Some Basic Load Sizes and Weights

Barrel (36 gallons) 275kg
Bag of cement 51kg
Beer case (24x1 pint) 35kg
Building boards and sheets 2.42 x 1.21m (8ft x 4ft)
Building boards and sheets 1.82 x 0.91m (6ft x 3ft)
Building bricks 2.3 to 2.5 tonnes per 1,000
Copper tubing 3m lengths (9ft 9ins)
Engineering bricks 2.0 tonnes per 1,000
Euro pallet 1.2m x 0.8m (3ft 9ins x 2ft 6ins)
Facing bricks 2.5 to 2.8 tonnes per 1,000
Milk crate, 20 bottles 27kg
Paint, 5 litre tin 7kg
Potatoes, loose 530kg per cubic metre
Potatoes, sack 51kg
Rubble 1050kg per cubic metre
Sand , dry 1330kg per cubic metre
Sand, wet 1600kg per cubic metre
Standard pallet of house bricks 1,000kg
Water, pure 1 litre 1kg

A Little More Detail

Material

Unit weight

Masonry
4 inch brick 42 pounds per square foot
8 inch concrete block 55 pounds per square foot
12 inch concrete block 80 pounds per square foot

Gypsum or plaster board
3/8 inch 49.92 pounds per 4x8 sheet
1/2 inch 66.56 pounds per 4x8 sheet
5/8 inch 83.20 pounds per 4x8 sheet

Plywood
1/4 inch 22.72 pounds per 4x8 sheet
3/8 inch 33.92 pounds per 4x8 sheet
1/2 inch 45.44 pounds per 4x8 sheet
5/8 inch 56.64 pounds per 4x8 sheet
3/4 inch 68.16 pounds per 4x8 sheet

Metal sheet
1/8 inch aluminium 1100 56.6 pounds per 4x8 sheet
1/4 inch aluminium 1100 113 pounds per 4x8 sheet
1/2 inch aluminium 1100 226 pounds per 4x8 sheet
1/8 inch steel 163 pounds per 4x8 sheet
1/4 inch steel 327 pounds per 4x8 sheet
1/2 inch steel 653 pounds per 4x8 sheet
1/8 inch lead 236 pounds per 4x8 sheet
1/4 inch lead 473 pounds per 4x8 sheet
1/2 inch lead 946 pounds per 4x8 sheet

Roofing
Asphalt shingles 3 pounds per square foot
1/4 in. slate 10 pounds per square foot
Aluminum (26 gauge) 0.3 pounds per square foot
Steel (29 gauge) 0.8 pounds per square foot
Built-up 3 ply & gravel 5.5 pounds per square foot

Timber Lengths (Douglas Fir)
2x4 1.28 pounds per foot
2x6 2.00 pounds per foot
2x8 2.64 pounds per foot
2x10 3.37 pounds per foot
2x12 4.10 pounds per foot
4x4 2.98 pounds per foot
6x6 7.35 pounds per foot
6x8 10.03 pounds per foot

Insulation
Mineral fibre 2.0 pounds per cubic foot
Extruded polystyrene 1.8 pounds per cubic foot
Expanded polystyrene 1.5 pounds per cubic foot
Polyurethane 1.5 pounds per cubic foot
Vermiculite 40 pounds per cubic foot

Bulk Materials
Water 62.4 pounds per cubic foot
Aluminum 171 pounds per cubic foot
Cast Iron 450 pounds per cubic foot
Steel 490 pounds per cubic foot
Wood (Douglas Fir) 35 pounds per cubic foot
Cement 94 pounds per cubic foot
Concrete 150 pounds per cubic foot (4,050 ppc yard)
Limestone 171 pounds per cubic foot (4,617 ppc yard)
Crushed Stone 92.6 pounds per cubic foot (2,500 ppc yard)
Gravel 100 pounds per cubic foot (2,700 ppc yard)
Bank sand 93 pounds per cubic foot (2,500 ppc yard)

Farm materials
Baled hay or straw 8-14 pounds per cubic foot
Shelled corn 45 pounds per cubic foot
Ear corn 28 pounds per cubic foot
Feed Grains & supplement 32 pounds per cubic foot
High protein supplement 50 pounds per cubic foot
Potatoes 43 pounds per cubic foot
Fruits and vegetables 30-40 pounds per cubic foot
Soil 93 pounds per cubic foot
Manure 60 pounds per cubic foot
Baled hay or straw 8-14 pounds per cubic foot

Some Basic Conversions

Conversion Table
1 pound 0.45359237 kilograms
1 kilogram 2.20462262 pounds
1 foot 0.3048 metres
1 metre 3.2808399 feet
1 square foot 0.09290304 square metres
1 square metre 10.7639104 square feet
1 cubic foot 0.0283168466 cubic metres
1 cubic metre 35.3146667 cubic feet
1 cubic foot 0.037037037 cubic yard
1 cubic yard 27 cubic feet
1 square foot 0.111111111 square yard
1 square yard 9 square feet
2240 lbs (pounds) 1 ton
1 ton 1.0160469088 metric tonnes
1000 kilograms 1.0 metric tonne
Payloads of Vans are expressed in metric tonnes or kilograms
Note: there is less than 2% difference between an English ton and a Metric tonne (the only form of ton legal for trade)