How Much Asphalt for a 20x30 Parking Pad?
Asphalt needed
10.88 tons
600 square feet at 3 inches of compacted hot mix, at 145 pounds per cubic foot.
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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.
- Length30 ft
- Width20 ft
- Compacted thickness3 in
- Density145 lb per cu ft
Asphalt needed10.88 tons
| Area | 600 sq ft |
|---|---|
| Compacted volume | 150 cu ft |
| Weight | 21,750 lb |
| Tons | 10.88order to the next quarter ton |
| Order | 11 tons |
| Base stone at 4 in, tons | 10 |
The material list this produces
| Hot mix asphalt, tons | 11 |
|---|---|
| Crushed base stone, tons | 10 |
| Tack coat, gallons | 2 |
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 | 7.25 tons | 10 |
| 3 in | 10.88 tons | 10 |
| 4 in | 14.5 tons | 10 |
| 6 in | 21.75 tons | 10 |
What else matters here
Six hundred square feet at three inches is 10.88 tons, the same as a 12 by 50 driveway. Area is area: the shape changes the paving, not the tonnage.
A pad does change the base though. A parking area takes standing load in the same spots every day rather than rolling load spread along a strip, so the base under a pad wants the same or more depth than under a driveway, compacted just as carefully.
If trucks or trailers will use it, three inches is light. Four inches over six inches of base is the usual step up, and it is much cheaper to add it now than to overlay a cracked pad later.
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 20x30 pad?
10.88 tons at 3 inches compacted, ordered as 11.
Is 3 inches enough for a parking pad?
For cars, yes, over a properly compacted base. For trucks, trailers or an RV, step up to 4 inches over 6 inches of base.
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.