Estimating the cost of concrete is usually a bit difficult for most homeowners when undertaking any project necessarily requiring concrete. But, let’s not forget that calculating price for any product becomes easier if you know precisely what you are looking for and calculating concrete price is no exception.
In case of concrete there are two major factors affecting its price. One is the quantity and the other is quality.
Quantity: Estimating the quantity depends mainly on the area to be covered using concrete. Though the term normally used for expressing the cost of concrete is per yard or per square foot, in fact it is the volume of concrete that you need to calculate to assess the cost of concrete. Most houses are shaped like rectangles or squares and volume is the product of area and thickness. So, you need to calculate the area of surface or gap to be covered and multiply the result with the required thickness of concrete. So, volume of concrete is: Length x Breadth x Thickness.
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You can measure the length and breadth of area needing to be covered with concrete and multiply the resultant with the thickness of concrete to arrive at the volume of concrete. Now, thickness of concrete varies with application, for instance the thickness of concrete used for floors is not the same as that of driveways or roads.
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Quality: Quality of concrete refer to the quality or rather the specifications of materials like cement, sand, crushed stone and water used for making concrete. The ratio in which these ingredients are mixed affect its quality and hence the application and concrete price per yard. Here are a few kinds of concretes, each having the basic four ingredients in a definite ratio. The cost in each case would be different:
- Decorative Concrete
- Stamped Concrete
- Stained Concrete
- Concrete Driveway
- Concrete Patio
- Walkway
It must be pointed out here that other than the cost of concrete estimated as above, you’ll need to add associated expenses like surface preparation, grading, concrete forms and reinforcements wherever required, and finishing to arrive at the final cost of concreting any surface. You can also get premixed concrete for various applications and it is often worthwhile to compare the two costs before making any decision.
