A Complete Guide on Footing Calculator for Concrete Work

A footing calculator is used to calculate the concrete volume before the construction of a building’s foundation or for structural checks for footings. Construction engineers, contractors, etc, use the footing calculator for finding the concrete estimate. They use the tool for planning their construction projects with ease. 

So, let us explore this calculator and its working in construction work. 

Footing in Construction 

It is necessary to understand what footing actually is in construction before moving to its calculator. 

A footing is a base or the foundation of a building or building structure. When you start the construction project, the very first thing you build is the base. The base is the backbone of the construction that evenly distributes the load of the building to the soil or ground. This is made to bear the entire weight of the building and thus should always be constructed with attention and proper material use. 

The proper material calculation and estimation take a lot of time and sometimes always create an imbalance between the material available and its use. At this moment, concrete footing calculators prove to be a useful tool that could provide a proper, thorough estimate of the concrete volume for building the footings. 

Concrete Footing Calculator

As highlighted above, concrete footing calculators are used for finding the footing material estimate for the construction. A calculator is used for planning or starting the construction work. 

Using a concrete footing calculator is easy. You need the length and width of the footing you want to build. Measure the height of the footing, too. The height is its construction depth in the ground. If you have these measurements, you can calculate the volume of concrete for your footing using the calculator. 

Visit any concrete footing calculator and enter the dimensions of the footing you are constructing. Select one single unit for the three. You must set a unit by manually converting them into a single unit, or do it while taking the measurements of the area.  Then click on the calculate button. The calculator will instantly show you the answer. 

The answer will be the volume of concrete in different units. The most preferred units for the concrete calculator are cubic yards, cubic meters, and kilos.

The calculator will give you an estimate for the premixed as well as for mixed concrete. You can select any type of concrete from the following results depending on your needs. 

However, for a footing, we would recommend you go for mixed concrete in bulk quantities because they are perfectly mixed in batches and provides durable strength to the structure. On the other hand, if your construction project is a small one, you can also go with sack concrete for an affordable solution. 

Footings are of different types, but one thing is common in all of them and that is they are constructed with concrete. The main purpose of the footing is to prevent the building from sinking. 

The footings balance the load of the building, and when the load is properly distributed through the foundation becomes stable and strong. The length and weight of the footing depend on the structure of the building and sometimes the soil conditions of the land is also considered.

Whatever the measurements of the footings are, you can easily find out the estimate for this using the concrete footing calculator. It works as a handy and useful tool in the present construction world.

Working of the Calculator 

The working of the concrete calculator is based on the mathematical formulas we used in our childhood, like finding out the square area, conversion of units, division, multiplication etc. 

When you enter the dimensions in the calculator, the calculator first performs the calculation to find out the square area of the construction. It then applies another formula to find out the concrete volume. The result you will get will be the converted answer in different units. 

This is easy to do manually, but contractors, engineers, and builders prefer using the calculator because it saves time.

Are There Different Types of Calculators for Every Footing?

As we have discussed earlier, there are different types of footings and thus this question usually arises whether one calculator works for its calculation, or are there different calculators available? 

So, the simple answer is that there are different calculators available too, but most of the websites offer just one footing calculator. Now, here the main thing is you must know the shape of your footing and use a specific calculator for the calculation. 

Contractors and experts in this field already know how to tackle this situation. They know that calculators utilize the same basic formula to find the estimate. The main thing is the “input field” and the “shape option”.

Yes, you must know what shape your footing is, whether it is rectangular, square, or circular. Once you understand this thing, the next step for calculator selection becomes easy for you. You can select the calculator according to the shape of your footing. It is necessary to do so because a rectangular footing calculator asks for length, width, and thickness of the footing, while for calculating a circular footing, you need to enter the diameter and depth. 

However, for combined and continuous footing, contractors usually break the shapes into smaller divisions and then calculate the volume. If you want to know if there are calculators available for calculating this, there is a mixed answer because you will rarely find the calculators that provide help with combined or continuous footings where more than one column shares the same base.

So, all calculators serve the same purpose, they find concrete volume, but the layout and input options change depending on the footing type and size.

What Is the Difference Between a Footing Calculator and Other Concrete Calculators?

A footing calculator is made only for calculating the amount of concrete needed for footings or foundations. Its main focus is on the base structure that supports columns or walls. The inputs are footing length, width, and height, and sometimes the quantity..

Other concrete calculators also calculate the concrete volume. Some are direct calculators that you can use by entering the dimensions, and they give you the result. These are further categorized into slab calculators, square, rectangular, column calculators, and circular object calculators. Every concrete calculator is specified for a different type of structure construction. For instance, a slab calculator helps you find the concrete volume for flat surfaces, which include floors, while a column calculator is used for vertical support structures. 

We can also say that the footing calculator is also one of the categories of the concrete calculator that is specified for he calculation of footing concrete.

What Is a Footing Material Calculator?

A footing material calculator helps you find out not only the volume of concrete needed but also other materials used in footing work. These calculators also specify the ratio of each material separately, and sometimes, some calculators also show the cost of each material separately. It works the same way as other concrete calculators; the only difference is that other calculators provide the volume estimate of pre-mixed or ready-mixed concrete, and footing material calculators provide the concrete estimate, including the reinforcement material or separate material ratio. 

The working process is the same; you just have to enter the dimensions and the calculator will give you an estimate of each material needed to make the required concrete volume.

The Role of Rebar in Footing & in Concrete Calculations

Steel rebar, or bar, is a reinforcement material used in footings to make them strong and durable. A footing is not constructed just using concrete, but rebar is also included in it. Concrete alone can handle heavy weight, but it can crack when the ground moves or when loads change, and to prevent this, rebar is essential in every footing.

When you use a footing calculator, it mainly tells you the volume of concrete needed and rebar calculation is not included in this. 

However, there are calculators available that help you include a rebar estimator that helps you find out how much steel is required based on the footing size and spacing, and the concrete. Some calculators include the rebar section along with the concrete estimation, where you can add the rebar weight. 

It is an important step to understand rebar usage in concrete footing and how to adjust the measurement in the calculation so It can show you both concrete and steel material estimate accordingly to prepare everything beforehand. 

Final Words 

A footing calculator is a helpful tool in the construction field. It saves the time and effort involved in the calculation of concrete volume used for constructing the footing. Other than this, it also help in better material management for the construction by providing accurate estimate. 

The calculator assist in finding the correct volume of concrete and prevent from material wastage due to overbuying. It also maintains a proper balance between the cost and materials for the construction. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How to calculate concrete for footings?

You can calculate concrete for a footing using a concrete calculator. You need the length, width, and height of the footing in a single unit. Enter these dimensions in the calculator or multiply manually. You will get the concrete volume.

How to calculate the quantity of footing?

You can calculate the quantity of footing by multiplying the volume of one footing by the total number of footings. 

How much is concrete for footings?

The concrete for footings is required according to the size and depth of the footing. 

What is the formula for calculating footing area?

The formula for calculating the footing area is “length x width”. If you want to find the concrete volume, then multiply the square area by the depth of the footing.