Asphalt calculator.
Tons by zone, by course and by the load.
A driveway is rarely one rectangle, and the tools that rank for this search disagree on what a cubic foot of asphalt weighs without telling you. This calculator adds up a run, a pad, a flared apron and a turnaround, splits the tonnage between base and surface courses, shows the unit weight with its source, and rounds the order to the loads your plant delivers.
0302 / Tonnage
- Paved area
- 1,653.4 sq ft · 183.7 sq yd
- Compacted volume
- 551.1 cu ft · 20.4 cu yd
- Unit weight in use
- 148 lb/cu ft · 111 lb/sq yd·in · 2.00 tons/cu yd
- Base course
- 25.5 tons
- Surface course
- 15.3 tons
- With allowance
- 40.8 tons
- Loads
- No load size entered
- Delivered
- 40.8 tons
- Surplus from load rounding
- None; no load rounding
- Material at your quote
- No quote entered
- Spread across published unit weights
- 2.2 tons
Tons are short tons of 2,000 pounds. The spread is the gap between the lightest and heaviest published unit weight on this job.
0203 / Zones to scale
TO SCALETons zone by zone
| Zone | Shape | Area | Base course | Surface course | Zone total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main run | Rectangle, 144″ × 720″ | 720.0 sq ft | 11.1 tons | 6.7 tons | 17.8 tons |
| Parking pad | Rectangle, 240″ × 240″ | 400.0 sq ft | 6.2 tons | 3.7 tons | 9.9 tons |
| Flared apron | Trapezoid, 144″ to 288″ over 120″ | 180.0 sq ft | 2.8 tons | 1.7 tons | 4.4 tons |
| Turnaround | Half circle, radius 180″ | 353.4 sq ft | 5.4 tons | 3.3 tons | 8.7 tons |
Courses and lift check
| Course | Compacted | Lifts | Minimum lift for the aggregate | Tons | Coverage per ton | Finding |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base course | 2 1/2″ | 1 × 2 1/2″ | 2 1/4″ for 19 mm | 25.5 | 64.9 sq ft | Inside both published bounds |
| Surface course | 1 1/2″ | 1 × 1 1/2″ | 1 1/8″ for 9.5 mm | 15.3 | 108.1 sq ft | Inside both published bounds |
A course too thick for the roller is split into equal lifts; the tonnage does not change. A lift too thin for its aggregate is flagged, not corrected.
The same job at four published unit weights
| Source | lb/cu ft | Stated on the page | Tons for this job | Against your value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asphalt Institute, low end of the in-place range | 142.0 | yes | 39.1 | -1.7 |
| Missouri Asphalt Pavement Association calculator, 110 lb per sq yd per inch | 146.7 | yes | 40.4 | -0.4 |
| Asphalt Institute, the value it tells estimators to use | 148.0 | yes | 40.8 | 0.0 |
| Reeves Construction calculator, value read in its script | 150.0 | read in its script | 41.3 | +0.6 |
What one ton covers
| Compacted thickness | Square feet per ton | Square yards per ton |
|---|---|---|
| 1″ | 162.2 sq ft | 18.0 sq yd |
| 1 1/2″ | 108.1 sq ft | 12.0 sq yd |
| 2″ | 81.1 sq ft | 9.0 sq yd |
| 2 1/2″ | 64.9 sq ft | 7.2 sq yd |
| 3″ | 54.1 sq ft | 6.0 sq yd |
| 4″ | 40.5 sq ft | 4.5 sq yd |
Forty tons, and where each of them goes
The example driveway has four zones. The run is 12 by 60 feet, 720 square feet. The pad is 20 by 20, 400. The apron widens from 12 feet at the driveway to 24 at the street over 10 feet, a trapezoid of 180. The turnaround is half a circle of 15-foot radius, 353.4. Together: 1,653.4 square feet, 183.7 square yards, a shape no single length-times-width box can hold.
Two courses go down: 2½ inches of base and 1½ of surface, 4 inches compacted, 551.1 cubic feet. At 148 pounds per cubic foot that is 81,569 pounds, 40.8 tons: 25.5 in the base course and 15.3 in the surface. By zone, the run takes 17.8 tons, the pad 9.9, the apron 4.4 and the turnaround 8.7.
The unit weight is a choice, so it is shown
Of the tools read for this page, one contractor’s calculator multiplies by 150 pounds per cubic foot inside its script and never says so; another publishes no figure at all. The Missouri Asphalt Pavement Association states 110 pounds per square yard per inch. The Asphalt Institute gives 142 to 148 and says to use 148. On the example those values give 39.1, 40.4, 40.8 and 41.3 tons, a 2.2-ton spread. With the mix’s Rice value the page derives the unit weight as the Institute does: 2.500 times 62.4 is 156.0 at zero voids, and 95 percent compaction makes 148.2.
Lifts follow the stone in the mix
The example base course uses a 19 mm mix. Three times 19 mm is 2¼ inches, so a 2½-inch lift passes and a 2-inch lift would be flagged. The 9.5 mm surface mix needs 1⅛ inches and gets 1½. A single 4-inch course under a static steel-wheeled roller is split into two 2-inch lifts, 3 inches being the most that roller compacts properly; under a vibratory roller it stays one lift.
