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Asphalt calculator

Driveway quotes talk in tons. Your tape measure talks in feet and inches. This page turns length × width × thickness into cubic yards and short tons so you can sanity-check a paving ticket before you wave the truck in. It is not a structural pavement design and it does not price milling, binder, or labor. Default density is a common hot-mix rule of thumb — your plant ticket wins if they print a different number.

ft
ft
in
ton/yd³
Hot mix ≈ 2.0 — plant ticket wins
8%
0510152025

+8% so you don't come up short

ORDER ESTIMATEASPHALT
Cubic yards to order5.33
Approx. tons10.7 tons
Waste8%
How it calculates
L × W × (T ÷ 12) → cu ft; ÷ 27 → yd³; × (1 + 8% waste); tons ≈ order yd³ × 2 t/yd³ (≈ 145 lb/cu ft).

Estimate only — not a contractor bid. Confirm bag yields and local codes before you pour or order.

When to use

Overlay or patch shopping list; comparing a contractor tonnage to your measurements; figuring whether a leftover pile covers the soft spot by the garage.

When not to

Engineered road sections with specified lifts and compaction tests. Cold patch bags with weird yields — use the bag label. Parking lots with curb returns and islands as one blob — break the area into rectangles.

Assumptions

Default density ≈ 145 lb/cu ft ≈ ~2.0 short tons per cubic yard of compacted hot mix (typical DIY rule of thumb). Thickness in inches. Waste default 5–10%. No compaction factor beyond waste; no oil content math.

Worked examples

Example 1

20 × 40 ft driveway, 2 in thick, waste 8%
→ raw ≈ 4.94 yd³ → order ≈ 5.34 yd³ ≈ 10.7 tons at 2.0 t/yd³

Thin overlays need a clean, sound base — thickness math does not fix alligator cracking.

Example 2

8 × 12 ft patch, 3 in, waste 10%
→ ≈ 0.99 yd³ ordered ≈ 2.0 tons

Small patches often come as cold mix bags; compare bag yield to this volume before you force a truck minimum.

How it calculates

Volume from area and thickness, convert to yards, apply waste, then multiply by density for tons.

  1. Enter length, width, and thickness in inches.
  2. Set density if your plant quotes something other than 2.0 t/yd³.
  3. Dial waste; read ordered yards and tons on the ticket.
cu ft = L × W × (T ÷ 12)
yd³ = cu ft ÷ 27
order yd³ = yd³ × (1 + waste%)
tons ≈ order yd³ × tons_per_yd (default 2.0)

Common traps

  1. Plant density beats our default — ask for tons per cubic yard on the ticket.
  2. Loose vs compacted — truck tons are usually after compaction assumptions; do not double-add waste and compaction blindly.
  3. Edges and flares eat mix; measure the real paved outline, not the garage door width.
  4. Minimum loads — a calculator cannot erase a 3-ton plant minimum on a 1-ton patch.

Next tool

Aggregate base under asphalt → gravel calculator.

Concrete pad instead of asphalt → concrete pad calculator or slab calculator.

FAQ

Volume in cubic yards × density (often ~2 tons/yd³ for hot mix), then add waste.

Related

Estimate only — not a contractor bid or engineered takeoff. Confirm bag yields and local codes before you pour or order.