Construction · Landscaping · Home improvement
Know what your project really costs — before you call a contractor.
Free calculators and guides built from sourced data, with every number explained.
Prices pulled live from public BLS/FRED data — and every figure on the site traces to a named source.
Start here
Calculators
The full live set — driveways, slabs, footings, columns, walls, stairs. Material cost flows from the BLS ready-mix index where relevant; labor and fees are sourced ranges, not quotes.
Gravel calculator
Concrete calculator
Concrete slab cost calculator
Concrete bag calculator
Concrete weight calculator
Driveway area calculator
Driveway cost calculator
Sand calculator
Topsoil calculator
By project
Find your project, find your tools
The catalog organized by what you're actually building — the project, then the calculators that compute its numbers, the pillar that surveys it, and the spokes that go deeper on each decision.
Concrete slabs
If you're pouring a slab — sizing the pour, prepping the base, choosing reinforcement, mixing the right ratio, and getting cure timing right — these calculators and guides cover the full arc.
Tools
Concrete Slabs: Thickness, Rebar, Base & Cost — The Complete Guide
Concrete vs Cement: What's the Difference?
How Much Gravel Do You Need Under a Concrete Slab?
How Thick Should a Concrete Slab Be?
Do You Need Rebar in a Concrete Slab? Rebar vs Mesh vs Fiber
How Long Does Concrete Take to Cure?
Concrete Mix Ratio: Cement, Sand & Aggregate
How to Estimate a Concrete Project
Concrete driveways
For a concrete driveway — measuring the footprint, costing the install, sizing for cars and turning, comparing concrete vs asphalt vs pavers, and the maintenance arc of crack-repair, resurfacing, sealing — start here.
Tools
Concrete Driveway: Cost, Size, and How to Get One That Lasts
How Thick Should a Concrete Driveway Be?
Concrete Driveway Cost: What Drives the Price, How to Read Quotes, and When to DIY
Concrete vs Asphalt Driveway: Cost, Lifespan, Climate, and the Year-15 Crossover
Concrete vs Pavers vs Gravel Driveway: Cost, Lifespan, Upkeep, and Which Fits Your Property
How Big Should a Driveway Be? Width, Length, Turning, and the Space You Actually Need
Concrete Driveway Crack Repair: Read the Crack First, Then Fix It Right
Resurface or Replace Your Concrete Driveway? It Comes Down to the Base
Sealing a Concrete Driveway: Penetrating vs Topical, When to Seal, and What Sealing Can't Do
Concrete patios
For a concrete patio — picking the finish (the biggest cost lever, because finish is a labor multiplier), sizing for use rather than a fixed number, the slope-away-from-the-house drainage rule, and the DIY-prep-hire-pour middle path — start here.
Tools
Concrete Patio: Cost, Size, Finish & How to Get One That Lasts
How Thick Should a Concrete Patio Be?
Concrete Patio Cost: Why Finish Drives the Total, and When to DIY
Stamped Concrete Patio: Why the Look Ages Faster Than the Slab
Concrete vs Pavers Patio: Repairability + Climate Decide, Not the Sticker Price
Patio Size: Size From Use, Not a Number
Resurfacing a Concrete Patio: Surface or Structure?
Sealing a Concrete Patio: Penetrating or Topical?
Hot Tub Concrete Pad: The Load Case, Not the Footprint
Painting or Staining a Concrete Patio: Sits on Top vs Soaks In
Landscape materials
For topsoil, fill dirt, sand, or gravel — pick by what the material has to DO (grow, support, drain a base, drain a surface), and layer when the job needs both. The pillar guide teaches the sort; the calculators size each quantity.
Tools
The discipline
Where these numbers come from
Material prices come from public BLS data via FRED — specifically the Producer Price Index series for sand / gravel / stone and ready-mix concrete (series identifiers on the methodology page). Prices update with the FRED API: we escalate a published-base anchor by month-over-month PPI changes, never displaying a raw index value as a dollar. Output is always a labeled range — never the four-decimal precision the underlying sources can't support.
Every figure traces to a primary source — ASTM, ACI, FRED / BLS, building codes, manufacturer specs. We don't republish HomeAdvisor or Angi data; those are licensed aggregators downstream of the actual sources. When sources disagree we present the range honestly; when a figure can't be sourced, we omit it. Corrections process and AI-use disclosure on the editorial policy page.
Operated by Marko Visic — BSc Physics, University of Ljubljana — through Moving Data Systems d.o.o. A real person on the record. Background and contact on the about page.