Concrete Labour Cost Calculator
Estimate concrete labour hours and total cost by task — forming, pouring, finishing, and stripping — with crew size, productivity rate, and burden multiplier.
Labour
Crew-based labour hours and cost estimation
Inputs
Use calculated quantity from other tools
1.30–1.45 (CPP, EI, WCB, etc.)
Results
How to Use the Labour Calculator
Select a task type, enter the quantity of work, crew size, hourly wage, and productivity rate. Apply a burden multiplier to cover payroll taxes and benefits. The calculator returns total person-hours, crew-hours, and fully-loaded labour cost for each task.
How It Calculates
Crew-Hours = Person-Hours / Crew Size
Base Labour Cost = Person-Hours × Hourly Wage
Burdened Cost = Base Labour Cost × Burden Multiplier
What to Know Before You Calculate
- Productivity rates are site-specific: The default rates are starting points. Track your actual crew output over several projects and build your own benchmarks.
- Burden varies by province/state: Payroll taxes, WCB, and union contributions differ by jurisdiction. Use your actual burden rate, not a generic multiplier.
- Don't double-count markup: If you apply a markup percentage in the Markup & Tax calculator, do not also mark up individual labour tasks here — choose one approach.
- Separate by task: Forming, pouring, finishing, and stripping have very different productivity rates. Calculate each task separately and sum them.
Common Mistakes
- Using a single blended rate for all tasks. Concrete work involves multiple skill levels and tasks. Blending underestimates finishing (skilled) and overestimates clean-up (unskilled).
- Not including supervision in the labour budget. Foreman and superintendent time is often forgotten in task-level estimates. Add 5–10% for site supervision.
- Ignoring mobilization time. Setup, tool staging, and safety inspections add time before the first unit of productive work begins.
- Using crew-hours instead of person-hours for wage calculation. Wages are paid per person, not per crew. Multiply person-hours by wage rate, not crew-hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you calculate concrete labour hours?
Divide the quantity of work (square feet, linear feet, or cubic yards) by the productivity rate (units per hour) to get base hours. Multiply by crew size and a burden multiplier (for payroll taxes and benefits, typically 1.25–1.35) to get fully-loaded labour cost.
What is a typical productivity rate for concrete forming?
Experienced crews can form and strip 80–120 sq ft of wall form per person-hour under good conditions. Productivity drops significantly for complex geometry, short walls, or first-time crews. Use 60–80 sq ft per person-hour for estimating until you have your own historical data.
What is a burden multiplier in labour cost estimation?
A burden multiplier accounts for payroll costs beyond base wages: CPP/EI (Canada) or FICA (US) employer contributions, workers' compensation, vacation pay, and sometimes benefits. A multiplier of 1.25–1.35 on base wages is typical for residential concrete work.
How much does it cost to hire a concrete crew?
Concrete labour rates vary significantly by region. In Canada, journeyman concrete finishers earn $35–$55/hour (2024–2025). In the US, $25–$50/hour depending on the market. Always use your actual labour cost data — regional variation is too high to rely on national averages.
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Disclaimer: Labour estimates are based on user-entered productivity rates and wages. Actual costs vary significantly by region, crew experience, site conditions, and project complexity. These estimates are for budgeting purposes only and do not represent a binding labour quote.
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