Cellular concrete can cost anywhere from $80/cubic yard to more than $1,000/cubic yard.  Material density, volume per day, and location have significant impacts on the per cubic yard price.  While the material cost may at times be more expensive than traditional materials such as stone, soil, and CLSM, the very low density, pumpability, and speed of installation often drive significant all-in cost savings.

In most cases, cellular concrete is a blend of cement paste & pre-formed foam.  Cement is the most expensive of these components.  The final density of cellular concrete is driven by the ratio of cement paste (generally 110-115lbs/cuft) to pre-formed foam (generally 2.5-3.5lb/cuft).  25lb/cuft cellular concrete is about 20% cement paste.  50lb/cuft cellular concrete is about 56% cement paste.  So, the raw material cost of 50lb/cuft material is nearly three times that of 25lb/cuft material.  

Generating and processing the paste is usually the constraining factor for time, as well.  For example, if a dry batch plant can process 40 tons of cement per hour, it will make about 200CY/hour of 25lb/cuft material.  The same plant running at 50lb/cuft will only make about 95CY/hour.  

So, the heavier the cellular concrete, the more the raw material costs, and the more time it takes to generate the same volume, which requires more labor & equipment time.

The cost to run cellular concrete equipment each day is close to fixed.  If a project site will take 800 cubic yards of material per day, and the raw material is available, the placement will be very efficient.  Efficiency reduces the cost of cellular concrete.  Alternatively, if the geometry of a mass lightweight fill project limits daily volumes to just a few hundred cubic yards per day, the daily cost of crew & equipment will be spread over fewer cubic yards, which increases cubic yard costs. 

Location can impact the cost of cellular concrete in two ways.  The cost of cement varies widely throughout the United States.  For example, a ton of cement in the New York City metro market is around $150/ton.  The cost of cement in Indiana is nearly $200/ton.  When the largest cost of cellular concrete is the cement, this regional variability can have significant impacts on the cost of the material.

Crew mobilization can also be a significant cost driver, particularly for smaller volume projects.  The specialty cellular concrete contractors like CJGeo who produce more than 100,000 cubic yards of cellular concrete per year all travel extensively, but the further away a job is from the equipment's home, or from the nearest cement source, the higher the cost.

CJGeo has a team of cellular concrete experts, from engineers to estimators.  Have questions like how much does cellular concrete cost for a specific application or project?  Give us a shout.