Building Material Calculation Formulas

The following are formulas to calculate the amount of material you'll need for a variety of building projects.

Concrete
Width x Length x Height, divided by 27 = number of yards of concrete needed

Foundation Masonry Block
8" high / 16" long / 3/8" mortar normal joint height.

Roofing
Width x length, divided by 100 = number of squares of shingles needed

Siding
Width x Height, divided by 100 Square Feet = number of squares of siding needed

Carpet
Width of room x length of room, divided by 9 = number of square feet needed for room.

Wood Siding
Width of board minus distance of lapping = coverage of wood siding per board

Width of area to be sided x height of area to be sided, divided by coverage calculated above = lineal feet of siding you need.

Brick
7 bricks = one square feet of coverage

Width of area to be covered x height of area to be covered, divided by 7 = number of bricks needed.

Elevation Conversion
Elevation measured in 10ths per foot. 1 of elevation = one foot or 12" equals one foot.

Convert Elevation to Inches
One Foot of Elevation measurement equals 1.2 inches of normal measurements.

Common Terms Used
Board feet = (thickness (in inches) x width (in inches) x length (in inches)) divided by 12 Lineal feet = length only of board.