Concrete driveway bid calculator

Concrete bidding — the line items that kill margin

You priced concrete at $175/yard, you measured 8 yards needed, you assumed 6 hours of labor. The job came in at 9 yards, 12 hours, and you forgot demolition haul. Now you're losing money on a job you bid to win.

The real cost stack

Bid = (concrete + reinforcement + forms + demo) + (labor × hours) × (1 + margin)

Where bids go wrong

1. Forgetting the 10% concrete waste — every spec book says +10%, every bid skips it. On 12 yards × $175 = $210 you're eating.
2. Underbidding labor — pour + finish + cure-prep is rarely under 0.04 crew-hours per sq ft, often 0.05+ with stamped or colored finishes.
3. Treating demo as a freebie — breakup + haul + dump fees average $4-6/sq ft on existing concrete. Add it explicitly.
4. Skipping form prep — lumber for forms, stakes, form release, expansion joint material — runs $1-1.50 per linear foot of perimeter.
5. Missing the burden multiplier — your $25/hr crew member costs you $55-70/hr fully loaded with workers comp, payroll tax, GL insurance, vehicle.

Reinforcement choices

• None — only acceptable for non-traffic slabs (patios) under 80 sq ft. Cracks within 5 years.
• Wire mesh — standard residential. Holds shrinkage cracks tight. Adds ~$0.30/sq ft.
• #4 rebar grid — required for 6"+ slabs and any traffic-bearing concrete. ~$0.85/sq ft including labor.
• Fiber-reinforced — modern alternative, mixed at the plant. Saves rebar labor but costs more per yard. Net ~$0.20/sq ft cheaper than rebar grid.

Margin reality check

• 20% margin: bare-bones, no buffer for the surprises
• 25% margin: typical residential
• 30%+ margin: only if you have referral pipeline and don't need to win on price

Most bids that come in 'cheap' got there by leaving out demo, reinforcement, or finishing — not by being more efficient.