
Calculator
Driveway cost calculator
Estimates installed concrete driveway cost, about $5–10 per square foot plain and $8–18 decorative.
Calculator
Sand calculator
Calculates cubic yards, tons, bags, and cost for five sand types; standard sand weighs about 2,700 lb/yd³.
Calculator
Topsoil calculator
Converts area, depth, and topsoil type into cubic yards, tons, and 40-lb bags, with a 10% settling allowance built in.
All calculators →
Find your project, find your tools
The catalog organized by what you're actually building — the project, then the calculators that compute its numbers, the main guide that surveys it, and the deeper guides on each decision.
Concrete slabs
If you're pouring a slab — sizing the pour, prepping the base, choosing reinforcement, mixing the right ratio, and getting cure timing right — these calculators and guides cover the whole process.
Tools
Guide
Concrete Slab Guide: Thickness, Rebar, Base & Cost
A residential concrete slab runs 4 inches thick at 3,000 psi over 4–6 inches of compacted gravel with rebar or mesh and control joints.
Guide
Concrete vs Cement: What's the Difference?
Explains that cement is the binder powder and concrete is the finished mix of cement, water, and 60 to 75% aggregate.
Guide
How Much Gravel Do You Need Under a Concrete Slab?
A 4-inch compacted gravel base suits most residential slabs and needs about 1.25 cubic yards per 100 square feet.
Guide
How Thick Should a Concrete Slab Be?
Pour patios and walkways at 4 inches, driveways and garage floors at 5–6, and RV pads 6–8; local code sets the minimum.
Guide
Do You Need Rebar in a Concrete Slab? Rebar vs Mesh vs Fiber
Explains whether a slab needs rebar, mesh, or fiber; reinforce slabs over 5 inches or carrying vehicles and set steel at mid-depth.
Guide
How Long Does Concrete Take to Cure?
Concrete is safe to walk on in 24 to 48 hours, ready for vehicles at 7 days, and reaches rated strength at 28 days.
Guide
Concrete Mix Ratio: Cement, Sand & Aggregate
Explains the 1:2:3 cement:sand:aggregate mix for about 3,000 to 3,500 psi, with the water-cement ratio kept near 0.4 to 0.5.
Guide
How to Estimate a Concrete Project
Multiply length by width by thickness and divide by 27 for cubic yards, then add a 5 to 10% waste factor and round up.
Concrete driveways
For a concrete driveway — measuring the footprint, costing the install, sizing for cars and turning, comparing concrete vs asphalt vs pavers, and the upkeep of crack-repair, resurfacing, sealing — start here.
Tools
Guide
Concrete Driveway Guide: Cost, Size, Thickness & Lifespan
Covers concrete driveway cost of $5 to $10 per square foot, widths of 10 to 24 feet, a 4-inch slab, and a 30-to-40-year lifespan.
Guide
How Thick Should a Concrete Driveway Be?
Pour 4 inches for passenger cars and 5 to 6 inches for trucks or RVs; a 5-to-6-inch slab on a good base lasts 25 to 30 years.
Guide
How Much Does a Concrete Driveway Cost?
Plain broom-finish concrete driveways run $5 to $10 per square foot installed; decorative finishes run $8 to $18.
Guide
Concrete vs Asphalt Driveway: Cost, Lifespan & Climate
Compares concrete ($6–15/sq ft) and asphalt ($5–12) driveways on cost, lifespan, and climate; lifetime costs cross over near year 15.
Guide
Concrete vs Pavers vs Gravel Driveway: Cost & Upkeep
Compares gravel ($1-3/sq ft), concrete ($6-15), and pavers ($10-30) on cost, lifespan, maintenance, and climate fit.
Guide
How Big Should a Driveway Be? Width, Length & Turning
Covers driveway width, length, turning, and clearance, with 10-12 ft for one car, 20-24 ft for two, and a 15 ft sedan turn.
