Rebar installation is usually priced per tonne of bar placed or as a lump sum, either on its own or combined with the steel as a supply-and-install contract. The number depends far more on the work than on the weight: bar size, the type of element, congestion, access and hoisting, accessories and the pour schedule. A tonne of 10M in a slab on grade and a tonne of 35M in a mat foundation are completely different amounts of labour.
This guide explains how placing labour is built up, what's normally included and excluded, and how to compare installation quotes.
How rebar installation is quoted
The RSIC Manual of Standard Practice describes three contract types for reinforcing steel: supply only, placing only, and supply and placing. Each can be priced as a lump sum for a defined project or as a unit price per tonne, based on the theoretical weight on the approved bar lists.
| Contract type | What you get | Typical buyer |
|---|---|---|
| Supply only | Detailed, cut, bent and delivered bar; your crew places it | Concrete and forming contractors with their own placers |
| Placing only | Labour to place bar supplied by someone else | General contractors, fabricators |
| Supply and install | Detailing, fabrication, delivery and placing from one company | Owners, builders and GCs who want one point of responsibility |
Searches for "rebar installation cost per kg" or "per pound" are asking about the same unit price expressed in smaller units. One tonne is 1,000 kg, about 2,205 lb. Whatever the unit, the rate only means something alongside the scope it covers.
What drives placing labour
Bar size and pieces per tonne
Labour follows pieces and intersections. Using the nominal masses of Canadian bars from CSA G30.18 (0.785 kg/m for 10M, 1.570 kg/m for 15M, 3.925 kg/m for 25M), a tonne of 10M is about 1,274 metres of bar, a tonne of 15M about 637 metres, and a tonne of 25M about 255 metres.
Consider a 10 m by 10 m slab with bars at 300 mm each way, one layer. That is about 34 bars in each direction and roughly 1,150 intersections. In 15M, the bars weigh a little over a tonne. In 10M, the same layout weighs about half a tonne, with the same number of bars to carry and the same number of intersections. Per tonne, the 10M layout is roughly twice the placing work. That is why light, closely spaced bar carries a higher installation rate than heavy bar.
Type of element
- Slabs on grade and footings are generally the most straightforward: open access, bars at working height or below.
- Walls need bars stood up and supported until the forms close, often working from ladders or scaffolds.
- Elevated slabs add top and bottom mats, supports and work at height.
- Beams, columns and grade beams have stirrups, ties and cages, which mean many small pieces per tonne.
- Stairs, ramps, curved walls and pits take longest for their weight.
Prefabricated cages move some of this labour from site to shop; see rebar cage fabrication.
Congestion and complexity
Heavily reinforced joints, couplers, embedded items, openings and multiple layers slow crews down. Mechanical splices, threading, welding to structural steel and drilled-and-grouted dowels are separate items in the RSIC standard quotation scope, and they are often priced on their own.
Access, hoisting and site conditions
Bar has to get from the truck to where it's placed. A crane and operator to unload and hoist, flaggers, clear access to the work and snow removal are listed in the RSIC standard conditions as items the purchaser supplies, unless the contract says otherwise. Placing contracts commonly also expect the buyer to provide layout lines and levels, and scaffolding and guardrails where workplace safety rules require them. If your quote assumes those are yours, they belong in your budget.
Accessories
Chairs, bolsters, slab bolsters and support bars hold the steel at the right cover. The RSIC manual refers to its recommended placing practice for the size and type of supports, and the standard quotation lists placing accessories and support bars as items to mark included or excluded. Our guide to buying rebar chairs in Canada covers the options.
Schedule, overtime and winter work
Placing quotes normally assume day-shift work during the standard work week. Overtime, weekend pours, many small mobilizations and cold-weather conditions all add cost. The RSIC manual recommends that placing contracts state how overtime and shift work will be paid.
Coated and special bar
Epoxy-coated bar has to be handled and tied in a way that avoids damaging the coating, and damaged spots repaired. GFRP bar is lighter but uses its own tie and support practice. Both affect labour.
Inspection and corrections
Placing to the drawings and to the CSA A23.1 tolerances is the placer's job, and time spent fixing placing errors before a pre-pour review is lost production. See rebar placement tolerances under CSA A23.1. The RSIC standard conditions also note that pouring concrete over the reinforcement is treated as acceptance of the bar as supplied, detailed and placed, which is a good reason to make sure any review happens before the pour.
What a supply-and-install quote should list
Use the scope as a checklist when you compare quotes. For each item, the quote should say included or not included:
- Detailing (placing drawings and bar lists)
- Delivery and unloading
- Placing labour and ties
- Bar supports and accessories
- Crane time and hoisting
- Layout lines, levels and templates
- Scaffolding and access
- Overtime and winter work
- Mechanical splices, threading, welding
- Dowels drilled and grouted into existing concrete
- Inspection and testing
- Rates for additions and deletions
Two quotes with the same headline number can be very different jobs once these are filled in. Ask for unit rates for additions and deletions too, so changes during the job are priced on a known basis.
Supply and install vs supply only
Buying supply only and placing with your own crew works well when you have experienced placers and the job is simple. Supply and install puts detailing, fabrication and placing with one company, so when a bar doesn't fit, there's no gap between the shop and the field to argue over. It also means the people who wrote the bar list are the ones placing from it.
Whichever route you take, plan the pour sequence with whoever is placing the bar. Deliveries that arrive in pour order, bundles tagged by element, and placing drawings released ahead of each pour keep crews working instead of sorting steel. Our guide on how to order cut and bend rebar covers tags and delivery planning.
On either route, the shop side of the price is covered in rebar fabrication cost.
Get supply and install pricing
We detail, cut and bend 10M to 55M rebar, deliver across the GTA and Ontario with phased deliveries to match your pours, and provide supply and installation of rebar on residential, commercial and high-rise projects. Take-offs and quotes are free. Send us your structural drawings and tell us whether you need supply only or supply and install, and see our services for the full scope.
Frequently asked questions
How is rebar installation priced?
Usually per tonne of bar placed, or as a lump sum for the job, either on its own (placing only) or combined with the steel (supply and install). Extras such as overtime, hoisting and accessories are listed as included or excluded.
Why does small rebar cost more per tonne to install?
A tonne of small bar is many more metres and many more pieces than a tonne of large bar, so there are more bars to handle, set and tie. Labour follows pieces and intersections, while the price unit is weight.
What is included in rebar supply and install?
Typically detailing, fabrication, delivery and placing of the bar to the approved drawings, with ties. Bar supports, crane time, overtime, scaffolding and layout are items to confirm, because quotes treat them differently.
Can I save money by placing rebar with my own crew?
On small, simple jobs it can make sense. On larger jobs, compare the full cost of your crew's time, the risk of placing errors found at inspection, and the delay to the pour, against a quote from a placing contractor.
