How Much Asphalt for a 10x20 Driveway?
Asphalt needed
3.63 tons
200 square feet at 3 inches of compacted hot mix, at 145 pounds per cubic foot.
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.
How that number is worked out
These are the figures this page was built with and every line the calculator produces from them. Change anything above and all of it moves.
- Length20 ft
- Width10 ft
- Compacted thickness3 in
- Density145 lb per cu ft
Asphalt needed3.63 tons
| Area | 200 sq ft |
|---|---|
| Compacted volume | 50 cu ft |
| Weight | 7,250 lb |
| Tons | 3.63order to the next quarter ton |
| Order | 3.75 tons |
| Base stone at 4 in, tons | 3.33 |
The material list this produces
| Hot mix asphalt, tons | 3.75 |
|---|---|
| Crushed base stone, tons | 3.5 |
| Tack coat, gallons | 1 |
Compacted thickness compared
Thickness is the one number that moves the tonnage in a straight line. Two inches is a light residential overlay, six is commercial.
| Compacted thickness | Asphalt needed | Base stone at 4 in, tons |
|---|---|---|
| 2 in | 2.42 tons | 3.33 |
| 3 in | 3.63 tons | 3.33 |
| 4 in | 4.83 tons | 3.33 |
| 6 in | 7.25 tons | 3.33 |
What else matters here
A 10 by 20 pad is a single car parking space and it takes 3.63 tons at three inches. Order 3.75, because asphalt is bought in quarter ton steps and running out of hot mix halfway across a pad means a cold joint through the middle of it.
A load this small is awkward to buy. Many plants have a minimum load and most paving contractors will not fire up for a few tons, so a small pad is usually done as an add on to a larger job in the same neighborhood.
Hot mix has to go down hot. On a small area the material loses heat fast in the truck and faster on the ground, so a pad this size wants everything prepared and the roller standing by before the truck arrives.
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.
Questions people ask
How many tons of asphalt for a 10x20 pad?
3.63 tons at 3 inches compacted, which you would order as 3.75 tons.
How thick should the base be?
Four to six inches of compacted crushed stone under a residential driveway, more on soft ground or where trucks turn. Base failure is what cracks a driveway. Adding asphalt thickness over a thin base does not fix it.
Why is asphalt sold by the ton?
Because the plant loads it by weight. Hot mix runs about 145 pounds per compacted cubic foot, roughly 2 tons a cubic yard, so the calculator converts your area and thickness to volume and then to weight. Ask your plant for their density if you want it exact.
The asphalt calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.