From this site

One project, every trade

Each calculator adds its lines to a single estimate — consolidated BOM, schedule and cash-flow included.

Open My Project →

HSS (Square/Rectangular Tube) Weight Calculator

Calculate a hollow structural section (HSS) tube's weight per unit length from its outer dimensions and wall thickness.

Computed in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded. Figures are presented in United States units and terminology, and each formula’s basis is cited under regulatory standards below.

Last verified 2026-08-26 · v1.0.0

Market
Imperial · sales tax

Weight per meter

17.71 kg/m

High confidence
Cross-sectional area
2256 mm²

At the values currently entered, the weight per meter works out to 17.7 kg/m. Figures are shown in United States units and terminology; switch the market above if you are building elsewhere.

Add the equipment this sizes

This result is a specification — 17.71 kg/m — not a quantity. Put the thing it sizes into your project: how many, what you call it, and your supplier’s price.

Preliminary estimate, not certified engineering. This tool produces an indicative quantity calculation for planning purposes only — it is not a certified structural analysis, a guaranteed material takeoff, or a substitute for building department approval. Always verify measurements on-site and have a licensed contractor or structural engineer review any load-bearing, code-sensitive, or safety-critical work before purchasing materials or starting construction. Spotted an arithmetic or standards error? Report it to contact@craftquantities.com with your inputs — a confirmed fix gets a permanent check of its own, so the same mistake cannot come back.

Presented in US customary units and US trade terminology. Where a formula follows a published standard, that standard and its edition are cited beside it on this page; where none governs, the page says so. Local amendments override model codes — verify against the code in force where you build.

Regulatory standards & verification citations

  • HSS cross-sectional area = outer area − inner area = (width × height) − ((width − 2×wall thickness) × (height − 2×wall thickness)); weight per unit length = area × steel density (7850 kg/m³)

Your workspace

Most jobs need more than one number. Add the calculators you need next and they open right here, underneath this one — your figures stay on screen and nothing is lost to a page change.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the design thickness less than the nominal?
Because electric-resistance-welded HSS is produced to a wall thickness tolerance that runs consistently below nominal, and the design specification accounts for it by requiring 0.93 times nominal for capacity calculations. It is not a defect allowance — it is the recognised production reality. Weight, though, is conventionally taken on nominal, so the two calculations legitimately use different figures.
Does the corner radius affect the weight?
Yes, slightly, and the calculation here does not model it. A cold-formed HSS has rounded corners rather than square ones, which removes a small amount of material from each corner along the full length. On a heavy-walled small section it is a measurable fraction; on a thin-walled large one it is negligible.
Why does my delivered weight exceed the calculation?
Almost always fabrication. End plates, gussets, base plates, stiffeners and weld metal are not in a section-weight calculation and can add ten percent or more to a braced frame. Beyond that, mill tolerance on wall thickness produces a genuine spread, and fabricators frequently charge on stock length rather than cut length.
Is HSS the same as a pipe?
Not for specification purposes, even where the shape looks similar. HSS and structural pipe are made to different standards with different yield strengths, different tolerances and different designation systems — pipe is called out by nominal size and schedule, HSS by outside dimensions and wall. Substituting one for the other on a drawing is not a like-for-like swap.