Data changelog

Method change

Aggregate waste no longer includes compaction

The aggregate allowance used to be a flat 10% that was really the material settling. Now every aggregate carries its own compaction figure — 20% for base rock with fines, 8% for clean stone — applied to the finished volume before waste, and the waste allowance covers only real waste: the unfinished edge, what stays in the barrow, ungraded ground. Keeping both at 10% would have counted the same thing twice and over-ordered.

Read from MaterialsEstimator, Aggregate depth and compaction practice survey

New data

Aggregate bulk density

Published pounds per cubic yard as a low-to-high range for seven materials, rather than the single figure the rest of the market quotes. The tonnage a job needs is reported as a range for the same reason: a yard of sand weighs 2,600 lb dry and 3,000 lb wet, and that spread is the customer's to see.

Read from ASTM International, ASTM C29/C29M, Standard Test Method for Bulk Density (Unit Weight) and Voids in Aggregate and MaterialsEstimator, Aggregate bulk density survey

New data

Delivered aggregate price, minimum load and haul fee

Published price per ton by material, the one-ton delivery minimum and the flat haul fee of roughly $60–125 per load — built into the quoted price rather than left as a footnote, because on a small order the truck costs more than the stone.

Read from MaterialsEstimator, Delivered aggregate price survey

Method change

How sources are recorded

Every figure now references a source entry by id rather than carrying its attribution as loose text. The sources page is generated from those entries, so a citation on a calculator and the entry on this site cannot drift apart. No figure changed.

New data

Concrete bag yields

Published the yield in cubic feet of set concrete for the 80, 60, 50 and 40 lb bags, read from the manufacturers' own data sheets, along with the bags-per-cubic-yard figures derived from them.

Read from Quikrete, Concrete Mix No. 1101 product data sheet and Sakrete, Concrete Mix product data sheet

New data

Delivered ready-mix price

Published a national delivered range of $140–200 per cubic yard, typical $165, carrying a high freight sensitivity because haul distance moves this price far more than the state line does.

Read from MaterialsEstimator, Delivered ready-mix price survey

New data

Short-load fee

Published the four-to-five yard minimum load and the $55 per yard below it, and built it into the quoted price of small pours instead of leaving it as a footnote.

Read from MaterialsEstimator, Ready-mix minimum load and short-load fee survey

New data

Regional labour index

Adopted the BEA Regional Price Parities for the 2024 reference year as the state labour factor, applied to the labour half of an estimate only.

Read from U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by State

New data

Control joint spacing

Published joint spacing as 2.5 × the slab thickness in inches, read as feet, with a quarter-depth cut made 6 to 18 hours after the pour, following the ACI guide for slabs on ground.

Read from American Concrete Institute, ACI 302.1R, Guide to Concrete Floor and Slab Construction