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Home > Tips and Hints on Starting a DIY Project > DIY Conversion Tables and Conversion Information

DIY Conversion Tables and Conversion Information

Select Your Desired Tips From the List Below

Brickwork and Masonry
Carpentry
Conversion tables and quantities
Decorating
Electrics
Plumbing
Starting a project

Please use the links below to navigate to your desired area……

  • Block to Bricks
  • Bricks – Imperial to Metric
  • General Conversion Tables
  • Material Coverage Table
  • Glass Thickness to Weight
  • Paving slabs
  • Wallpaper Coverage

Basic Conversion Tables:

The centimetre is very seldom used in the building and allied trades. The measurements are normally given in metres and millimetres.

Conversions for Length

1 inch = 25.40mm
1 foot = 304.8mm
1 yard = 914.4mm
1 yard = 3 feet
1 metre = 1.0936 yards
1 yard = 0.9144 metres
1 metre = 3.281 feet

Conversions for Liquid Volume

1 litre = 0.035 cubic feet
1 cubic ft. = 28.32 litres.
1 gallon = 4.5461
litres
1 cubic ft. = 6.23 gallons
1 cubic yd = 168.21
gallons
1 cubic mt = 1000 litres

Conversions for Liquids

1000ml = 1 Litre
1 litre = 1.76 pints
1 ml = 1cc = 0.0017 pints
1ml or cc = 0.035 fluid ounce(oz)

Conversions for Volumes

1 cubic metre = 35.315 cubic feet
1 cubic metre = 1.3079 cubic yards
1 cubic foot = 0.0283 cubic metre
1 cubic yard = 0.7646 cubic
metre
1 litre = 0.22 gallons
1 fl.oz. = 28.413 ml or cc
1 pint = 568 ml or cc
1 pint = 0.568 litres

Conversions for Weight

Weight
1 tonne (metric) = 2205 lbs
1 ton imperial = 2240 lbs
1000 grams = 1 kilogram
1000 kilograms = 1 tonne
1 kilogram = 2.20462 lbs.
1 kilogram = 0.0197 cwt
1 cwt = 112 lbs
1 cwt = 50.8 kg
1 lb = 0.4536 kg
1 lb = 16 oz
1 oz = 28.3 grams

Conversions for Area

1 square mm = 0.00155 sq. inches
1 square metre = 10.764 sq. feet
1 square metre = 1.196 sq. yards
1 square inch = 645.20 sq. mm
1 square foot = 0.0929 sq. metres
1 Square yard = 0.8361 sq. metres

Conversions for Weights of Materials

Weights of materials.
Dry sand fine = 1.28 tonnes per cubic metre
Dry sand coarse = 1.6 tonnes per cubic metre
Topsoil (some moisture) = 1.44 tonnes per cubic metre
Ballast = 1.76 tonnes per cubic metre
gravel (MOT Type 1 scalpings) = 1.92 tonnes per cubic metre
shingle = 1.62 tonnes per cubic metre
cement = 50 & 25 kg bags
stiff clay = 1.6 tonnes per cubic metre
loam = 1.28 tonnes per cubic metre
peat (wet) = 0.96 tonnes per cubic metre
peat (dry) = 0.8 tonnes per cubic metre
lump chalk = 1.2 tonnes per cubic metre
sandstone = 2.32 tonnes per cubic metre
Lias = 2.48 tonnes per cubic metre
granite = 2.72 tonnes per cubic metre
slate = 2.8 tonnes per cubic metre
flint = 2.3 tonnes per cubic metre
yorkstone = 2.5 tonnes per cubic metre
Brick rubble = 1.8 – 2.2 tonnes per cubic metre

Conversion for Coverage of 1 Tonne of Stone

sets (100mmx100mmx100mm) = 3.9 sq.m.
Cobbles 50/70mm on end = 6.5 sq.m.
pebbles 25/45mm loose@50mm = 10 sq.m.
gravel 25mm rolled = 30 sq.m.
tarmac (12mm deep) = 13 sq.m.
yorkstone paving 50mm = 7.5 sq.m.
slate (25mm deep) = 12 sq.m.

