DIY Material Calculator

Know what to buy before you go. DIY Material Calculator works out the materials for home and garden jobs, in the bags, bulk bags, tonnes and tins that shops actually sell.

Enter the size and depth, pick how you buy it, and get the number to order, the weight to carry and the cost with your own prices. Every answer shows how it was worked out, step by step, so you can check it.

FREE CALCULATORS
• Concrete: slabs, shed bases, paths, round columns and post holes
• Gravel and shingle: drives, paths and borders
• Sand: paving beds, play pits and levelling
• Topsoil: raised beds, new borders and lawns
• Bark and mulch: beds and borders
• Paint a room: walls, ceiling, doors and windows taken off

BAG COUNTS THAT MATCH THE BAGS
Bagged concrete mixes make about 0.01 m³ per 20 kg bag (0.60 cu ft per 80 lb bag), as printed on most bags, and the app uses those yields. Sand and gravel bags use the same weights as the totals. Buying in bulk? Pick bulk bags, loose by the tonne, by the cubic metre or ready-mix concrete.

PAINT IN TINS, NOT JUST LITRES
Measure the room and the app adds up the walls, takes off doors and windows and adds the ceiling if you like. Type the coverage from your tin and you get the tins to buy. Add tin prices and it picks the cheapest mix of sizes.

HANDY EVERY TIME
• Save your own bag sizes and prices for next time
• History you can reopen at the shop
• Metric or imperial, with a choice of currency
• Light or dark look
• No account. Your measurements stay on your phone.

DIY MATERIAL CALCULATOR PRO
A one-time upgrade for bigger jobs. Every free calculator stays free.
• Projects: put a shed base, a patio and a path in one project and get one shopping list with totals. Share it as text or a PDF.
• Patio: slabs with joints, the compacted MOT Type 1 sub-base and the mortar bed
• Mix your own concrete: cement and ballast, or cement, sharp sand and gravel
• Bricks and blocks: how many for a wall, plus the sand and cement to lay them
• Lawn: turf rolls, topsoil and grass seed
• Paint plan: several rooms, ceilings, skirting and doors in one list of tins
• Any shape: L-shapes, triangles, several areas added up, areas taken away, and post holes by the dozen

Bought the upgrade in an earlier version? It includes Pro. Tap Restore purchase in the app.

ESTIMATES FOR PLANNING
Results are estimates. Ground levels, compaction, moisture and product differences all change what you need, so check product labels and allow a little extra. For structural work or foundations, ask a professional.

Questions or ideas: support@zarkon.co.uk

Recent changes:
A big update:
• Metric bag counts fixed: 20 kg concrete bags now use the 0.01 m³ printed on the bag
• Bulk bags, tonnes, cubic metres and ready-mix, with weights
• Paint a whole room and get the tins to buy
• Save your own bag sizes and prices
• A fresh new look
• Pro (one-time): projects with PDF shopping lists, patio, mix your own concrete, bricks and blocks, lawn, paint plan and any shape. Bought the old upgrade? It includes Pro.