Calculators, Convertors & Tips

We have provided below some helpful conversion tips and links for easy-to-use product calculators. Click on the links below and follow the simple instructions to make calculating the quantity of the product you need to do the job easy.

Timber and Sheet Materials

Measuring Up – To convert

Multiply by

Inches into Millimeters

25.4

Millimetres to Inches

0.03937

Feet to Metres

0.3048

Metres to Feet

3.281

Square Metres to Square Feet

0.929

Square Feet to Square Metres

10.764

Cubic Metres to Cubic Feet

35.315

Cubic feet to Cubic metres

0.028

 

Number of Linear M in a M3 is calculated by multiplying the section size then dividing into 1,000,000 so:

25 x 100 = 2500
1,000,000/2500 = 400 linear m in a m3 of 25 x100

47 x 150 = 7050
1,000,000/7050 = 141.84 linear m in a m3 of 47 x 150

Floor fitting Tips

  • Always allow floors to acclimatize before laying.
  • Always allow expansion gaps on all sides and at every room dividing section.

Brick Calculator

Click on this link to help you calculate the amount of bricks required for a given area: Brick Calculator

Planit Design Online

Design Online is a simple, intuitive facility which allows you to create your own kitchen on the internet. If you then bring in the design details to your local Howarth Timber and Building Supplies branch they will be happy to provide you with cost alternatives: Kitchen Designer

Building Materials General Guidelines

  • To maintain the strength of ready mixed concrete delivered to site, never add water to the prescribed mix.
  • Because shingle is a natural product never assume that it will be a particular colour.
  • For external rendering washed sand should be used.
  • When using more than one pack of paving bricks or tiles, always use from different packs at random to avoid shade variations.

Concrete mixes for paths & oversight slabs

  • 1 Volume Cement
  • 5 Volumes Ballast
  • 12 Bags Cement
  • 1m3 Ballast - makes 0.85m3 of concrete

For Flooring or Paving

  • Use Blended or Washed sand
  • 1 Volume Cement
  • 3 Volumes Sand
  • 18 Bags of Cement
  • 1m3 Sand - makes 0.9m3 of concrete

For Walls

  • Plaster Coverage per 25kg Bag
  • Thistle multi Finish - 10m2 at 2mm
  • Thistle Bonding - 2.75m2 at 11mm
  • Thistle Hardwall - 3m2 at 11mm
  • Thistle Tough Coat - 3.5m2 at 11mm
  • Thistle Universal Coat - 2.25m2 at 13mm

Plasterboards (maximum spacing and fixing nails)

  • Board size: 2400 x 1200 x 9.5
  • 400mm c/s = 51 nails per sheet
  • Board size: 2400 x 1200 x 12.5
  • 450mm c/s = 41 nails per sheet

For Small Jobs

  • Brick size: 65 x 215 x 100
    Approximate quantities for single brickwork of 60 bricks per m2 allow 0.8m3 sand per 1000 bricks
Block size: 215 x 450 x 100
Approximate quantities for single blockwork of 10 Blocks per m3 allow 0.8m3 of sand per 40m2 of blockwork.