Minimum Depth of Services – Pipes and Drainage

water main = 900mm
Gas = 600mm
TV/Telephone = 350mm
sewers under grass = 900mm
sewers under hard surface = 1200mm
Electric over 22kv = 750mm
Electric under 22kv = 600mm

General Purpose Concrete and Foundation Concrete

1 cubic metre = 6 x 50kg bags cement 1 cubic metre = 7 x 50kg bags cement
1.76 tonnes ballast 1.6 tonnes ballast

…also see our calculating material volumes project.

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Coverage of Materials:

If you are laying a patio or drive, placing topsoil for a lawn or covering your garden with stone, it is very useful to know how much you will need. Use our easy to read graph below to get the quantities right.

Measure the area of your garden and go up the left hand side of the graph to that area (for example 20 square metres at the top). Read horizontally along that line to the thickness of material you need (example 100mm). Where that line meets the diagonal line of your chosen depth go straight down and read the amount you need in cubic metres. (example = 2.00 cubic metres) This can be converted into weight using the tables above.

Graph showing the coverage of materials

Graph showing the coverage of materials

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Bricks:

An imperial standard brick is 9 inches long, 4 1/2 inches wide and 3 inches deep.

A metric brick is 8.86 inches long (225mm) 4.43 inches wide (112.5mm) and 2.95 inches deep (75mm).

The above sizes include mortar joints at 10mm

This makes the metric brick marginally smaller than its imperial counterpart and the difference, when joining new to old, must be taken up with an increase in the mortar joints.

There are 60 bricks to 1 square metre and you will use approximately 0.022 cubic metres of wet sand and cement to lay them with 10mm joints, this is equivalent to approximately 60kg.

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Blocks:

A normal block is 2 bricks long, 3 bricks high and one brick wide (when laid with 10mm joints)

There are approx. 10 blocks to 1 square metre and you will use approx  0.012 cubic metres of wet sand and cement to lay them with a 10mm joint. This is equivalent to 31kg.

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Paving Slabs:

Paving slabs come in a variety of shapes and sizes, we have listed a few of the popular ones with their respective coverage

225x450mm Paving Slab 450x450mm Paving Slab 600x600mm Paving Slab
225×450=10/sq.m 450×450=5/sq.m 600×600=2.75/sq.m
450x520mm Hexagon Type Paving Slab 450x520mm Rectangle Type Paving Slab  
450×520=5.75/sq.m 450×520=3.7/sq.m  

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Wallpaper:

Normally you will get 4 "drops" from one roll of paper with a standard close pattern. Some papers have patterns a long way apart, you will need to consult your supplier for this. The table below shows standard rolls with normal patterns.

Measurement around room or length of wall in metres (including windows and doors)
Wall Heigh (from skirting updwards) 2 (7′) 4 (13′) 6 (20′) 8 (26′) 10 (33′) 12 (39′) 13 (43′) 14 (46′) 15 (49′) 16 (52′ 17 (56′) 18 (59′) 19 (62′)
2 – 2.2m 1 3 3 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 7 8 8
2,2 – 2.4m 1 2 3 4 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 9
2.4 – 2.6m 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 8 8 9 9 10
2.6 – 2.8 m 2 3 3 5 6 7 7 8 8 9 9 10 11
2.8 – 3m 2 3 3 5 6 7 8 8 9 9 10 11 11
3 – 3.2m 2 3 4 5 6 8 8 9 10 10 11 11 12
3.2 – 3.4m 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 9 10 11 11 12 13

Glass:

Thickness of glass, with the introduction of the metric system, is now defined in mm rather than weight. For the record here’s how it used to be.

Glass Thickness Glass Weight
2mm 18oz
3mm 24oz
4mm 32oz
6mm quarter inch plate

All article content written and produced by Mike Edwards

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