How to use Planicalc

Planicalc helps you know how much material to buy before you build or renovate yourself. Here is how the site works and the easiest order to work things out.

Six steps

  1. Find a calculator

    Press “Search” at the top of the page or the “/” key and start typing, for example “concrete”, “wallpaper” or “blocks”. Search forgives typos. You can also pick a calculator on the home page by stage of work.

  2. Check the country and units

    The top of the form shows the country for material sizes. It sets the sizes of bricks, blocks, bags, tins and sheets, and the currency. The “m, kg” and “ft, lb” switch changes the units.

  3. Enter your sizes

    The letters on the drawing match the letters next to the fields. Under “More settings” you can change the extra for waste, pack size and bag weight, and add a price so the calculator shows the cost of materials.

  4. Read the result

    The main figure is at the top. The “Shopping list” box is rounded up to whole packs, bags and sheets, and “How we got there” shows the working. Further down the page you will find the formula, an example and answers to common questions.

  5. Your sizes are remembered

    Planicalc remembers what you entered on this device. The footing length and size are filled in for the concrete, aerated concrete and ICF calculators, and wall height and openings are shared between the wall calculators. “Reset values” brings back the usual values, and “Start from scratch” deletes everything saved.

  6. Save or send it

    “Share” sends the shopping list to a messaging app, “Copy link to this result” keeps every number in the page address, and “Print” makes a tidy sheet for the merchant or your builder.

Building a house from scratch: the order to work it out

If you are building your own house, go stage by stage. Start with the footing: its sizes are then filled in for the next calculators.

  1. Strip foundation — strip footing: concrete, rebar, formwork, sand, waterproofing and what to cast in before the pour
  2. Concrete, Rebar — strength class, cement, sand and gravel for mixing, mesh for a slab
  3. Aerated concrete blocks, Bricks and blocks, ICF blocks — walls: blocks or bricks, adhesive or mortar, reinforcement
  4. Timber and boards, Roofing — rafters and timber, roof area, sheets or tiles, ridge and membrane
  5. Insulation — insulating walls, roof and floor
  6. Stairs — stairs to the first floor
  7. Radiators, Underfloor heating, Electricity cost — heating, underfloor heating and electricity costs
  8. Paving, Fence — outside: paths, a driveway and the fence

Renovating a flat or house

For a renovation, work from the rough jobs to the finishes. With several rooms, open the “Renovation plan”: add every room and get one shopping list with packs rounded for the whole home.

  1. Plaster and filler, Drywall — level the walls, build partitions and boxing
  2. Floor screed — level the floor with screed or self-levelling compound
  3. Tiles, Laminate — tiles in the bathroom and kitchen, laminate in the rooms
  4. Paint, Wallpaper — painting and wallpaper

Renovation plan

Results are estimates. Always check the consumption printed on the product you buy.