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Planning cost note · updated

Concrete slab cost: build an estimate from supplier quotes

A planning cost is an office figure with a date, not a bid. Construclytic labels material as a rate per calculated unit and labour, equipment and delivery as this-job amounts so you can overwrite them.

Feroz SheikhWritten by Feroz Sheikh · founderCalculator suite checked Oct 3, 2026.

Open the concrete cost calculator Concrete planning guide

Hypothetical worked example — 3.25 yd³ and 240 ft²

Using assumed example rates, material is 3.25 × $145 = $471.25. Labour is $720, equipment $45 and delivery $65. Direct cost is $1,301.25 before overhead, contingency, markup and tax. These numbers demonstrate arithmetic only; replace every price with a dated quote for your project.

Concrete cost calculator: measurement diagram. Use the calculator's field labels and units. Apply its stated allowance and rounding to the calculated result.
Use the calculator's field labels and units. Apply its stated allowance and rounding to the calculated result. View image

Get comparable local supplier quotes

Ask the plant for a dated quote for the specified mix, billable quantity, delivery distance and access conditions. Confirm whether pumping, minimum-order or short-load fees, waiting time, overtime, admixtures and tax are included. Ask the placing crew separately what preparation, forms, reinforcement, finishing, curing and cleanup its rate covers.

Compare the same scope across suppliers. A rate per cubic yard cannot be compared directly with a contractor’s installed rate per square foot. Currency switching converts the amount you enter; it does not replace a local supplier quote.

Build the cost the same way you build the quantity

Start from the supplier’s billable ready-mix quantity. In a hypothetical arithmetic example, a 3.25 yd³ order at an assumed $145/yd³ costs $471.25 before pump or tax. An assumed finishing rate of $3/ft² over 240 ft² gives $720 of labour. These example rates are invented for demonstration and are not current market prices. Keep equipment, delivery, overhead, contingency, markup and tax on separate lines.

Do not bury rebar, vapour barrier, forms, saw cuts or a pump in the yard rate unless you will explain that later. Separate lines survive a client question.

Do it in order

  1. Finish the quantity takeoff, including waste and plant rounding.
  2. Enter a material rate from a dated plant or bag quote. Keep labour, equipment and delivery as this-job amounts.
  3. Set overhead, contingency, markup and tax as visible percentages. Print the quote only after every planning rate is replaced or labelled.

All monetary figures in this worked example are hypothetical. Use dated supplier and crew quotes, with currency, tax treatment and included services recorded, before making a purchasing decision.

Planning boundary

The worked example explains cost arithmetic. It does not establish a local market price or specify slab thickness, reinforcement or structural design.

Why not a zip-code price?

We do not have an authorized live price feed. A made-up local average would look precise and still be wrong. A dated plant quote is the source of truth.

Does currency switching change the real job cost?

It converts the same planning USD amount for display. It is not a bank rate and not a local ready-mix survey.

Should the client see these defaults?

Not unless you have replaced them or clearly labelled them as planning. The quote letter is a commercial document.