Asphalt Driveway Calculator
Driveways run 2–3″ of hot mix compacted over a stone base. Enter the paved footprint and this returns tons to order, with waste and quarter-ton rounding.
Order 9.25 t — plants ticket in ¼-ton and most hold a 1-ton minimum.
- Area
- 480 ft²
- Volume (120.0 ft³)
- 4.44 yd³
- Net weight @ 145 lb/ft³
- 17,400 lb · 8.70 t
- Waste / settling 5%
- + 0.44 t
- Order quantity
- 9.14 tons
- Truckloads
- 1 × tandem dump (≈12 t)
- Loose haul volume
- ≈ 5.8 yd³
- Metric
- 3.40 m³ · 8.29 tonnes
- 50 lb cold-patch bag (≈0.4 ft³)
- 315 bags
- Materials + delivery$110–$180 / ton · Aug 2026
- $1,018 – $1,665
- Installed (with labor)typ. $2,495
- $1,738 – $3,585
How to calculate hot-mix asphalt by hand
Tons = Length (ft) × Width (ft) × Depth (in) ÷ 12 × 145 lb/ft³ ÷ 2,000
Worked example
- Area: 20 ft × 10 ft = 200 ft².
- Compacted volume: 200 ft² × (3 in ÷ 12) = 50 ft³.
- Weight: 50 ft³ × 145 lb/ft³ = 7,250 lb.
- Tons: 7,250 ÷ 2,000 = 3.63 tons.
- Add 5% waste: 3.63 × 1.05 = 3.81 tons → order 4.0 tons (plants ticket in ¼-ton).
- 1 ton hot mix at 3″ compacted
- ≈ 54 ft²
- 1 ton hot mix at 2″ compacted
- ≈ 81 ft²
- 1 ton hot mix at 4″ compacted
- ≈ 41 ft²
- Loose-to-compacted volume
- × 1.25
Questions crews ask
How many tons of asphalt for a 12 × 40 driveway?
At 3″ compacted: 480 ft² × 0.25 ft = 120 ft³ × 145 lb = 17,400 lb = 8.7 tons. With 5% waste order 9.25 tons — one tandem load. At 2″ it is 5.8 tons, about 6.25 with waste.
How thick should a residential asphalt driveway be?
2″ compacted is the minimum for cars; 3″ is the standard for a driveway that will see a pickup or an occasional delivery truck. Both need a 4–6″ compacted crushed-stone base.
Should I use a 2-inch or 3-inch depth?
Use 3″ for new construction or a rebuilt base. 2″ works as an overlay on sound existing asphalt. Under 1.5″ a dense-graded mix cannot compact properly and will ravel.