SpoilStack/Free toolsRev 2026-11-10·After the bid · Before closeout
Calculator

Asphalt Tonnage Calculator

Take off the whole job at once. Add a row for each area you pave, each area you mill and each trench you patch, and get tons of hot mix in, tons of millings out, tack coat, and truck loads both ways.

Loading calculator…

The math, shown transparently

One weight per square yard per inch of compacted mat does all the work. Every number updates as you type.

// Area. A trench patch adds the cutback c on every side.

area_sq_ft = length × width

patch_sq_ft = (trench_length + 2c) × (trench_width + 2c)

band_sq_ft = patch_sq_ft − trench_length × trench_width

// Tons. 110 lb per sq yd per inch, compacted.

tons = area_sq_ft / 9 × depth_in × 110 / 2,000

full depth patch: tons of patch_sq_ft at depth_in

surface cap patch: trench at depth_in + band at cap_in (band milled: millings)

hot_mix = sum(Pave and Trench patch rows)

millings = sum(Mill rows) + surface cap bands at cap_in

order = tons × (1 + extra% / 100) (blank = none)

// Tack, undiluted. Pave rows and surface cap bands only.

gal = area_sq_ft / 9 × rate_gal_per_sq_yd (Pave: its Over surface)

gal = band_sq_ft / 9 × milled_rate (surface cap)

pails = ceil(gal / 5)

// Loads. Always round up.

loads_in = ceil(hot_mix_order / payload)

loose_yd³ = millings_order / 1.43

loads_out = max(ceil(millings_order / payload), ceil(loose_yd³ / bed_yd³))

In metric the calculator converts exactly: 110 lb/sy/in is 2.349 t/m³ (a square yard one inch thick is 0.75 ft³), and tonnes = tons × 0.9072. Michigan’s and Florida’s own metric tables round 110 lb/sy/in to 60 kg/m² per 25 mm and 24 kg/m² per 10 mm, which is 2.40 t/m³; the calculator starts at the converted 2.349.

Worked example: a mill and pave job

An example job: two areas milled 2 in, a 20,000 sq ft area paved 4 in, the 5,000 sq ft area repaved 2 in, and a 400 ft × 2 ft trench strip patched 4 in. The 2 ft is already the patch width, so the cutback is 0. At 110 lb/sy/in:

mill 12,000 / 9 × 2 × 110 / 2,000 = 146.67 tons

mill 5,000 / 9 × 2 × 110 / 2,000 = 61.11 tons

pave 20,000 / 9 × 4 × 110 / 2,000 = 488.89 tons

repave 5,000 / 9 × 2 × 110 / 2,000 = 61.11 tons

patch 400 × 2 = 800 / 9 × 4 × 110 / 2,000 = 19.56 tons

millings out = 146.67 + 61.11 = 207.78 tons

hot mix in = 488.89 + 61.11 + 19.56 = 569.56 tons

loose millings = 207.78 / 1.43 = 145.3 yd³

Your plant’s mix weight changes the answer, so type it in the Mix weight field; mixes run 108 to 120 lb/sy/in.

Had the permit asked for a 12 in full-depth cutback each side, the patch would be (400 + 2) × (2 + 2) = 1,608 sq ft, 39.31 tons: about twice the hot mix for the same trench. A 12 in surface cap milled 2 in instead (the Santee way) adds only the band, 1,608 − 800 = 808 sq ft at 2 in: 800 × 4 + 808 × 2 = 4,816 sq ft·in, 29.43 tons of hot mix, and the band’s milled course adds 9.88 tons of millings. The milled band takes tack at the milled rate: 808 / 9 × 0.09 = 8.08 gal, 2 pails.

The link below paves the 20,000 sq ft over existing asphalt and the repave over milled asphalt; set Over to match your job for the tack. Open this job in the calculator.

Compacted is not loose

The 110 lb weight is per inch of compacted thickness: NAPA’s handbook says a spread rate “is expressed in terms of pounds per square yard of material for every inch of compacted thickness”. Behind the paver the mat is thicker, and the rollers bring it down. NAPA gives a rolldown of about 25% for a typical dense-graded mix and about 15% for gap and open-graded mixes: a 2 in lift goes down 2.50 in loose.

So set the screed for each lift’s loose depth, but order tons for the compacted depth. A thick patch goes down in lifts (Lowell: 2 in or less; Toronto: 50 mm or less), so the loose total the calculator shows under each Pave and Trench patch row is spread across those lifts, never laid at once. It never adds rolldown to the tons. Adding it would order 25% too much.

