Material Takeoff Calculator
Home & ConstructionConcrete, steel, bricks and mortar summed across every element of a structure.
Runs entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded
The middle ground between a per-square-foot rule and a full bill of quantities. You list the elements the building actually has — this many columns of that size, this slab, that wall — and it sums the concrete, steel, bricks and mortar across all of them. Unlike thumb rules it reflects your building; unlike a BOQ it needs no rates.
What people do next
Features
- Six element types — footing, column, beam, slab, wall and plaster.
- Steel taken at the rate appropriate to each member, not one blanket figure.
- Concrete broken into cement, sand and aggregate at your chosen grade.
- Masonry and plaster mortar proportioned and added in.
- Per-element working shown as you type.
- Runs entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
How to use the Material Takeoff Calculator
- 1Add an element group for each part of the structure.
- 2Enter its dimensions in metres and how many there are.
- 3Set the concrete grade and wastage.
- 4Read the totalled materials for the whole structure.
Frequently asked questions
What is a material takeoff?
Measuring quantities directly off the drawings, element by element, rather than estimating them from a rate per square foot. It is what a quantity surveyor produces before a bill of quantities can be priced, and it is far more accurate than a thumb rule because it reflects the building you are actually building.
Why does steel differ by element?
Because reinforcement is sized by what the member does. A footing spreads load and needs relatively little — 50 to 80 kg per cubic metre. A column carries load in compression with heavy ties and can reach 250. A slab sits around 70 to 110 and a beam 100 to 200. Applying one blanket rate across a structure is how a steel order ends up materially wrong in either direction.
How many bricks are in a cubic metre of wall?
About 500. A standard Indian brick with a 10 mm mortar joint occupies roughly 0.002 m³ including its share of the joint, so a cubic metre takes around 500 of them and about 0.25 m³ of mortar. The brick calculator does this more precisely for a given wall and brick size.
How is this different from the material estimator?
The estimator applies per-square-foot thumb rules to a whole building — fast, and only as good as the average. This measures your actual elements, so a building with unusual spans, thick slabs or many columns comes out right where a thumb rule would not. Use the estimator to budget and this to order.
Can I use this to order steel?
As a quantity, yes — but not as a cutting list. The steel here is a volume-based allowance by member. For actual bar lengths, shapes, hooks and laps you need a bar bending schedule, which is what goes to the bar bender.