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Any construction work that involves emptying or foundation with concrete must be planned or calculated very well. In other words, the volume of concrete that is fair and necessary for the work must be determined.
Errors in the calculation of the volume of concrete, entail high costs and loss of time and resources.
On the one hand, an insufficient amount of concrete can lead to the placement or foundation in two different sections or moments with the consequent impact on costs and a weak foundation or union between both sections.
An overestimation or excessive amount of concrete raises project costs and can cause losses.
The placement or emptying of concrete is done on three-dimensional or volumetric surfaces, so the amount of concrete is measured in volume according to the calculation length x width x height. Whether measured in cubic yards or cubic meters
The volume of concrete will then be the amount of space that this material will occupy.
Mentally we can visualize a cubic yard as a cube or cubic block of concrete of 1 yard in each of its three dimensions (height, length and width) the same as the cubic meter.
Remembering that one yard equals 0.9144 linear meters and one cubic yard represents 0.7645 cubic meters.
The concrete mix ready for emptying or foundation is an aggregate that contains: pulverized dry cement, which is generally marketed in sacks, sand aggregates and silicates, known as fine aggregates; in some cases gravel or other type of stone, called coarse aggregates; Finally water and additives.
Variants of concrete ready mixes to add water and cement are also available by bags.
According to research the quantities to be mixed of each material, to generate the aggregate of concrete must approximately approximate the proportion 1 is to 1.7 is to 3.3. Where 1 will be the weight of the cement, 1.7 will be the weight of fine aggregate of the mixture and 3.3 will be the weight of coarse aggregate. With a water-cement ratio of 0.45.
The estimate is that 7.3 bags of 50 kg gross cement are needed in addition to aggregates and water, to generate a concrete mix equivalent to one cubic meter.
How to calculate the cubic yard of cement?
The most significant cost of any concrete pouring project is going to be the cost of cement.
The concrete preparation or mixture purchased per cubic yard (765 lb.) and delivered to the ready-mix truck will have a different price than the ready-mix bags that you must prepare yourself with water and a different cost will have the cement bag gross that you must prepare on your own with added material and water.
There is an online variety of concrete calculators, but each requires the cost per cubic yard to be able to do the calculation.
The costs of concrete vary not only by the volume purchased but by factors that impact the cost of manufacturing.
Making concrete consumes a lot of energy, so fluctuations in the cost of fuel for the concrete and premixed plant can make a significant difference in the cost of the final product.
The distance from the source of raw material, the aggregates and the construction zone also marks differences in cost. Concrete may be more expensive in areas far from those resources than in the case of an area near limestone, sand, aluminium and iron sources.
Recent Typical Costs
The trend in the average price of ready-mix concrete in the last decade in the American Union has been steadily rising.
To illustrate, in 2006 the average concrete cost was USD 65 per yard delivered, and in 2012 it amounted to USD 150 per cubic yard. And a higher incidence of the increase is caused by energy costs.
A report from the newspaper indicates that by 2016 the cost of a ton of raw cement was USD 168 in Mexico and an average USD 110 in the United States, 35% cheaper.
The same study showed that China is the largest cement producer in the world with some 2,410 million metric tons produced in 2016 with a CIF Cost in Latin American port of USD 60 per ton. The US produces only about 86 million MT of cement per year.
Truck loading prices
The concrete delivered to ready-mix truck loads needs to meet the minimum supply order needs. Both its preparation and transfer involve costs.
Standard concrete trucks generally move 10 cubic yards of concrete. Most suppliers require a minimum load order of 5 yards (3,825 lb.)
A small load will always cost you a few dollars more per yard. Once you know the amount of concrete you will need, call your supplier and check prices as a forecast measure.
Many contractors seek to plan the work so that they need concrete in significant quantities of about 10 metric yards, to reduce fixed costs.
To calculate the costs by yards, simply divide the price of the supplier by the number of yards you are ordering.
Bag sizes
The concrete is sold in ready, dry or ready-mixed mixtures. Cement, on the other hand, is obtained in bags that you will need to mix with pleasing material and water.
The common size of the bags is 40, 60 and 80 pounds which equal 18, 27, and 36 kg. There are other sizes that are sold in different parts of the country.
In 2010, an 80-pound (36 kg) bag cost between the US $ 3.50 and the US $ 4. Currently, only a bag of 60 pounds is around the US $ 4.50.
For each common size, a concrete yard of 27 cubic feet (8.22 cubic meters) needs 90 bags of 40 pounds (27 kg), sixty 60 pounds (27 kg) or 45 80 pounds (36 kg).
While the concrete comes in a wide variety of bag sizes, it is easy to calculate the number of bags in a cubic yard with a simple calculation, using ratios like the one indicated at the beginning of the article.
Calculate the cost with sacks
There are 27 cubic feet of concrete per cubic yard. While a cubic meter represents 35.3 cubic feet. Divide this number by the number of cubic meters per bag as indicated by the label or bag.
The 80-pound (36 kg) bags are 0.6 cubic feet, a 60-pound (27 kg) bag is 0.45 cubic feet, and a 40-pound (18 kg) bag contains 0.3 cubic feet.
Calculate the number of bags per yard and then multiply it by the cost per bag. If you can buy a bag of 80 pounds (36 kg) for the US $ 5, then multiply by 45 bags, according to the calculation, you will get the cost per yard of US $ 225.
Remember also that you have to mix yourself in a truck or rent a mixer and hire labour which will add more costs. So sometimes, if the work is large it is preferable to opt for the premixed truck.