Construction Material Calculator
Enter the built-up area of each floor and the number of floors to get cement, steel, sand, aggregate, bricks, tiles and paint for an RCC-framed house. A G+1 house of 1,000 sq ft a floor needs about 794 bags of cement, 7.86 tonnes of steel and 16,796 bricks. Use the figures to budget, not to order.
Finishes change the budget, not the quantities.
Materials for the house · 2,000 sq ft built-up · G+1
| Material | Quantity | Also | Per sq ft built-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cement50 kg bags, for RCC, PCC, brickwork and plaster | 794 bags | 39.7 tonnes | 0.40 bags |
| SteelTMT Fe500D, for the RCC frame | 7,864 kg | 7.86 tonnes | 3.93 kg |
| Sandfor concrete, brickwork mortar and plaster | 2,236 cft | 22.4 brass63.3 cum | 1.12 cft |
| Aggregate20 mm, for RCC and PCC | 2,980 cft | 29.8 brass84.4 cum | 1.49 cft |
| Bricksconventional, for 9 inch and 4.5 inch walls | 16,796 bricks | 34 cum of brickwork | 8.4 bricks |
| Floor and wall tileswith 5% wastage | 2,247 sq ft | 209 sq m | 1.12 sq ft |
| Painttwo coats, inside and outside | 135 litres | 0.067 litres |
Cement by work
- RCC frame (M25)
- 622 bags
- PCC under footings and floors
- 58 bags
- Brickwork, CM 1:6
- 43 bags
- Plaster, inside and outside
- 71 bags
Volumes behind the list
- RCC concrete (M25)
- 75.9 cum
- PCC 1:4:8
- 17.1 cum
- Brickwork
- 34 cum
Whole-house budget at standard finishes: ₹34 lakh to ₹41.6 lakh with material and labour, on national-average prices. For your city, item by item, use the house construction cost calculator.
Budget quantities for an RCC-framed house on isolated footings, not order quantities. Order steel against a bar bending schedule and the rest against a BOQ measured from your drawings.
This building material estimator uses the same engine as the house construction cost calculator, so its quantities match the materials shown there.
Worked example: 1,000 sq ft G+1 house
A G+1 house with 1,000 sq ft on each floor (2,000 sq ft built-up) needs 794 bags of cement, 7,864 kg of steel, 2,236 cft of sand, 2,980 cft of aggregate and 16,796 bricks. The working comes from 75.9 cum of RCC, 17.1 cum of PCC and 34 cum of brickwork.
| Material | Quantity | Working |
|---|---|---|
| Cement | 794 bags | 75.9 cum RCC × 8.2 = 622.4; 17.1 cum PCC × 3.4 = 58.1; 34 cum brickwork × 1.25 = 42.5; 750 sq m of plaster = 70.7. Total 793.7 bags. |
| Steel | 7,864 kg | 75.9 cum of RCC at 103.6 kg per cum on average (60 kg in footings to 170 kg in columns) = 7.86 tonnes. |
| Sand | 2,236 cft | Concrete: 75.9 × 15.89 + 17.1 × 16.6 = 1,489.9 cft. Brickwork mortar and plaster: 745.7 cft. About 22.4 brass. |
| Aggregate, 20 mm | 2,980 cft | 75.9 × 31.78 + 17.1 × 33.2 = 2,979.8 cft, about 29.8 brass. |
| Bricks | 16,796 | 34 cum of brickwork × 494 bricks per cum (CPWD allowance, covers breakage). |
| Floor and wall tiles | 2,247 sq ft | (1,700 sq ft of floor + 440 sq ft of wall tiles) × 1.05 for wastage. |
| Paint | 135 litres | 8,073 sq ft of plastered walls and ceilings × 2 coats ÷ 120 sq ft per litre. |
Standard finishes, isolated footings, M25 site-mixed concrete. Source: SiteSetu house cost engine, October 2026.
Material per sq ft of built-up area
Per sq ft of built-up area, a house needs 0.37 to 0.46 bags of cement and 3.75 to 4.29 kg of steel: the lower figures are for G+3, the higher for a single storey, whose footings and ground slab serve only one floor. In this model the number of floors changes the figures; the floor size does not.
| Material, per sq ft | G | G+1 | G+2 | G+3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cement (bags) | 0.46 | 0.40 | 0.38 | 0.37 |
| Steel (kg) | 4.29 | 3.93 | 3.81 | 3.75 |
| Sand (cft) | 1.30 | 1.12 | 1.06 | 1.03 |
| Aggregate (cft) | 1.86 | 1.49 | 1.37 | 1.31 |
| Bricks | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| Floor and wall tiles (sq ft) | 1.12 | 1.12 | 1.12 | 1.12 |
| Paint (litres) | 0.067 | 0.067 | 0.067 | 0.067 |
RCC-framed house on isolated footings with standard finishes. Source: SiteSetu house cost engine, October 2026.
