Asphalt Calculator: Tons of Hot Mix for a Driveway
Asphalt is sold by the ton and laid by the inch. Area times compacted thickness times density gives the weight, and the density is a number your plant can tell you exactly.
When the figures look right, the asphalt material list downloads as a real PDF with your business details on it, built inside your own browser. Nothing you type is uploaded anywhere.
Worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with and the answer it gives. Change anything above and every number below moves with it.
- Length60 ft
- Width12 ft
- Compacted thickness3 in
- Density145 lb per cu ft
Asphalt needed13.05 tons
| Area | 720 sq ft |
|---|---|
| Compacted volume | 180 cu ft |
| Weight | 26,100 lb |
| Tons | 13.05order to the next quarter ton |
| Order | 13.25 tons |
| Base stone at 4 in, tons | 12 |
The material list this produces
| Hot mix asphalt, tons | 13.25 |
|---|---|
| Crushed base stone, tons | 12 |
| Tack coat, gallons | 3 |
What this calculator assumes
- Hot mix asphalt runs about 145 lb per compacted cubic foot, which is roughly 2 tons per cubic yard. Mixes vary, so ask your plant for theirs.
- This is compacted thickness. Laid loose it is about 25 percent thicker before rolling.
- A residential driveway is usually 2 to 3 inches over a 4 to 6 inch compacted base. Skimping on the base is what cracks a driveway, not the asphalt.
Compacted, not loose
Hot mix compacts roughly 20 to 25 percent under the roller. Three inches compacted goes down close to four inches loose, and if you lay to three and roll it you have two and a quarter inches of pavement.
This calculator works in compacted thickness, because that is what the specification and the customer care about. Tell your paving crew the compacted number and let them set the screed for it.
The base is the driveway
A residential driveway is usually 2 to 3 inches of asphalt over 4 to 6 inches of compacted crushed stone. On soft or clay soils the base goes deeper and may want a geotextile under it.
When a driveway cracks and ruts after two winters, it is almost never the asphalt. It is water in an undercompacted base. Spending the money on stone and compaction rather than on an extra inch of blacktop is the difference between ten years and two.
Questions people ask
How many tons of asphalt for a 1,000 square foot driveway?
At 3 inches compacted and 145 pounds a cubic foot, 1,000 square feet is 250 cubic feet, which is 36,250 pounds, or 18.1 tons.
How much does a ton of asphalt cover?
At 2 inches compacted and 145 pounds a cubic foot, about 83 square feet a ton. At 3 inches, about 55. Density varies by mix so confirm with your plant.
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Common sizes, worked out
The same calculator with the numbers already filled in, one page per size, each ending in its own material list.
More sizes, answered
Each row is this calculator run with those numbers when the page was built. Type the same numbers in above to see every line of the working.
| Example | What it assumes | Asphalt needed |
|---|---|---|
| 10x20 pad | 200 square feet at 3 inches of compacted hot mix, at 145 pounds per cubic foot. | 3.63 tons |
| 12x50 driveway | 600 square feet at 3 inches of compacted hot mix, at 145 pounds per cubic foot. | 10.88 tons |
| 16x40 driveway | 640 square feet at 3 inches of compacted hot mix, at 145 pounds per cubic foot. | 11.6 tons |
| 20x30 pad | 600 square feet at 3 inches of compacted hot mix, at 145 pounds per cubic foot. | 10.88 tons |
| 24x24 pad | 576 square feet at 3 inches of compacted hot mix, at 145 pounds per cubic foot. | 10.44 tons |