Calculator Apps for Commercial Construction

November 12, 2015

My father has been in the construction industry most of his adult life, so he’s had years of practicing his math skills. Growing up I was always annoyed that he could do better mental math than me, until it came time for geometry my sophomore year of high school. I realized he was the perfect tutor for learning about triangles and the good ol’ pythagorean theorem. I asked my dad for help one night and he started blabbling on about the angles of roofs and how to calculate them. By the end of the conversation I knew all of the tips and tricks on measuring angles for cutting fascias, but nothing about the pythagorean theorem.
I was thinking about that oh so valuable lesson not too long ago, and it got me thinking about the guys on the job site who aren’t so good at math. What do they do when calculations need to be done and they don’t know how to do it? I got on my “google machine” as my dad calls it, and found there are many apps with calculators specifically made for different types of commercial construction. So, this list of calculator apps for commercial construction is my contribution of help to the construction workers who hate doing math for a job.

Delux Stairs

Create an ideal staircase with one simple measurement with Delux Stairs. You can then fine-tune the stairs to fit the space available with an easy to use and understand interface. It’s only available for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch in the App Store for $4.99.

Construction Master Pro

Construction Master Pro has advanced feet and inch fraction construction math calculators for contractors, carpenters, engineers, architects and other building professionals. Its built-in solutions include: dimensional math and conversions, right angle solutions, area and volume solutions and special functions. The app is available for Apple products and Androids through their app stores for $24.99.

Carpenter’s Helper Lite

With its easy-to-use layout and features, Carpenter’s Helper is an advanced construction calculator capable of handling even the most demanding construction projects. The app can convert between yards, feet and inches, and calculate pitches, rises, runs and diagonals. There is also a memory bank to store the calculations you need. It’s only available for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch in the App Store for free.

Concrete Calc Pro

Concrete Calc Elite is the industry-leading concrete and cement calculator for masonry construction contractors and building professionals. This app is designed to calculate the amount of cubic yards of concrete needed for square, rectangular, sona tubes and circular forms, figure your exterior footings and convert cubic yards to 60 lb or 80 lb bags. It’s only available for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch in the App Store for $0.99.

Tapeulator

Tapeulator is perfect for do-it-yourselfers and the pros. The app performs quick measurement calculations on a visual tape measure and the results are delivered in inches, feet and centimeters, in both fractions and decimals. It’s only available for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch in the App Store for $1.99.

Home Improvement Calcs

With over 170 DIY calculations and conversions, Home Improvement Calcs is easy to use and understand. The app even puts inputs and results in either decimals or fractions for you. The current calculators in the app include concrete and bricks, electrical, framing, heating and A/C, interiors, lumber and materials, yard and much more. It’s only available for the iPhone and iPad in the App Store for $1.99.

Asphalt Calculator

Asphalt Calculator calculates the amount of cubic yards needed for a given job and hot mix tonnage. All you have to do is input the length and width in feet and the thickness in inches, and the rest is up to the app to calculate. The app is available for Apple products and Androids through their app stores for $0.99.

Right Angle

Transform your mobile device in a set-square with Right Angle. Through your camera, the app identifies a 90 degree angle between any two lines, creates a target and holds your screen. All you have to do is position the mark over the object you want to identify the 90 degree angle. The app is only available in Google Play for Android devices for free.

Drywall Calc Elite

Drywall Calc Elite is the industry leading drywall cost and material calculator. It’s designed for drywall contractors to quickly enter room dimensions and come up with drywall estimates for clients. The app calculates total square footage and allows you to customize material and labor prices. Drywall Calc Elite is only available for iPhone and iPad for $3.99.

Pitch Gauge

Pitch Gauge is the #1 downloaded roofing app. It’s used to calculate the total size and slope of any roof. Using your device’s camera, you can use a digital pitch finder to find roof slope and steepness without ever leaving the ground. The app is available for Apple products and Androids through their app stores for free.

Why do math on the job when you have calculators to do it for you?

If you struggle in the math department, don’t be afraid to download these apps to help you out of the job site. Shoot, even if you excel at math, I think it’s worth your time to give them a try. It’s always good to double check a math problem before assuming you got the correct answer the first time; at least that’s what my dad has always told me!