Why these are not order quantities
They come from typical quantities per sq ft, not from your drawings. Your column grid, spans, soil, wall layout, number of toilets and finishes decide the real quantities, and they can differ from a thumb rule in either direction.
Steel: order against a bar bending schedule (BBS), which lists every bar by diameter, shape and cutting length from the structural drawings. Use the BBS calculator for cutting lengths and kg by diameter, and see the bar bending schedule examples for slabs, beams, columns and footings.
Cement, sand, aggregate and bricks: order against a BOQ that measures each item from the drawings, with the IS 1200 deductions for openings. Get a BOQ from your drawings when the plans are ready.
Wastage: tiles include 5% wastage and the brick count uses the CPWD allowance per cum, which covers breakage. The engine adds no wastage to steel, cement, sand or aggregate, so add your site's allowance once, when you order.
Single-material calculators
Once you have dimensions for one job, such as a wall, a slab or a room, use the calculator for that material.
Cement calculator
Concrete, slab, brickwork or plaster → 50 kg cement bags and sand.
Steel calculator
Diameter, length and bar count → kg, with steel for a house by RCC element.
Brick calculator
Wall or room, openings, brick size and wastage → bricks, cement and sand.
Concrete calculator
Slab, beam, column or footing → volume, cement, sand and aggregate.
Sand calculator
Concrete, plaster or brickwork → sand in m³, cft, brass and tonnes.
Aggregate calculator
Concrete or gravel fill → m³, cft, brass and tonnes.
Plaster calculator
Area or walls → plaster volume, cement bags and sand.
Tile calculator
Rooms, tile sizes and patterns → boxes, adhesive, grout and skirting.
Paint calculator
Rooms or wall area → putty, primer and paint litres.
For the whole budget by city and finishes, use the house construction cost calculator; for the frame alone, the RCC construction cost calculator. All tools are on the construction calculators page.
How the calculator works
It takes typical quantities per sq ft for an RCC-framed house on isolated footings with 3 m floor heights, and turns them into materials:
- RCC in M25 site-mixed concrete at 8.2 bags of cement, 15.89 cft of sand and 31.78 cft of aggregate per cum; PCC 1:4:8 at 3.4 bags per cum.
- Steel per cum of concrete by element: footings 60 kg, plinth beams 110 kg, columns 170 kg, beams 130 kg, slabs 75 kg, staircase and lintels 90 kg. The frames we have measured from real drawings averaged 98 to 110 kg per cum.
- Brickwork in 9 inch outer and 4.5 inch inner walls in cement mortar 1:6, with conventional bricks at the CPWD analysis allowance of 494 bricks per cum.
- 12 mm internal plaster in 1:6 and 20 mm external plaster in 1:4.
- Floor and wall tiles with 5% wastage; paint in two coats on the plastered walls and ceilings.
Finish quality does not change these quantities; it changes the rates and the budget. Source: SiteSetu house cost engine, October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate building materials for a house?
Multiply the built-up area by typical quantities per sq ft for concrete, brickwork, plaster and finishes, then turn those into cement, sand, aggregate, steel and bricks. The calculator does this with our house cost engine. For a standard G+1 house it comes to about 0.40 bags of cement, 3.93 kg of steel and 8.4 bricks per sq ft of built-up area.
How much cement, steel and sand does a 1,000 sq ft house need?
A 1,000 sq ft ground-floor RCC-framed house needs about 457 bags of cement, 4.29 tonnes of steel, 1,302 cft of sand, 1,859 cft of 20 mm aggregate and 8,398 bricks. A G+1 house of 1,000 sq ft a floor (2,000 sq ft built-up) needs about 794 bags, 7.86 tonnes, 2,236 cft of sand, 2,980 cft of aggregate and 16,796 bricks.
How much steel is needed per sq ft of construction?
About 3.75 to 4.29 kg per sq ft of built-up area for an RCC-framed house on isolated footings: 4.29 kg for a single storey and 3.93 kg for G+1. Spans, soil, seismic zone and the structural design decide the real figure, so order steel against a bar bending schedule.
Does the quality of finishes change the material quantities?
No. In this model, economy and luxury houses of the same size need the same cement, steel, sand, aggregate, bricks, tiles and paint. Finishes change the rates, so they change the budget, not these quantities.
Can I order materials from these quantities?
No. They are budget figures from typical quantities per sq ft. Order steel against a bar bending schedule made from your structural drawings, and cement, sand, aggregate and bricks against a BOQ measured from your drawings, adding your site's wastage once.
What does the calculator leave out?
Tile bedding, screeds and tile adhesive; wall putty and primer; waterproofing chemicals; shuttering material; plumbing and electrical items; compound walls and sumps. Add them from their own calculators or from your BOQ.
Need order quantities for your house?
Send your drawings and we measure every item, with the quantity and the measurement behind it, in an Excel BOQ. BOQs start from ₹2,500 for a house up to about 1,500 sq ft (larger projects priced from your drawings).
BOQ from your drawings