Sealant and caulk bead calculator

Enter the total length of the joint, its width and its depth. The calculator returns the volume of sealant needed to fill it, in US fluid ounces or in milliliters.

To get a number of cartridges, type the volume printed on the cartridge you plan to buy. Leave that field empty if you only need the volume.

Method and limitations

Volume of the bead = length × width × depth, for a joint with a rectangular cross-section. Imperial: length in feet, width and depth in inches, so the volume in in³ = length × 12 × width × depth, and 1 US fluid ounce = 231 ÷ 128 in³ exactly. Metric: length in meters, width and depth in millimeters, which gives the volume in milliliters directly, because 1 m × 1 mm × 1 mm = 1 mL. Cartridges = volume ÷ volume of one cartridge, rounded up to a whole cartridge; the cartridge volume is the one you read on the label and no size is assumed. The result is the volume that fills the joint exactly: shrinkage, waste in the nozzle, uneven joints and the shape of a rounded bead are not computed. This is a geometric calculation, so no external source is needed.

Sources

No external reference is documented for this calculation; its method and limitations are described above.