Enter the mix with prices, piece dimensions, reinforcement and form to find what each piece costs, what to sell it for and how much the forms turn out per day.
Pre-sizing and estimating tool: results do not replace design, calculations or reports signed by a licensed professional, nor verification against the applicable codes and standards.
Each share of the direct cost of one piece, before taxes, overhead and margin.
How much each mix ingredient adds to the cost of 1 yd³ of concrete.
The calculation report gathers this page's inputs, results, equations, assumptions and references, with fields for project, engineer and revision. The full report also includes the charts and interpretations, in color. In the print dialog, choose Save as PDF.
It works out what a precast concrete piece costs to make (pipe, panel, slab, curb, pole or a piece of known volume) and what to sell it for. It starts from the mix per cubic yard with material prices, computes the piece volume, adds reinforcement, form, release agent, curing and labor, then applies overhead and margin. It also shows price per cubic yard and per ton and how many pieces the forms turn out per day.
From the mix design by your lab or ready-mix supplier, which sets quantities for the required strength and durability (ACI 211.1 proportioning). If the plant batches by volume, convert to weight per cubic yard with each material’s unit weight. The weights should add up to roughly 3,950 to 4,100 lb/yd³; if not, the mix is probably not per cubic yard.
The example is a 24 in reinforced pipe with a 3 in wall and 8 ft laying length: 14.1 ft³ of concrete and 2,117 lb. Concrete costs $84.12/yd³, so the piece takes $46.25 of concrete (with 5% waste), $18 of rebar, $6 of form and $24 of labor, plus curing and release agent. Direct cost is $95.45 and price $127.26, or $243 per cubic yard and $120 per short ton.
Because it is the costliest ingredient: in the example, 564 lb of cement make up half the concrete cost. That is why small mix tweaks, such as a water reducer to cut water and cement while keeping the water-cement ratio, pay more than haggling over sand and stone. Any mix change needs new strength tests (ASTM C39 cylinders) before production.
The form price is divided by the number of uses it lasts before rework or scrapping. In the example a $9,000 form good for 1,500 uses costs $6 per piece; with 4 forms on a 24 h cycle the plant makes 4 pieces a day, 88 a month, and each form lasts about 5.7 years. Wood forms, with a few dozen uses, weigh much more per piece.
Plant-wide energy, equipment maintenance, QC testing, yard storage, delivery, erection and crane depreciation are not included: put them in the labor rate or overhead. Volumes come from simple formulas and ignore bells, joints and blockouts. The calculator does not check the structural design of the piece, which follows the PCI Design Handbook, ACI 318 and the project specs.
It depends on the mix, the steel and local material prices, but the math is always the same: concrete in the piece, rebar, form share, curing and labor. In the example, a 24 in by 8 ft reinforced pipe costs about $95 to make and $127 to sell with 25% overhead and margin. Replace the fields with your prices and your plant’s mix to get your own figure.
Important notice: Indus Metrics tools produce estimates and pre-sizing results from the data you enter and from published engineering methods. They do not replace design, calculations or reports signed by a licensed professional engineer (PE), nor verification against the applicable codes, standards and regulations, such as OSHA rules and the ASME codes. Material and fuel properties vary: check manufacturer data or your own process analyses before deciding. By using this site you agree to the Terms of Use.
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