Concrete Tube Calculator – How to Use it For Column, Piers, Footings & Tubes 

A concrete tube calculator is a tool that contractors and builders can use to estimate the volume of concrete for round structures. This calculator is used for columns, fences, footings, posts, piers, decks, etc. 

This concrete calculator works differently because, other than length, width, and height, this calculator requires the diameter and height of the tube to calculate the concrete volume. 

The Use of the Concrete Tube Calculator 

Studies on residential concrete projects have revealed that every residential project’s waste of unused concrete can reach 10% of the total volume when estimates are done by guesswork instead of tools.

10 percent of unused concrete material going to waste is a loss of money and a total mismanagement. This is why the use of tools is necessarily recommended by experts.

Concrete tube calculators are used for a variety of projects. It can give a clear, concrete volume and cost estimates of the following structure: 

• Round column 
• Deck footings 
• Fence posts
• Piers 
• Pipes and drainage 

 

You can use the calculator to find out the estimate for one tube or multiple tubes at a single time. When you have to pour a concrete mixture in several deck footings or a full row of fence posts at once, the calculator can help you; it adds up the volume of all tubes together.

The calculator shortens your calculation time and benefits you in many ways. One of its benefits is that you get an accurate result in no time. It saves your money and materials from going to waste unnecessarily. 

How To Use a Concrete Tube Calculator?

When you plan to use a concrete tube calculator, you must have two main measurements. 

The diameter & the Height. The diameter is further of two types: 

• The inner diameter of the tube 
• The outer diameter of the tube

If you have these measurements of the tube, then you can use the calculator to find out the concrete volume for tubes.

The calculator will provide an estimate. Here are a few steps to understand the usage of the calculator: 

1. Open any concrete calculator website page
2. Move to the concrete tube calculator or the type of structure you want to calculate the concrete volume for. This can be a footing calculator, a column calculator, or a tube calculator. Choose from the following list to proceed further. 
3. Add the data you have in the required fields, the diameter in the place of diameter, and the height where it is mentioned.
4. Add the number of tubes you are finding the volume for to fill with concrete. If it is only one, add 1. If it is more than one, count and add the numbers accordingly. 
5. Check the units and set them correctly. All the measurements should be in one single unit for better accuracy in the result. 
6. Calculate and get the volume of concrete. 

Calculation Example 

Concrete tube forms or structures have two basic lengths, as highlighted above. It has two diameters, but some calculators only ask for one diameter. If you go through such a situation, don’t panic and just add the inner diameter. 

The outer diameter of the tube doesn’t matter a lot. The most important is the inner diameter. This is what counts for your concrete volume. The inner diameter is the hollow space you have to fill with the concrete. The outer diameter is mostly written outside the label of the tube form.

Single Tube Example

Suppose you have one tube form that you are placing for a small column filing.

The outer diameter of the tube is 12.5 inches

The inner diameter of the tube is 12 inches

The height of the tube is 3 feet

When you open the calculator, you have to move to the tube section. The next thing is you have to add all these three dimensions. If the calculator asks for just diameter and height, then only add the inner diameter because that is the one to be filed. 

So, once you do this, there is one more necessary input you should not forget. It is the “quantity”. It describes how many tubes you should fill. 

As in our example, we are just filling one tube, so we will add 1 and move to the calculation process. 

The result we get will be around 2.35 cubic feet of concrete. The calculator will show the answer in the following pattern. 

2.35 cubic feet of concrete 

0.087 Cubic yard of concrete 

4 standard 80 lb bags of concrete

Concrete is usually sold in cubic yards. So here, 0.087 cubic yards of concrete will be taken as 1 cubic yard, including a few extra amounts.

Multiple deck footing tubes

Now here is another example. Suppose you have 6 tubes and each of the six has an outer diameter of about 10.5 inches and an inner diameter of 10 inches, and a height of 3 feet for deck footings.

So while using the calculator, you will visit the footing calculator and add the diameter, length, and 6 at the place of quantity because you have to fill six footings. This way, the calculator calculates the volume of all 6 at once and gives you the answer at once. 

The total volume the calculator will show will be around 9.8 cubic feet. This is a little more than half a cubic yard of concrete. It will show you that you will need around 17 to 18 bags of 80 lb concrete for all six tubes.

Sonoube & Concrete Tube Calculator

A Sonotube is a popular brand of round cardboard forms that people use to pour concrete into tube types. The sonotube concrete calculator and concrete tube calculator can be the same on many calculator websites. Both are used to fill concrete in columns, footings, posts, etc. 

Many people use the word “Sonotube” for the round concrete tube on a job site, even when it is from another brand. These tubes are available in different sizes and are in larger diameters for larger columns. 

A concrete tube calculator can also be used for sonotube projects because the calculator uses the same measurements for estimations. You can use the same concrete tube calculator steps for both Sonotubes and other tube brands.

Case Study & Example on Sonotube Form on Pier Foundation

A useful real-world reference comes from Perma Pier Foundation Repair of Texas, a foundation specialist that explains how pier and beam foundations work and why proper footing size is important for their stability and cost management.

They described pier and beam systems built on a series of concrete piers. They said, these are the structures that carry the building load above the ground. 

They further described that each pier needs the right diameter and depth to handle the load and soil conditions. 

In many residential construction works, the contractors and builders use round concrete forms, just like sonotubes, to fill concrete in these piers and to manage their shape and stability in one place. 

The pier size directly affects how much concrete goes into each tube and how many piers the project needs overall.

Now, picture a small house extension that needs 12 concrete piers. The engineer specifies 12-inch round piers with a certain depth based on local soil and frost line. 

The contractor has two options left. Either calculate the volume of concrete manually or use a calculator for better estimation. What do you think the contractor will prefer? Obviously, they will rely on the concrete tube calculator rather than guessing the amount or spending hours on calculation.

So, their next step becomes easy. They just order the exact amount of concrete with 10 percent extra for wastage and other extra factors. They will order the concrete material in one batch and fill all the tubes at once, preventing the work and avoiding multiple small, costly deliveries.

Final Words

Concrete work is not as simple as it seems. One small miscalculation can lead to a large amount of material wastage. The stats have shown that when concrete costs around $125 to $150 per cubic yard, then even a small project can make you lose up to 10% of material. This often happens through rough guessing and wrong estimation. This can ultimately add extra dollars to your bill. 

A concrete tube calculator does not fix any problem on site, but it shows you the numbers that are closer to the required need.  

In the end, it is all about your project and the tool that gives you the estimate to add the correct amount of concrete to fix your work in the first step. So never rely on guesswork and use a calculator for calculations!

Frequently Asked Questions

How to Calculate Concrete for Pipes?

You can calculate the concrete pipes by using the inner diameter, outer diameter, and length of the pipe. Once you have these three measurements, use a concrete tube calculator and find out the volume.

Can I use a concrete tube calculator for Sonotubes?

Yes, you can use it for Sonotubes and other brands of round forms.

How to calculate the volume of a tube?

Calculate the volume of a tube by using its inner diameter and height. The formula is:

Volume = π × (inner radius)² × height

The inner radius is half of the inner diameter.