AI estimating for concrete contractors
Concrete estimating software that prices on your numbers
Concrete estimating software reads your drawings, performs the takeoff by element (slabs, footings, walls, piers), and prices the quantities against your own unit costs instead of generic databases. Ruh combines concrete takeoff software and pricing in one pass: it splits volumes by mix design, carries formwork and rebar with the elements they belong to, and hands your estimator a line item draft to review and sign off.
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Book a walkthroughThe concrete estimating problems this solves
Volume math across mixed elements
One foundation package can hold slabs in sf and inches, footings in lf and cross sections, and piers in diameters and depths. Converting all of it to cy with the right waste factor per element is slow by hand, and one missed conversion (forgetting to divide cf by 27) poisons every line below it.
Formwork that never makes the bid
Formwork is measured in SFCA (square feet of contact area), not in the concrete volume, and it hides in the sections and details. Crews then build forms the estimate never carried. Both faces of a wall, edge forms on slabs, and blockouts all need to be counted where they occur.
Rebar conversions and splices
Reinforcing arrives on the drawings as bar sizes and spacings, but it is bought in tons. Getting from 12 in OC each way to lb per sf to tons, with laps, dowels, and chairs included, is exactly the kind of grind where a tired estimator drops 10 percent of the steel.
What a concrete takeoff counts and measures
| Item | Unit | How it is measured and priced |
|---|---|---|
| Slab on grade | cy + sf | Plan area x thickness to cf, / 27 to cy with 5 to 10 percent waste; finish priced separately per sf. |
| Continuous footings | cy | Lf x width x depth from the foundation schedule, poured against earth or formed, each priced differently. |
| Spread footings | cy + ea | Counted from the foundation plan, volumes from the schedule dimensions. |
| Foundation walls | cy + sfca | Volume for the mix, SFCA both faces for the forms, openings deducted. |
| Piers and columns | cy + ea | Round piers: pi x r squared x height, times the count; forms per vertical sf. |
| Formwork | sfca | Contact area wherever fresh concrete needs containment; reuse factor set by the pour sequence. |
| Rebar | tons | Bar size lb per ft x lengths, plus laps and dowels; #4 = 0.668 lb per ft, #5 = 1.043 lb per ft. |
| Joints and sealants | lf | Sawcut control joints by the spacing rule on the plan, expansion joints at isolation points. |
| Pumping | cy or day | Pump mix adders per cy plus pump time, when the pour cannot be tailgated. |
A worked concrete example
Price a 30 ft x 50 ft x 6 in slab with a 120 lf x 16 in x 12 in continuous footing. Slab: 30 x 50 = 1,500 sf x 0.5 ft = 750 cf / 27 = 27.8 cy, plus 8 percent waste = 30 cy. Footing: 120 x 1.33 x 1.0 = 160 cf / 27 = 5.9 cy, carried as 6.5 cy with waste. Material at an illustrative $172 per cy: 36.5 cy x $172 = $6,278. Rebar mat at 12 in OC each way with #4 bar runs about 1.4 lb per sf: 1,500 sf x 1.4 = 2,100 lb = 1.05 tons, at an illustrative $2,400 per ton installed = $2,520. Place and finish at an illustrative $2.10 per sf: 1,500 x $2.10 = $3,150. Edge forms: 160 lf x $4.50 = $720. The package lands at $6,278 + $2,520 + $3,150 + $720 = $12,668 before markup, every number traceable to a dimension.
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How Ruh runs your concrete estimates
Ruh reads the foundation plan, sections, and schedules, splits the takeoff by element and mix design, and computes cy, sfca, and rebar tonnage with your waste factors. It prices everything from your own price book, the mixes, adders, formwork rates, and crew costs you actually pay, and assembles the line item estimate with assumptions flagged. Your estimator reviews the flagged items, adjusts means and methods, and signs off before anything goes out.
Concrete estimating software FAQs
Does it handle formwork and rebar or just concrete volume?+
All three, tied to the elements they belong to. Walls carry their SFCA both faces, slabs carry edge forms and joint lf, and reinforcing converts from bar size and spacing to tons with laps included. Volume only takeoffs are how formwork ends up unpaid.
Whose prices does it use?+
Yours. Ruh prices against your own price book, your mix quotes with admixture adders, your formwork rates, your labor. Published averages are only a fallback you can choose, never a silent default.
Can it split quantities by mix design and pour?+
Yes. Footings, slabs, walls, and exterior flatwork each carry their own mix, strength, and adders (air, accelerator, pump), so winter pours and pump pours price the way the supplier will actually invoice them.
What does my estimator still do?+
Judgment. The AI drafts the takeoff and pricing with every line traceable to a sheet; your estimator reviews flagged assumptions, sets means and methods, adjusts waste and crew rates, and signs off. Nothing is submitted without a human.
Bidding concrete work? Ruh prices it on YOUR price book, not a database.
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Figures on this page are illustrative. Construction estimates depend on project-specific conditions, source documents, market pricing, and professional judgment. Ruh's AI assists the estimator and does not replace professional review: your team reviews, validates, and approves every estimate, bid, and pricing decision.