Guide
Concrete Driveway Crack Repair: When and How to Fix It
Fix driveway cracks under 1/4 inch yourself with flexible polyurethane caulk for about $20; call a pro for cracks wider than 1/2 inch.
Guide
Resurface or Replace a Concrete Driveway?
Resurfacing a driveway with a sound base costs 40–60% less than replacing it and lasts 8 to 15 years; a failed base needs full replacement.
Guide
Sealing a Concrete Driveway: When, How Often & Which Sealer
Use a silane-siloxane penetrating sealer on a concrete driveway, apply after 28 days, and reseal every 5 to 10 years.
Concrete patios
For a concrete patio — picking the finish (the biggest cost lever, because finish is a labor multiplier), sizing for use rather than a fixed number, the slope-away-from-the-house drainage rule, and the DIY-prep-hire-pour middle path — start here.
Tools
Guide
Concrete Patio Guide: Cost, Size, Thickness & Finishes
Plain concrete patios run $5 to $12 per square foot installed, stamped $10 to $25; a 4-inch standard slab lasts 30 to 50 years.
Guide
How Thick Should a Concrete Patio Be?
A patio needs 4 inches of concrete, 6 inches under a hot tub, sloped 1 to 2% away from the house.
Guide
How Much Does a Concrete Patio Cost?
A concrete patio costs about $5 to $25 per square foot installed, with the finish as the biggest cost driver.
Guide
Stamped Concrete Patio: Pros, Cons & Maintenance
A stamped concrete slab lasts 25+ years, but the finish needs resealing every 2 to 3 years and cracks show on the pattern.
Guide
Concrete vs Pavers Patio: Cost, Repairs & Climate
Concrete patios install for $6 to $15 per square foot and pavers for $12 to $30; pavers flex in freeze-thaw while concrete cracks.
Guide
How Big Should a Patio Be? Sizes by Use
A 4-seat dining patio needs about 10×10 ft; size any patio from its furniture plus a 3 ft chair pull-out and 30–36 inch walkways.
Guide
Can You Resurface a Concrete Patio?
A concrete overlay costs $3 to $10 per square foot and lasts 10 to 20 years if the slab underneath is structurally sound.
Guide
Should You Seal a Concrete Patio?
A penetrating sealer lasts 5 to 10+ years, while topical sealers need resealing every 1 to 3 years.
Guide
How Thick Should a Hot Tub Concrete Pad Be?
Pour a 5-to-6-inch pad reinforced with rebar for a standard 5-to-7-person spa, which weighs 5,000 to 6,000 pounds filled.
Guide
Paint or Stain a Concrete Patio? Pros, Cons & Lifespan
Stain soaks into the slab and lasts 5 to 10+ years; paint sits on top and needs reapplying every 2 to 3 years outdoors.
Landscape materials
For topsoil, fill dirt, sand, or gravel — pick by what the material has to DO (grow, support, drain a base, drain a surface), and layer when the job needs both. The guide teaches the sort; the calculators size each quantity.
Tools
All guides →
Where these numbers come from
Material prices come from public BLS data via FRED — specifically the Producer Price Index series for sand / gravel / stone and ready-mix concrete (series identifiers on the methodology page). Prices update with the FRED API: we escalate a published-base anchor by month-over-month PPI changes, never displaying a raw index value as a dollar. Output is always a labeled range — never the four-decimal precision the underlying sources can't support.
Every figure names its source. Material prices come from BLS producer price indexes (via FRED) and USGS commodity data; concrete bag yields come from Quikrete's spec sheet and concrete density from ACI. Some figures — mainly installed-cost ranges and several material densities — still cite secondary sources such as industry cost guides and other calculators. Each is named where it's used, and we're replacing them with primary data page by page. When sources disagree we show the range; when a figure can't be sourced, we leave it out. Corrections and our AI-use disclosure are on the editorial policy page.
Operated by Marko Visic — BSc Physics, University of Ljubljana — through Moving Data Systems d.o.o. A real person on the record. Background and contact on the about page.