Home improvement calculators that show their work
Work out how much concrete, gravel, paint, flooring, siding, deck boards or shingles to buy, and what the job might cost. Every answer shows the math, and every figure links to its source.
- Concrete calculatorEnter the size of your slab, footing or hole to get the cubic yards to order, the number of premixed bags and a cost estimate.
- Roof replacement cost calculatorEnter your house's size and roof pitch to estimate what a new shingle or metal roof costs installed, with tearing off the old roof, from national cost guides.
- Square footage calculatorAdd up rectangles, triangles and circles to get the area of any room, house, deck, lawn or lot in square feet, square meters and acres.
- Drywall installation cost calculatorEnter a room's size to estimate what it costs to have drywall hung, taped and finished on the walls and ceiling, with the labor and the sheets broken out.
- Roofing calculatorGet your roof area in squares, the shingles and other materials to buy, and a typical installed cost for a new asphalt shingle roof.
- Fence installation cost calculatorEnter the length of your fence and pick wood, vinyl or chain link to estimate what it costs installed, with the materials broken out and room for gates.
Concrete & hardscape
Slabs, footings, post holes, block walls, paver patios and asphalt driveways.
- Concrete calculatorEnter the size of your slab, footing or hole to get the cubic yards to order, the number of premixed bags and a cost estimate.
- Paver calculatorCount the pavers for a patio, walkway or driveway and the base gravel, bedding sand and joint sand that go underneath, with a typical installed cost.
- Asphalt calculatorFind the tons of hot-mix asphalt (blacktop) for a driveway, path or patch from its size and compacted thickness, with the gravel base under it and a typical cost.
- Concrete block calculatorEnter the length and height of a wall to get how many concrete blocks (CMU or cinder blocks) to buy, the bags of mortar mix and the cost of the blocks.
Landscaping
Gravel, sand, mulch, soil and sod for beds, paths and lawns.
- Gravel calculatorFind the tons and cubic yards of gravel, crushed stone, pea gravel, river rock or decomposed granite you need for a path, patio base or driveway.
- Mulch calculatorEnter your beds or tree rings and the depth to see how many cubic yards or bags of mulch to buy, and what bulk or bagged mulch will cost.
- Topsoil calculatorWork out how many cubic yards or bags of topsoil, fill dirt or garden soil you need for a new lawn, a raised bed or a garden, with extra for settling.
- Sod calculatorMeasure your lawn to get the square feet of sod to order with 5% extra, the number of pallets and pieces, and a typical cost to have it laid.
- Sand calculatorEnter the size and depth of a sandbox, paver bed or area to fill to get the sand in tons, cubic yards and 50 lb bags, with bulk and bagged costs.
Roofing, siding & fencing
Shingles, roof pitch, siding, posts, rails and pickets.
- Roofing calculatorGet your roof area in squares, the shingles and other materials to buy, and a typical installed cost for a new asphalt shingle roof.
- Fence calculatorCount the posts, rails, pickets or panels and the bags of concrete for your fence, and see what a wood, vinyl, chain link or aluminum fence typically costs installed.
- Roof pitch calculatorTurn a rise and run, or an angle, into roof pitch, degrees and percent slope, with the slope factor, the rafter length and the roofing the code allows.
- Siding calculatorMeasure the walls and gables of a house and get the siding to buy in squares, vinyl cartons or fiber cement planks, with waste and a typical installed cost.
Decks, stairs & lumber
Deck boards and joists, stair risers and stringers, board feet.
- Stair calculatorEnter the total rise to get the number of risers, the riser height, the total run and the stringer length, checked against the IRC's limits for home stairs.
- Deck calculatorGet the number of deck boards, joists and screws for your deck, with the right gap and waste for composite or wood decking, and a typical installed cost.
- Board foot calculatorAdd up board feet for one board or a whole cut list, using nominal lumberyard sizes or measured sizes, and price it per board foot.
Interior
Paint, wallpaper, drywall, tile, flooring and carpet, plus insulation and air conditioner size.
- Paint calculatorEnter your room size, doors and windows to see how many gallons of paint and primer to buy, and what a painter might charge.
- Tile calculatorFind how many tiles and boxes to buy for a floor, wall or shower, plus the grout and thinset, with the right extra for your layout.
- Drywall calculatorEnter a room size to count the drywall (sheetrock) sheets, screws, joint compound and tape for the walls and ceiling, plus a typical installed cost.
- Flooring calculatorMeasure one room or the whole floor and get the square feet to buy, with the makers' cutting allowance for laminate, vinyl plank or hardwood, boxes and underlayment.
- BTU calculatorEnter a room's size, how sunny it is and how many people use it to get the air conditioner size ENERGY STAR's chart gives, in BTU per hour, watts and tons.
- Carpet calculatorEnter a room's length and width to get the carpet to buy in square yards, cut from the roll the way installers lay it out, plus the pad and a typical installed cost.
- Insulation calculatorPick your climate zone and enter the attic, floor or wall area to get ENERGY STAR's recommended R-value and the blown-in bags, batts or spray foam to reach it.
- Wallpaper calculatorEnter the walls, their height and the pattern repeat to get how many rolls of wallpaper to buy, counted in whole drops as they're cut, plus a typical cost to hang it.
Area & volume
Square footage, acres, cubic yards and pool gallons for any project.
- Square footage calculatorAdd up rectangles, triangles and circles to get the area of any room, house, deck, lawn or lot in square feet, square meters and acres.
- Cubic yards calculatorTurn length, width and depth into cubic yards, cubic feet and cubic meters for soil, gravel, mulch, sand, concrete or any fill.
- Acreage calculatorConvert between square feet, acres, square yards, square meters and hectares, or work out the acreage of a lot from its measurements.
- Pool volume calculatorEnter your pool's shape, size and depths to get how many gallons of water it holds, with liters, cubic feet and the time to fill it with a hose.
Costs
What a new roof, fence, driveway, patio, lawn, tile floor or drywall costs installed, from national averages.
- Roof replacement cost calculatorEnter your house's size and roof pitch to estimate what a new shingle or metal roof costs installed, with tearing off the old roof, from national cost guides.
- Drywall installation cost calculatorEnter a room's size to estimate what it costs to have drywall hung, taped and finished on the walls and ceiling, with the labor and the sheets broken out.
- Fence installation cost calculatorEnter the length of your fence and pick wood, vinyl or chain link to estimate what it costs installed, with the materials broken out and room for gates.
- Driveway cost calculatorEnter your driveway's size and pick asphalt, concrete or gravel to estimate what it costs installed, with the material you'd need and labor broken out where sources do.
- Tile installation cost calculatorEnter your floor's size to estimate what a ceramic or porcelain tile floor costs installed, with the labor shown on its own and the tile to buy for your layout.
- Paver patio cost calculatorEnter your patio's size and pick concrete or brick pavers or natural stone to estimate what it costs installed, with labor shown on its own, from national cost guides.
- Sod installation cost calculatorEnter your lawn's size to estimate what it costs to have sod installed on bare soil or to replace an old lawn, with the sod and the labor shown on their own.
Why these calculators
Figures with sources
Bag yields, coverage rates and densities come from manufacturers' data sheets, industry guides and university extension services. Each page lists them.
The math, shown
Open "How it's calculated" under any result to see the formula with your own numbers, so you can check it or explain it to your supplier.
US and metric
Switch between feet and inches or meters and centimeters at any time. Type 10' 6" or 3 1/2 and the calculator understands.