The definition and calculation of the Concrete column are very simple. A concrete column represents a round, rectangular, or square column filled with concrete. Although you will read more about this later, this is just the basic definition. This calculator is made of two parts. The first allows you to calculate the volume of a column, and the second one is used for calculating the number of concrete materials needed.

Our calculators are made with the same purpose: to help you. A Concrete Column calculator is primarily made for people interested in construction work. But even if construction is not something that you meet with very often, this text can be useful in everyday life. You can also use our Concrete Weight, Concrete Estimator, and Simple Concrete Calculator, as well as the Concrete Block. For your outdoor projects, head to this Paver Calculator.

## What is a Concrete Column?

As we already mentioned, a concrete column is a simple column made of concrete. It can be round, square, or rectangular. You can use concrete columns in many ways. For example, some people use them as a pure decoration while also carrying compressive loads. However, these columns are very important for the structural integrity of a building. Column’s height, width, and amount of cement are calculated and set by an architect.

## Concrete Column – Three Shapes

Three shapes are common for concrete columns. Those three shapes are round, square, and rectangular. All these shapes have different formulas, and different rules apply to them. Therefore, many different shape variations come from these simple shapes. This is just the basic information about the shapes. If you are interested in some more information and formulas, continue reading.

## Concrete Column Formulas

As we already mentioned, this calculator is split into two halves. First, we will present you the column volume formulas and the concrete amount ones. Our calculator allows you to express volume in cubic feet, meters, steps, yards, inches, etc.

### Concrete column volume

This paragraph will present you with three different formulas that apply to concrete columns based on their shape.

If you want to calculate the volume of round columns, you need to know the diameter, height (depth), area, and number of columns (Q).

V=A\times h \times Q

The following formula is for calculating the volume of rectangular columns. This calculation requires length, width, height, and the number of columns (Q).

V=h\times l \times w\times Q


You can use this formula for calculating the volume of square concrete columns. For this calculation, you need side length, height, and quantity (Q).

V=s^{2} \times h \times Q

As you can see, all these formulas are very easy to learn independently. Also, our calculator allows you to calculate the features of the column based on its volume. Using our calculator, you can express the results and everything else in cubic feet, yards, inches, steps, etc.

### Concrete materials needed

The second part of this calculator allows you to calculate the amount of sand, cement, and other materials for a concrete column, footing, or slab. For example, you can calculate the amount of pre-mixed concrete bags you need or the number of materials to make your concrete. These formulas are a bit more complicated than the volume ones, but we will try our best to explain them to you. Our opinion is that it would be a lot easier to download our Concrete column calculator and let it do the job.

If you want to have no contact with making your concrete, then the pre-mixed bags formula is just for you. As you can see, for this calculation, you need to know the total weight of concrete, bag size, and waste percentage. In these formulas, the weight is marked as m.

Concrete\; bags=\frac{m+W}{bag\; size}

If you want to make your concrete, the formula changes up slightly. This one is not a formula; it is a ratio. Once you choose the wanted ratio, for example, 1:3:6, you calculate the amount of cement, sand and gravel needed.

## Concrete Column Calculator – How to Use?

If you decide to download our concrete column calculator or use the online version, this is how to use it. It is pretty simple.

When you use the volume part of the calculator, you type in length, width, height, or diameter, and the volume is calculated – now moving on to the concrete amount part of this calculator.

If you are using pre-mixed bags, check the bag’s weight and the amount of concrete you need, and your job is done. As we already mentioned, all these results can be expressed in cubic meters, cubic feet, cubic inches, etc.

If you want to mix your concrete, you need to choose a mix ratio that suits you and then the amount of sand, gravel, and cement needed. If you still have some doubts about using this calculator, we will give you a few examples in the next paragraph.

## Practical Example

Let’s say you want to calculate the volume of a rectangular concrete column. This column that you chose has a length of 5 meters, a width of 4 meters, and a height (depth) of 6 meters. Now we put all of this into the formula and calculate it.

V=h \times l \times w \times Q=6 \times5 \times4\times1=120 \; m^3

You calculated the volume and it is 120 cubic meters, and now you want to calculate the amount of concrete bags needed. Then just choose the conrete density and enter bag size to get your results, as we decided to use pre mix option. If you turn on the advanced mode, you can estimate price as well.

## Real-world Applications

This calculator has its use in many real-world situations, whether you are a person building a playhouse for your kids or a professional architect. You first choose the shape of the concrete column that you most like. Then you choose its dimensions and calculate the volume. After that, you choose whether to buy pre-mixed concrete or mix your own. Finally, you enter the numbers into the calculator, and the only thing left to do is build.

## FAQ

How much concrete is in a column?

The amount of concrete in a column depends on its size; if it is a round column, you need to know its height and area. And if it’s a square or a rectangular, you need to know the width, length, and height. The easiest way to calculate the volume of a column is through our Concrete Column calculator.

How to figure concrete for a round column?

Figuring out the amount of concrete you need for a round column is pretty simple. All you have to do is multiply the area of the column by its height. If you want to calculate the area of a round column, you multiply the square of the radius by the number PI.

How do you calculate bags of cement for a column?

The amount of cement you use depends on the ratio you choose. Usually, footings require about one whole bag of cement each. The amount of cement you will use isn’t the same for everybody, and you have to figure it out on your own.

What is the ratio for a column?

The column ratio or slenderness ratio is a geometrical parameter. This ratio is inversely proportional to the radius of gyration. That means that the tendency of buckling failure is maxed when is at its minimum.

How thick are concrete columns?

A concrete column has no universal thickness, but a 6-inch (0,16 yard) thickness of concrete poured under the columns is universally accepted as adequate.