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RCC Material & Ready Mix Concrete (RMC) Calculator

Estimate required bags of Cement, Sand (cft/tons), Aggregate (cft/tons), Water, and total cost for concrete slabs.

Residential slabs, beams and columns

Conventionally 1.54 to allow for voids and bulking.

Cement
81 bags
4,032 kg · 50 kg bags
Sand (fine aggregate)
148.3 cft
4.20 m³
Coarse aggregate
296.6 cft
8.40 m³
Water
2,016 L
w/c ratio 0.5

How this is calculated

Mix ratio for M20 is 1 : 1.5 : 3 (cement : sand : aggregate), summing to 5.5 parts.

Dry volume = 10.00 × 1.54 = 15.400

Cement = 15.400 × 1/5.5 × 1440 kg/m³ ÷ 50 = 80.64 bags

Changing the grade changes the ratio used throughout, so M15 and M25 give genuinely different quantities.

RCC Material & Ready Mix Concrete (RMC) Calculator: how it works

Concrete quantities follow from the mix ratio and the dry volume factor. Changing the grade genuinely changes every quantity.

Dry volume first

Dry ingredients occupy more space than the finished concrete, because water fills the voids between particles during mixing. The conventional factor is 1.54.

Dry volume = Wet volume × 1.54

Nominal mix ratios

IS 456 nominal mixes
GradeCement : Sand : AggregateSumTypical use
M101 : 3 : 610Foundation levelling (PCC)
M151 : 2 : 47Light pavements, boundary walls
M201 : 1.5 : 35.5Residential slabs, beams, columns
M251 : 1 : 24RCC columns, heavier work

Cement bags = (Dry volume × cement part ÷ sum) × 1440 ÷ 50

1440 kg/m³ is the density of cement
50 kg per bag

Worked example

Worked example · 10 m³ of M20 concrete

Given

  • Wet volume: 10 m³
  • M20 mix 1:1.5:3, sum 5.5

Working

  1. 1Dry volume = 10 × 1.54 = 15.4 m³
  2. 2Cement volume = 15.4 × 1 ÷ 5.5 = 2.8 m³
  3. 3Cement = 2.8 × 1440 ÷ 50 = 80.6 bags
  4. 4Sand = 15.4 × 1.5 ÷ 5.5 = 4.2 m³ = 148.3 cft
  5. 5Aggregate = 15.4 × 3 ÷ 5.5 = 8.4 m³ = 296.6 cft

81 bags of cement, 148 cft sand, 297 cft aggregate

Grade matters

The same 10 m³ needs 44 bags at M10, 63 at M15, 81 at M20 and 111 at M25. Any calculator that gives the same answer regardless of the grade you select is applying one ratio and ignoring your choice.

Based on

  • IS 456: Plain and Reinforced Concrete — Code of Practice

Frequently asked questions

About 8.06 bags, so roughly 81 bags for 10 m³. This follows from the 1:1.5:3 ratio and the 1.54 dry volume factor.

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