Steel calculator: how much steel a house needs
A 1,000 sq ft ground-floor RCC house needs about 4.3 t of steel, or 4.3 kg per sq ft of built-up area. A G+1 house of 1,000 sq ft a floor needs about 7.9 t. Enter your floor area, floors and foundation below for the steel by element, then work out TMT bar weights further down.
Steel for the RCC frame · 1,000 sq ft built-up · G
4.29 tonnes
4.3 kg per sq ft · 101 kg per cum of concrete · steel bill about ₹2.4 lakh at ₹56 a kg
- Footings
- 480 kg
- Plinth beams
- 385 kg
- Columns
- 935 kg
- Beams
- 1,300 kg
- Slabs and sunshades
- 1,013 kg
- Staircase and lintels
- 180 kg
Steel price only, before cutting, bending and fixing. For the full frame cost with concrete and shuttering, use the RCC construction cost calculator.
Steel for a house, by size
RCC-framed house on isolated footings, typical steel, M25. Built-up area is per floor.
| Built-up a floor | G | G+1 | G+2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 600 sq ft | 2.6 t · 4.3 kg/sq ft | 4.7 t · 3.9 kg/sq ft | 6.9 t · 3.8 kg/sq ft |
| 800 sq ft | 3.4 t · 4.3 kg/sq ft | 6.3 t · 3.9 kg/sq ft | 9.1 t · 3.8 kg/sq ft |
| 1,000 sq ft | 4.3 t · 4.3 kg/sq ft | 7.9 t · 3.9 kg/sq ft | 11.4 t · 3.8 kg/sq ft |
| 1,200 sq ft | 5.2 t · 4.3 kg/sq ft | 9.4 t · 3.9 kg/sq ft | 13.7 t · 3.8 kg/sq ft |
| 1,500 sq ft | 6.4 t · 4.3 kg/sq ft | 11.8 t · 3.9 kg/sq ft | 17.2 t · 3.8 kg/sq ft |
| 2,000 sq ft | 8.6 t · 4.3 kg/sq ft | 15.7 t · 3.9 kg/sq ft | 22.9 t · 3.8 kg/sq ft |
TMT bar weight calculator
Weight per metre is the IS 1786 nominal mass, close to d²/162 kg with d the diameter in mm. A standard bar is 12 m long.
| Diameter | kg per metre | kg per 12 m bar | Bars per tonne |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 mm | 0.222 | 2.66 | 375 |
| 8 mm | 0.395 | 4.74 | 211 |
| 10 mm | 0.617 | 7.4 | 135 |
| 12 mm | 0.888 | 10.65 | 94 |
| 16 mm | 1.578 | 18.94 | 53 |
| 20 mm | 2.466 | 29.59 | 34 |
| 25 mm | 3.853 | 46.24 | 22 |
| 32 mm | 6.313 | 75.76 | 13 |
Steel Weight Calculator (TMT Bars)
Weight of TMT reinforcement bars from diameter and length using the d²/162 formula (IS 1786 nominal mass).
Result
- Unit weight (12 mm)
- 0.888 kg/m
- Total length
- 120 m
- Total weight
- 106.5 kg (0.107 t)
- Cost
- enter rate
Weight is the IS 1786 nominal mass, about d²/162 kg per metre where d is the diameter in mm. IS 1786 permits rolling-margin tolerance of ±7% (up to 10 mm), ±5% (12–16 mm) and ±3% (20 mm and above) on nominal mass — reconcile against weighed delivery, not just bar count.
Steel in real buildings we have measured
From BOQs we prepared from clients' structural drawings, names withheld. The calculator's typical frame uses 104 kg of steel per cum of concrete.
| Building | Concrete | Steel | Steel per cum |
|---|---|---|---|
| G+2 bungalow | 95.6 cum | 9.4 t | 98 kg |
| Villa | 180.2 cum | 19.9 t | 110 kg |
| G+2 shop and office | 382 cum | 32.7 t | 86 kg |
| G+1 office building | 667.6 cum | 79.6 t | 119 kg |
More on steel: bar bending schedule (BBS) · TMT bar grades (IS 1786) · RCC construction cost calculator · cement calculator
Frequently asked questions
How much steel is required for a 1,000 sq ft house?
About 4.3 t for a 1,000 sq ft ground-floor RCC house, or 4.3 kg per sq ft of built-up area. A G+1 house of 1,000 sq ft a floor (2,000 sq ft in all) needs about 7.9 t, or 3.9 kg per sq ft. Single-storey houses use more per sq ft because the footings and plinth beams are spread over less floor area.
How much steel is used per sq ft in house construction?
3.5 to 4.5 kg per sq ft of built-up area for most RCC-framed houses on isolated footings. Our typical frame gives 3.9 kg for G+1. A raft foundation takes it to about 5.2 kg, and long spans, cantilevers or seismic zones IV and V add 15 to 20%.
What is the weight of a 12 mm TMT bar?
0.888 kg per metre, so a standard 12 m bar weighs about 10.7 kg and one tonne is about 94 bars. The site shortcut is d²/162 kg per metre, with d in mm.
How much steel goes into 1 cubic metre of RCC?
It depends on the element: slabs about 75 kg, beams about 130 kg and columns about 170 kg per cum in a typical house. Across a whole house frame it averages about 104 kg per cum. The frames we have measured from real drawings ranged from 86 to 119 kg per cum.
Why does the delivered steel weigh differently from the bar count?
IS 1786 allows a rolling margin on nominal mass: ±7% up to 10 mm, ±5% for 12 to 16 mm and ±3% from 20 mm. Buy and bill steel by weighed delivery, and keep 3 to 5% for cutting waste and laps.
How do I get the exact steel for my building?
From a bar bending schedule (BBS) worked out from your structural drawings: every bar's shape, length, number and weight, member by member. These estimates use typical ratios; your column grid, spans and seismic zone decide the real quantity.
Need the exact steel for your building?
Send your structural drawings and we prepare the bar bending schedule and BOQ: every bar, member by member, in Excel. BOQs start from ₹2,500 per project.
BOQ and BBS from your drawings