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Calcimator

Integral Color Calculator

Calculate iron-oxide pigment weight for integrally colored concrete based on volume, mix design, and color intensity.

About this calculator

Pigment Needed and its cost scale directly with slab Area and Thickness, but Color Intensity is the input that reshapes the economics, not just the pigment weight. Color Intensity is a coded 1-3 selector (1=light tint at 1.5% of cement weight, 2=medium at 4%, 3=deep/saturated at 7%) that stays put under a small nudge -- its middle default of 2 is unmoved by a +/-10% probe, so its effect only shows up when you pick a genuinely different level outright. At the default 500 sq ft, 4 in slab, DIY Pigment Savings -- buying powder pigment separately versus paying the ready-mix color upcharge -- flips sign across the range: light tint saves about $15 buying pigment yourself, but medium color LOSES about $130 (buying powder separately costs more than the upcharge), and deep/saturated loses about $413.

That happens because the ready-mix upcharge only grows $10/cu yd per intensity step ($15/$25/$35), while the powder pigment needed -- and its cost -- both scale with the fixed dosage percentages (1.5%/4%/7%), which grow much faster than the upcharge as intensity rises. So DIY pigment buying is only the cheaper option for light tints; for medium or deep color, ordering colored ready-mix concrete is the better deal.

Inputs

sq ft
%

Results

Pigment needed (lbs)

146.2

Dosage rate (%)4
Pigment per bag of cement (lbs)3.8
Concrete volume (cu yd)6.48
Total cement (lbs)3,656
Pigment cost ($)$292.44
Base concrete cost ($)$972.22
Total cost ($)$1,264.67
Cost per sq ft ($)$2.53
DIY pigment savings ($)-$130.41
How to Use This Calculator
  1. Enter the slab area in sq ft and the thickness in inches to determine concrete volume.
  2. Select color intensity: 1=light tint (1.5% of cement weight), 2=medium (4%), 3=deep/saturated (7%).
  3. Enter the cement bags per cubic yard for your mix design (standard is 6 bags/yd³).
  4. Read Pigment Needed (lbs) and Pigment per Bag of Cement for accurate site batching.
  5. Use DIY Pigment Savings to evaluate whether buying pigment separately saves money versus the ready-mix color upcharge.
  6. Check Total Cost and Cost per Sq Ft to complete your project budget.

How the result changes with Slab area (sq ft)

Slab area (sq ft)Pigment needed (lbs)
25073.1
375109.7
750219.3
1,250365.6

What each input means

Slab area (sq ft)
Total concrete slab area in square feet.
Thickness (inches)
Slab thickness. Standard flatwork is 4 inches.
Color intensity (1-3)
1 = light tint (1.5%), 2 = medium (4%), 3 = deep/saturated (7% of cement weight).
Cement bags per cu yd
Bags of cement per cubic yard. 5 = lean mix, 6 = standard, 7+ = rich mix.
Waste factor (%)
Extra for overages and spillage.

What each result means

Pigment needed (lbs)
Total iron-oxide pigment weight for the entire pour.
Dosage rate (%)
Pigment as a percentage of cement weight.
Pigment per bag of cement (lbs)
Pigment to add per 94-lb bag (for site batching).
Concrete volume (cu yd)
Total concrete needed including waste factor.
Total cement (lbs)
Total portland cement in the mix.
Pigment cost ($)
Cost of pigment if purchased separately.
Base concrete cost ($)
Ready-mix concrete cost without color.
Total cost ($)
Concrete plus pigment cost.
Cost per sq ft ($)
Total cost per square foot of colored slab.
DIY pigment savings ($)
Savings from buying pigment separately vs. ready-mix color upcharge.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

  1. Identify Input Parameters
    4 parameters
    Slab area (sq ft) = 500, Thickness (inches) = 4, Color intensity (1-3) = 2, Cement bags per cu yd = 6 = 5 input(s) provided
  2. Calculate Pigment needed
    Pigment needed = totalCementLbs * (pigmentPct / 100)
    146.2 = 146.2
  3. Calculate Dosage rate
    4 = 4
  4. Calculate Pigment per bag of cement
    Pigment per bag of cement = (94 * pigmentPct) / 100
    3.8 = 3.8

Engine last updated . Checked against 3 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators. Built by Paul Gunder, a software engineer, not a licensed financial, medical, or legal professional.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it always cheaper to buy pigment separately instead of ordering colored ready-mix concrete?

No -- it depends on the color intensity you choose. At light tint (Color Intensity 1), buying pigment yourself saves about $15 versus the ready-mix color upcharge. But at medium (2) or deep/saturated (3) intensity, DIY pigment actually costs MORE than the upcharge -- about $130 more at medium and $413 more at deep, at this calculator's default 500 sq ft slab.

Why does nudging Color Intensity slightly not seem to change the pigment amount?

Color Intensity is a coded 1-3 selector, not a continuous slider -- it only recognizes the whole numbers 1, 2, and 3, each tied to a fixed dosage percentage (1.5%, 4%, and 7% of cement weight). A small +/-10% nudge from the default of 2 rounds right back to 2, so you need to pick a different intensity outright to see the change.

If I order pre-mixed liquid color doses instead of powder pigment, will these dosage numbers still apply?

This calculator solves specifically for powder pigment weight as a percentage of cement, so its numbers don't translate directly into a count of pre-measured liquid color doses, which suppliers typically sell per cubic yard rather than by weight percentage; use Pigment Needed as a powder-ordering reference and check your liquid supplier's own dosing chart separately.

I'm pouring a thicker-than-standard slab -- should I bump up the dosage percentage to compensate?

No -- Pigment Percentage is fixed purely by the Color Intensity you select, not by slab thickness, so there's nothing to bump up manually; a thicker slab automatically pulls more total cement weight into the calculation, and that larger cement figure is what scales Pigment Needed up in pounds, while the dosage percentage itself stays exactly the same.

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