Ordering by the load
Nothing is added unless you ask. With a 5 percent allowance the example becomes 42.8 tons; delivered 10 tons at a time that is 5 loads, 50 tons, and 7.2 tons of surplus reported apart from the allowance. A quote per ton prices the delivered tons. Rounding rules are on how we calculate.
Questions asked about asphalt tonnage
How do I calculate how much asphalt I need?
Multiply the paved area by the compacted thickness to get a volume, multiply that by the in-place unit weight of the mix, and divide by 2,000 pounds per ton. The Asphalt Institute works it through for 10 by 25 feet at 4 inches: 83.3 cubic feet at 148 pounds per cubic foot is 12,328 pounds, 6.1 tons. This page does the same for each zone and each course.
How much does 1 ton of asphalt cover 2 inches thick?
About 81 square feet, or 9 square yards, at 148 pounds per cubic foot. At 142 it covers 84.5 square feet and at 150 it covers 80. The answer moves with the unit weight, which is why the coverage table on this page is recomputed from the value you enter rather than printed once.
How many square feet does 1 ton of asphalt do?
It depends on the compacted thickness. At 148 pounds per cubic foot one ton covers 162 square feet at 1 inch, 108 at 1½ inches, 81 at 2 inches, 54 at 3 inches and 40.5 at 4 inches. Halving the thickness doubles the coverage; nothing else changes it except the unit weight of the mix.
How many tons is 1 yd of asphalt?
A cubic yard of compacted mix at 148 pounds per cubic foot weighs 3,996 pounds, almost exactly 2 tons. At 142 it is 1.92 tons and at 150 it is 2.03. The ledger shows tons per cubic yard for the unit weight in use, so a volume quote and a weight quote can be compared.
How much does 1 yard of asphalt hot mix weigh?
In place, between 3,834 and 3,996 pounds per cubic yard across the 142 to 148 range the Asphalt Institute gives. By the square yard, one inch thick, that is 106.5 to 111 pounds, which is where the 110 pounds per square yard per inch used by the Missouri Asphalt Pavement Association sits.
What is the typical unit weight of asphalt?
The Asphalt Institute states 142 to 148 pounds per cubic foot in place and tells estimators to use 148. A state association calculator assumes 110 pounds per square yard per inch, which is 146.7. For a specific mix, multiply its Rice value by 62.4 and by the specified compaction: 2.500 at 95 percent gives 148.2.
How much would a 20x20 asphalt driveway cost?
This page publishes no price. A 20 by 20 foot pad is 400 square feet; at 2 inches and 148 pounds per cubic foot it takes 4.93 tons. Enter the price per ton your plant or contractor quotes and the ledger multiplies it. A paving bid also covers grading, base stone, labor and mobilization, which tonnage does not measure.
How much would a 100 ft asphalt driveway cost?
Length alone does not set it. One hundred feet at 10 feet wide and 3 inches compacted is 1,000 square feet and 18.5 tons at 148 pounds per cubic foot; at 12 feet wide it is 22.2 tons. Enter your own width, thickness and quote per ton. No regional price is assumed here.
How much does it cost to pave a 2000 sq ft driveway?
At 3 inches compacted, 2,000 square feet needs 37 tons at 148 pounds per cubic foot, and 24.7 tons at 2 inches. The cost line is that tonnage, rounded to loads if you enter a load size, times your quote per ton. The page does not estimate labor, base work or a contractor’s margin.
How to calculate the cost of an asphalt driveway?
For the material: tons delivered times the price per ton. Delivered tons are the computed tons plus any allowance you add, rounded up to whole loads when a load size is entered; the surplus that rounding creates is shown on its own line. Everything that is not hot mix has to come from the contractor’s bid.
How many tons of asphalt can a dump truck haul?
No standard figure was found in a normative source, so none is preset: it depends on the truck and its legal load, and the plant will tell you. Enter that load size and the order rounds up. In the example, 42.8 tons in 10-ton loads is 5 loads, 50 tons delivered and 7.2 tons of surplus.
Is 2 inches of asphalt enough for a driveway?
Total thickness is a pavement design question that depends on the soil, the base and the traffic, and this page recommends none. What it does check is the lift against the mix: the Asphalt Institute asks for at least three times the nominal maximum aggregate size, so a 2-inch lift suits a 12.5 mm mix, while a 19 mm mix needs 2¼ inches.
How thick should compacted asphalt be?
Per lift, the Asphalt Institute gives two bounds: at least three times the nominal maximum aggregate size, and no more than 3 inches when a static steel-wheeled roller does the compaction; with pneumatic or vibratory rollers lifts are generally limited to 6 or 8 inches. The page flags a course outside those bounds and splits one that is too thick.
What this tonnage does not settle
- No pavement design. Total thickness, base stone, drainage and subgrade preparation are outside the model, and no thickness is recommended.
- Zones are rectangles, one trapezoid and a full, half or quarter circle. They are drawn in sequence on one axis; overlaps between zones are not detected, so measure them as separate, non-overlapping areas.
- Compacted quantities only. The loose depth behind the paver, the loose-to-compacted ratio and yield on the day belong to the crew.
- The unit weight is one number for the whole job. Two mixes with different unit weights need two runs.
- Hot mix asphalt only: no aggregate base tonnage, millings, cold patch, sealcoat or tack coat.
- No prices, no load sizes and no allowance are preset. The cost line multiplies your quote by the delivered tons.