Concrete Beam Volume Chart: Metres and Feet

How much concrete is in each metre or foot of a rectangular beam?

Multiply the clear beam width by its overall concrete depth. The resulting cross-section area is also the volume per metre when the dimensions are in metres, or the volume per foot when they are in feet.

Use the Concrete Beam Calculator for exact dimensions, multiple identical beams, planning allowance, and whole-package estimates. Use this chart for a fast schedule lookup and independent check.

What formula creates the beam volume chart?

Convert both cross-section dimensions to one unit, multiply them, then multiply by the accepted beam length and identical count.

Metric volume per metre = (width in mm / 1,000) x (depth in mm / 1,000) x 1 m

Imperial volume per foot = (width in inches x depth in inches) / 144

Total beam volume = volume rate x accepted length x identical count

The NPCA/PCI training example uses length x width x height for an 18 in square, 30 ft beam. Converting 18 in to 1.5 ft gives 67.5 ft³, then 67.5 / 27 gives 2.5 yd³. NIST lists 1,728 in³ in 1 ft³ and 27 ft³ in 1 yd³.

Metric concrete beam volume chart

Each cell shows cubic metres per metre followed by litres per metre. Width and depth are clear concrete dimensions in millimetres.

Example: a 250 mm x 450 mm section contains 0.1125 m³, or 112.5 L, in each metre. A 6.00 m beam contains 0.1125 x 6.00 = 0.675 m³ before any project allowance.

Imperial concrete beam volume chart

Each cell shows cubic feet of concrete per linear foot. Convert the final compatible total to cubic yards by dividing cubic feet by 27.

A 12 in x 18 in beam contains exactly 1.5 ft³ per foot. Three beams at 20 ft each contain 1.5 x 20 x 3 = 90 ft³, or 90 / 27 = 3.333333 yd³.

How do you use the chart for a mixed beam schedule?

Use one row for every beam mark with the same width, depth, length, count, boundary rule, concrete mixture, and phase. Calculate each subtotal before combining compatible rows.

The 6.150 m³ total is geometry only. Keep allowance, supplier order increment, minimum load, returned-concrete policy, package yield, and commercial charges on separate records.

How does slab overlap change the chart rate?

Use one ownership rule for concrete shared by a beam and slab. A full-depth beam rate and a continuous slab volume can count the same slab-thickness zone twice.

A 300 mm wide beam is 600 mm overall depth beneath a 150 mm slab. The full beam rate is 0.300 x 0.600 = 0.180 m³/m. If the slab owns the overlap, the beam drop is 600 - 150 = 450 mm and the added beam rate is 0.300 x 0.450 = 0.135 m³/m.

The beam and slab schedules must use paired boundaries. Read the Concrete Beam Quantity Takeoff for length, support, and ownership records.

Can you multiply a rounded chart rate over a long run?

Use the underlying dimensions for the final schedule. Displayed chart rates are rounded for lookup, and a small rate difference can accumulate over a long combined length.

A 225 mm x 450 mm section is exactly 0.225 x 0.450 = 0.10125 m³/m. The chart displays 0.1013 m³/m. Over 100 m, the displayed rate gives 10.130 m³ while the exact formula gives 10.125 m³, a difference of 0.005 m³.

FHWA's field-formula guidance says final answers should reflect the precision of the input data and interim results should not be rounded. Store the exact cross-section calculation and round only the reported total to a justified precision.

What if the exact section is between chart rows?

Calculate the actual width x depth. Do not replace an approved 275 mm x 525 mm section with a nearby chart cell or average 2 displayed rates.

For that section, the exact metric rate is 0.275 x 0.525 = 0.144375 m³/m. A spreadsheet or calculator can preserve this value for the schedule. The chart still helps detect a unit or decimal error because the result should fall between neighbouring section rates.

Which beam shapes do not fit this chart?

The chart covers one constant solid rectangle. It does not represent a step, haunch, taper, curve, crank, T-section, L-section, hollow or voided member, changing width, changing depth, or several concrete ownership zones.

Use Concrete Beam Shapes: Haunches, Steps and Tapers for non-constant geometry. Split a valid shape into non-overlapping solids, retain the transition method, and reconcile the total with current sections or an audited model.

Do reinforcement, formwork and concrete weight come from this chart?

No. The chart returns concrete volume only. It contains no bar marks, spacing, laps, couplers, form faces, panels, ties, shores, density, concrete mixture, moisture state, delivery capacity, labour, or cost.

• Use the Concrete Beam Formwork Area guide for measured contact faces.
• Use approved structural and placing records for reinforcement.
• Use a project-accepted density only when a separate task needs mass or self-weight.
• Use the selected concrete specification and supplier record for mixture, delivery, and purchase decisions.

A universal reinforcement weight per cubic metre, concrete density, waste factor, or cost would add assumptions that the beam dimensions cannot support.

Which dimensions should be recorded with the chart result?

Keep the source and quantity state beside each calculated row so another checker can reproduce it.

RICS NRM 2 includes beams and attached beams within horizontal in-situ concrete work in its UK detailed-measurement framework. A project using another contract or jurisdiction can assign intersections differently, so name the adopted rule.

Common beam volume chart mistakes

• Selecting a section from the chart instead of using structural records.
• Reading width and depth in the wrong order.
• Mixing millimetres with metres or inches with feet.
• Using outside form dimensions instead of clear concrete dimensions.
• Multiplying the rounded display rate across a long run.
• Combining beam marks with different boundaries, phases, or mixtures.
• Counting slab, column, or wall intersections twice.
• Using a rectangular cell for a haunch, taper, step, curve, T, or L section.
• Converting cubic feet to cubic yards by dividing by 3 instead of 27.
• Adding allowance inside the measured section dimensions.
• Deriving reinforcement, formwork, density, weight, cost, or structural adequacy from volume.

Final beam volume chart check

1. Confirm the current beam mark, section, length, count, units, and revision.
2. Choose full-depth or drop-only ownership and reconcile adjoining slab and support quantities.
3. Use the chart for lookup, then calculate the exact rate from the actual dimensions.
4. Keep full precision through each row and sum compatible subtotals.
5. Separate special shapes, openings, and disputed geometry.
6. Keep allowance, supplier rounding, formwork, reinforcement, weight, and cost outside the measured volume.
7. Record preparer, checker, assumptions, unresolved items, and issue date.

Use the Ready-Mix Concrete Calculator after the compatible measured total is accepted. Return to the concrete planning hub for related tools. The calculation methodology explains units and rounding, and the corrections route accepts a source or arithmetic issue.