DIY Starting Point

DIY - Do It Yourself 

To some, Do It Yourself are terrifying words, but to many others, DIY means saving money, lots of money.   But before you can start saving money, you have to think about what you want, make a plan, even some sketches and then develop a list of materials.  Then you have to figure out where you can get the materials and sum-up the costs.   

vCalc wants to help.    Below is a list of DIY categories.  If you click on any of the bullets, it will take you to the free online calculator at vCalc that helps DIY workers compute the materials or other information needed to do one’s project. These calculator might not answer every question, but they sure help a lot of people in DIY projects, hundreds of thousands every month, millions every year.

Roofing Functions:

• Compute the surface area of the roof 
• Calculate the number of 4x8s or bundles of shingles to cover a roof.
• Compute the number of roof trusses for a roof 
• Compute the length of rafters 
• Compute the cost of the rafters in a roof 
• Compute the cost of plywood or OSB on a roof 
• Compute the cost of shingles on a roof 

Framing Functions:

• Compute the surface area of a room including the walls and ceiling
• Compute the surface area of the interior walls of a room
• Compute the number of studs (lumber boards) needed to frame a room. 
• Compute the cost of studs (lumber boards) needed to frame a room 
• Compute the number of wall boards needed to cover the interior of a room 
• Compute the cost of wall boards needed for a room 
• Compute the number of plywood or OSB sheets needed for a floor.
• Compute the cost of plywood or OSB sheets needed for a floor.
• Compute the number of floor joists needed
• Compute the cost of floor joists.
• Compute the cost of plywood.
• Computes the total volume of a room.

Foundation and Basement Functions:

• Compute the volume of concrete needed for a slab
• Compute the number of blocks needed for a foundation.
• Compute the amount of concrete needed in a poured concrete foundation.
• Compute the amount of concrete needed in a footer.

Electrician and Plumbing Function:

• Voltage Drop: calculates the drop in volts
• Wire Gauge: computes the lightest gauge of wire to limit the voltage drop
• Electricity Cost: estimates the cost of running an electrical appliance
• Rolling Offset: computes the travel (T) and run (R) of a rolling offset
• Diagonal of a Square
• Diagonal of a Box

Painting:

• Compute the number of gallons of paint or primer needed to paint a room

  

• Computes the cost of paint or primer needed to paint an entire room

Flooring:

• Tile Count Estimator
• Tile Price Comparison
• Flooring Material Cost Estimator for Tile, Hardwood, Engineered, Laminate, Linoleum, Carpet and Carpet Tile. 
• Hardwood Refinishing Cost Estimator

Landscaping

• Square Feet of a Yard or Garden
• Mulch needed for Garden
• Mulch Price Comparison
• Blocks or Timbers needed for Retention Wall
• Post and Rails needed for a Fence
• Bails of Straw needed to Cover New Grass-seed