How do I calculate column concrete volume?

Multiply the column's width by its depth by its height, then by the number of columns. For a multi-storey frame, count each storey lift separately.

Should column height include the slab thickness?

Only if the slab and beam volumes exclude the junction. Choose one convention across the whole estimate and stay with it.

What steel intensity should I assume for columns?

It depends on axial load, moment, storey height and seismic zone, and only the structural design can answer it. Any intensity you enter here is an assumption, and the output labels it as one.

Do I use the floor-to-floor height for a column?

Use the height of the column concrete itself, normally from the top of the footing or slab to the soffit of the beam above. Floor-to-floor height includes the beam and slab depth, which is counted in those take-offs, so using it here double-counts the junction.

Column concrete calculator — volume and reinforcement weight

Concrete volume for columns from section size and height, across the number of columns, with an indicative reinforcement weight.

column

Dimensions inyou enter

Number of columnsyou enter

Column widthyou enter

Column depthyou enter

Column heightyou enter

Ordering

Wastage allowanceyou enter

Wastage is site-specific. Order allowance, breakage and cutting loss differ by material, supplier and workmanship; enter your own figure.

Steel intensityyou enter

kg / cu m

Your assumption, used only for an indicative weight. Replace it with a bar bending schedule before ordering.

Result — calculated from your inputs

Concrete to order7.000 cu m

In cubic feet247.20 cu ft

Indicative steel(at the intensity you entered)1,495.13 kg

Working

Net volume240.00 cu ft

Net volume in cubic metres6.796 cu m

Order volume7.000 cu m

Steel weight1,495.13 kg

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How this calculator works

volume = count × dimension A × dimension B × dimension C
order  = volume × (1 + wastage %)
steel  = net volume (cu m) × steel intensity (kg/cu m)

You enter: A value you supply. Nothing is assumed for you.
Calculated: Arithmetic on your inputs, shown in the working.
Assumption: A factor or allowance you can change — mix ratios, wastage, dry-volume factors.
Approximation: Geometry or method that approximates reality; labelled wherever used.
Verify locally: Planning parameters, statutory rates and structural design must come from the authority or a qualified professional.

Column height means floor-to-floor, less the beam

The column volume between two floors is normally measured from the top of the lower slab to the soffit of the beam above, with the beam-column junction counted once. Using the full floor-to-floor height alongside full beam volumes double-counts the junction on every column at every level.

Multiply by both the number of columns and the number of levels: this calculator's count field can carry the total number of column lifts across the building.

Columns carry the highest steel intensity in the frame

Vertical members combine heavy longitudinal bars with closely spaced ties, and seismic detailing tightens tie spacing further in the confinement zones at each end. Intensities in columns are routinely well above those in slabs.

Lap zones sit in columns too, adding length that a simple height calculation misses. Where a tonnage matters commercially, take it from the bar bending schedule rather than an intensity assumption.

Worked example

Twelve columns at 230 mm × 230 mm over a 3 m floor height come to 1.904 cubic metres of concrete per floor. Across four floors that is roughly 7.6 cubic metres, before wastage and before any change of column size up the building.

At a stated 200 kg per cubic metre the indicative steel for one floor is about 381 kg.

Mistakes in column quantities

Using floor-to-floor height where the column concrete runs only between the top of the footing or slab and the soffit of the beam.

Keeping one column size for the whole tower when columns normally reduce with height.

Ignoring starter bars, laps and the column-beam junction, which is why the steel figure here is indicative only.

This is quantity only, not design

Column size, grade, reinforcement and layout follow from a structural analysis of the whole frame. Nothing on this page performs that analysis.

Use the output to order concrete and budget, and take member sizes only from your engineer.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate column concrete volume?: Multiply the column's width by its depth by its height, then by the number of columns. For a multi-storey frame, count each storey lift separately.
Should column height include the slab thickness?: Only if the slab and beam volumes exclude the junction. Choose one convention across the whole estimate and stay with it.
What steel intensity should I assume for columns?: It depends on axial load, moment, storey height and seismic zone, and only the structural design can answer it. Any intensity you enter here is an assumption, and the output labels it as one.
Do I use the floor-to-floor height for a column?: Use the height of the column concrete itself, normally from the top of the footing or slab to the soffit of the beam above. Floor-to-floor height includes the beam and slab depth, which is counted in those take-offs, so using it here double-counts the junction.