Introduction
RMC means two different things, so this tool does both. Pick the mode you need at the top.
Concrete RMC stands for Ready Mix Concrete. Use this mode to find out how much concrete to order. Enter your sizes for a slab, square footing, trapezoidal footing, beam, square column, or circular column. You can type in inches, feet, or meters. The tool gives you the volume in cubic yards, cubic feet, and cubic meters. It also counts 60 lb and 80 lb bags for small jobs, and adds a 5% to 10% waste allowance so you do not come up short on pour day.
Military Pay RMC stands for Regular Military Compensation. Use this mode to see what your military pay is worth as a civilian salary. Enter your monthly base pay, BAH, and BAS, then pick your filing status. BAH and BAS are not taxed, so they are worth more than they look. The tool adds that tax advantage and shows the civilian salary you would need to match your pay.
Both modes show the step-by-step math and a chart, so you can check the numbers yourself.
How to use our RMC Calculator
Our RMC Calculator works in two ways. Pick Military Pay RMC to turn your military pay and allowances into a civilian salary number, or pick Concrete RMC to find how much ready mix concrete you need. Fill in the boxes below, and the tool gives you your total, a step-by-step math breakdown, and a chart.
Military Pay RMC inputs
Service Member Type: Choose Enlisted or Officer. This sets your default BAS rate.
Monthly Base Pay ($): Type your taxable base pay for one month, from your pay chart or LES.
Monthly BAH ($): Type your Basic Allowance for Housing for one month. This money is not taxed.
Monthly BAS ($): Type your Basic Allowance for Subsistence for one month. This money is not taxed either.
Federal Tax Filing Status: Pick Single or Married Filing Jointly. This sets your standard deduction and tax rate.
Click Calculate RMC to see your civilian equivalent salary, total cash pay, and tax advantage.
Concrete RMC inputs
Structure Type: Pick the shape you are pouring: Slab, Square Footing, Trapezoidal Footing, Beam, Square Column, or Circular Column.
Length: Enter how long the pour is, then pick inches, feet, or meters.
Width: Enter how wide the pour is, then pick your unit.
Thickness, Depth, or Height: Enter how deep or tall the pour is, then pick your unit. Slab thickness is often 4 inches.
Diameter (Circular Column): Enter the width of the round column across the middle, then pick your unit.
Base Length, Base Width, and Base Height (Trapezoidal Footing): Enter the size of the flat bottom slab.
Vertical Slant Height (Trapezoidal Footing): Enter the height of the sloped part above the base slab.
Pillar Length and Pillar Width (Trapezoidal Footing): Enter the size of the small top of the taper where the column sits.
Click Calculate Volume to get your concrete in cubic yards, cubic feet, and cubic meters, plus bag counts and a 5% to 10% waste allowance for your order.
What Does RMC Mean?
RMC stands for two very different things. In construction, RMC means Ready Mix Concrete. In the military, RMC means Regular Military Compensation. This tool covers both, so pick the mode you need.
Ready Mix Concrete (RMC)
Ready mix concrete is concrete that is mixed at a plant and trucked to your job site in a rotating drum. It shows up wet and ready to pour. Because a plant mixes it by weight with tight controls, the strength and slump stay steady from load to load. That is why almost every slab, footing, beam, and column bigger than a small repair is poured with ready mix.
Ready mix is sold by the cubic yard. One cubic yard equals 27 cubic feet, or about 0.765 cubic meters. A cubic yard of concrete weighs close to 4,000 pounds. Most trucks hold 8 to 10 cubic yards, and most plants have a minimum order of about 1 cubic yard plus a short-load fee if you order less.
How Concrete Volume Is Found
Volume is just the space the concrete will fill. Every dimension must be changed to the same unit first, then multiplied:
- Slab, footing, beam, square column: length × width × thickness (or height)
- Circular column: π × radius² × height
- Trapezoidal footing: the flat base slab volume plus the sloped top part, found with the frustum rule ⅓ × height × (A₁ + A₂ + √(A₁ × A₂))
Divide the answer in cubic feet by 27 to get cubic yards.
Why You Order Extra
Always order 5% to 10% more than the exact number. Forms bulge, subgrade dips, some mud sticks in the chute, and a little spills. Running short is far worse than having a bit left over, because a second truck costs more and the cold joint between two pours is a weak spot.
Bagged mix is only for small jobs. A 60 lb bag yields about 0.45 cubic feet and an 80 lb bag yields about 0.60 cubic feet. It takes roughly 45 to 60 bags to make one cubic yard, so anything past half a yard is usually cheaper and easier as ready mix.
Common Thickness Guides
- Sidewalks and patios: 4 inches
- Driveways for cars: 4 to 5 inches
- Driveways for trucks or RVs: 5 to 6 inches
- Garage and shed floors: 4 to 6 inches
Regular Military Compensation (RMC)
Regular Military Compensation is the Department of Defense way of showing what a service member really earns. It adds up four parts:
- Basic Pay: the taxable monthly paycheck, set by rank and years of service
- BAH: Basic Allowance for Housing, tax free
- BAS: Basic Allowance for Subsistence (food money), tax free
- Tax Advantage: the federal tax you would have paid on BAH and BAS if they were taxed
BAH and BAS never show up on a W-2, so a plain look at base pay makes military pay seem low. The tax advantage fixes that. It equals your yearly allowances times your marginal federal tax rate. Add it to your total cash pay and you get the gross civilian salary you would need to take home the same money.
RMC does not include special pays, bonuses, hazard pay, health care, or the pension. Those add even more value on top.