Steel Beam & Concrete Weight Calculator
Work out the weight of a lift: universal beams and columns, channels, hollow sections, steel plate and concrete, added up item by item. Every lift plan starts with the weight of the load, and this takes the guessing out of it.
Load weight calculator
Cleats, end plates, bolts, lifting inserts, packing
Total weight of the load
0 kg
0.00 t
An estimate from standard section sizes and densities. Use the weight on the delivery note, drawing or unit label where there is one, and add the lifting accessories and hook block or quick hitch for the gross load. Check it against an excavator or get a lift plan written.
How the weights are worked out
Beams, columns and channels
UK sections to BS 4-1 are named by their size and mass: the last figure of the serial size is the mass per metre. A 203 x 203 x 46 UC weighs 46 kg/m; a 305 x 165 x 40 UB weighs 40 kg/m. Weight = mass per metre × length.
Hollow sections
SHS / RHS area = 2t(B + H − 2t) − (4 − π)(ro² − ri²), with ro = 1.5t and ri = t
These are the corner radii BS EN 10210-2 sets for hot-finished sections. Area × 7,850 kg/m³ gives the mass per metre. Circular sections use area = πt(D − t). Cold-formed sections have bigger corners and come out a little lighter, so the figure here is on the safe side.
Plate and concrete
Volume × density: steel 7,850 kg/m³, and concrete from EN 1991-1-1 at 2,450 kg/m³ plain, 2,550 kg/m³ reinforced or precast and 2,650 kg/m³ wet.
Worked example
A lift of steel and a precast slab:
- 6 × 305x165x40 UB at 7.5 m: 40 × 7.5 × 6 = 1,800 kg
- 4 × 100 x 100 x 5 SHS at 3.0 m: 14.7 kg/m × 3.0 × 4 = 176 kg
- 1 precast slab 3.0 × 1.2 × 0.15 m: 0.54 m³ × 2,550 = 1,377 kg
- Total: 3,353 kg (3.35 t), before the lifting accessories
Illustrative figures only.
Questions
How do I find the weight of a steel beam?
For UK universal beams, universal columns and parallel flange channels, the last figure in the serial size is the mass per metre. A 305 x 165 x 40 UB weighs 40 kg per metre, so a 7.5 m length weighs 300 kg. Add the cleats, end plates and bolts.
How heavy is concrete per cubic metre?
Eurocode EN 1991-1-1 gives 24 kN/m³ for plain concrete, 25 kN/m³ for reinforced concrete and 1 kN/m³ more while it is wet. As mass, that is about 2,450, 2,550 and 2,650 kg per cubic metre. A full 1 m³ skip of wet concrete weighs over 2.6 tonnes before the skip itself.
How is the weight of a hollow section worked out?
From its cross-sectional area. For hot-finished square and rectangular hollow sections BS EN 10210-2 sets the corner radii, 1.5 times the wall thickness outside and 1.0 times inside, which gives the area and so the mass per metre at 7,850 kg/m³. A 100 x 100 x 5 SHS works out at 14.7 kg/m, the same as the published tables.
Should I use the calculated weight in a lift plan?
Use the weight on the drawing, delivery note or unit label where there is one, and use the calculator to check it. Then add the lifting accessories and the hook block or quick hitch to get the gross load the machine’s duty is checked against.
Sources: BS 4-1 serial sizes; BS EN 10210-2 hot-finished hollow sections; EN 1991-1-1 Annex A densities.
Got the weight? Plan the lift.
Every RMT lift plan states the gross load, item by item, and checks it against the manufacturer's chart for the machine as configured, written by a CPCS A61 Appointed Person.