All Calculators

87 calculators across 11 trades. Each one computes something the others do not — its own inputs, its own formula, and its own coverage and waste assumptions, stated on the page along with where they came from.

If you are not sure which one applies, start from the material rather than the room. A bathroom retile and a kitchen backsplash use the same tile arithmetic; a bathroom repaint and a bedroom repaint use the same paint arithmetic. Where a job needs several calculators run in a particular order, the project walkthroughs chain them and show which early decisions change the later numbers.

Each group below links to a short page explaining what its calculators have in common — the shared estimating idea, and the order to run them in.

Masonry Estimating

6 calculators · how this group fits together

Why brick is counted per square foot and block is counted by the course, and how mortar and veneer follow from those two answers.

Framing Estimating

10 calculators · how this group fits together

Framing quantities are spacing problems and framing sizes are span problems. This is where those two stop being the same question.

Drywall and Wall Finishes

7 calculators · how this group fits together

A wall is built up in layers, and each layer is measured differently: sheets by area, compound by seam, paint by coverage rate.

Flooring and Tile Estimating

6 calculators · how this group fits together

Floors are where waste factors earn their keep, because layout direction and pattern change the cut count more than area does.

Roof Estimating

8 calculators · how this group fits together

Everything on a roof is measured on a slope and drawn on a plan, and almost every roofing shortfall traces back to that difference.

Decks, Fences and Stairs

7 calculators · how this group fits together

Outdoor structures are spacing problems that end in a hole in the ground, and the hole is sized by what the spacing puts above it.

Concrete and Site Estimating

8 calculators · how this group fits together

Volume is the easy half. Weight is where it goes wrong: soil swells, aggregate sells by the ton, and a hole makes a bigger pile.

Landscaping Estimating

11 calculators · how this group fits together

Bulk garden materials are priced by the yard, delivered by the ton and spread by the inch, and all three units have to agree.

Home Systems Sizing

12 calculators · how this group fits together

Heating, air, water and power all size on peak demand rather than average use, which is why correct sizing looks over-built.

Trim and Finish Estimating

6 calculators · how this group fits together

Trim cannot be bought by the total linear foot, because a wall needs a piece long enough to cross it in one continuous run.

Cost and Planning Calculators

6 calculators · how this group fits together

The half of an estimate that decides whether a project happens: waste, money, hours, trips and the container it all leaves in.