Milling haul-off

Milled asphalt (RAP, recycled asphalt pavement) weighs what it did in the road. Nebraska DOT puts RAP at 144 lb/ft³, close to the 147 lb/ft³ that 110 lb/sy/in works out to, so a Mill row uses the same weight as a Pave row.

In the truck the millings are loose. The calculator uses 1.43 tons per cubic yard (1.70 t/m³), Nebraska DOT’s stockpiled figure and the closest published loose weight we found. It turns millings tons into loose yards with it and counts loads out both ways, by your legal payload and by your bed, and uses whichever needs more trucks. Hot mix loads in are counted by weight only.

For comparison, FHWA’s RAP guidelines (FHWA-RD-97-148) say “the unit weight of milled or processed RAP has been found to range from 1940 to 2300 kg/m3 (120 to 140 lb/ft3)”. That is heavier than the 106 lb/ft³ that 1.43 tons/yd³ works out to. Real loose millings can bulk more than either, so check the bed count against your first tickets.

Trench patch specs from five cities

Cities set their own patch rules, and your permit’s spec governs. These five show the range. A full-depth cutback (Springville’s T-patch) widens the whole patch past the trench on every side, so on a narrow trench it can double the tons, as in the worked example. A surface cap (Santee’s T-cap, Toronto’s driveway rule) only mills and repaves the top course in the band, so set the Trench patch row’s Cutback to Surface cap only and enter the cap depth. Lowell’s permanent patch and Toronto’s lane rule mill and repave a much wider area: enter that as a Mill row plus a Pave row over milled asphalt.

Trench patch cutback, thickness and lifts by city
CityCutbackAsphalt thicknessLifts
Springville, UT12 in beyond the excavation, full depth (T-patch; base replaced in the cutback)4 in, or existing plus 1 in, whichever is greaterNot stated
Lowell, MAPermanent patch: mill 1.5 in on either side of the trench, to the centerline and the curb line; mill width along the curb at least the trench width plus 10 ftExisting, or 4 in minimum, whichever is thicker; 8 in minimum over cobblestones or concrete2 in or less
Santee, CASurface cap (T-cap): 1 ft min each side, surface course milled 1.5 in residential / 2 in other streets, 4 ft min overall; none if the existing asphalt concrete is less than 3 in thick3 in over 6 in of base, or match existing, whichever is greater4 in or less
Toronto, ONLongitudinal trench: the lane milled and paved for the trench length plus 5 m at each end, at least 3 m wide; composite pavement cut back 300 mm each side; driveways 300 mm all sides (surface course)Match the existing structure50 mm or less
Newmarket, ONNot stated75 mm HL8 + 40 mm HL3, or match existing, whichever is greaterNot stated (HL8 and HL3 named)

Toronto also tacks the saw-cut faces with SS-1 before paving. No source we found gives a rate for the faces, so the calculator does not count that tack, and a full-depth patch gets none. A surface cap’s band is a milled surface, so it gets tack at the milled asphalt rate from FHWA’s Table 1, the same rate a Pave row over milled asphalt uses.

Tack coat rates

FHWA’s Table 1, in gallons per square yard. The calculator uses the undiluted column, at the middle of each range; FHWA notes the Asphalt Institute encourages the higher end.

Tack coat application rates by surface, FHWA Table 1
SurfaceResidualUndilutedStarts at
Existing asphalt0.04 to 0.070.06 to 0.110.085
Milled asphalt0.04 to 0.080.06 to 0.120.09
New asphalt lift0.02 to 0.050.03 to 0.070.05
Concrete0.03 to 0.050.05 to 0.080.065

FHWA assumes the emulsion is 33% water and 67% asphalt. FHWA describes tack as binder sprayed on an existing asphalt or concrete surface, or between layers of new asphalt, so a Pave row over aggregate base gets none. In metric, 1 gal/sy is 4.527 L/m².

Lift thickness

The Asphalt Institute: “Minimum lift thickness should be at least 3 times the nominal maximum aggregate size.” TxDOT’s dense-graded mixes, in inches compacted:

TxDOT minimum and maximum lift thickness, dense-graded mixes
MixTop sizeMinMax
TY-A1-1/2 in36
TY-B1 in2.55
TY-C3/4 in24
TY-D1/2 in1.53
TY-F3/8 in1.252.5

Top size is TxDOT’s nominal maximum aggregate size. Source: TxDOT Pavement Manual 7.2, Table 6-3: TxDOT Lift Thickness Requirements. A thick patch goes in more than one lift; enter each lift as its own row only if you want the tack between lifts (Over: new asphalt lift).

Sources and assumptions

Frequently asked questions

How many tons of asphalt do I need?

Square feet × compacted depth in inches × 110 ÷ 18,000 gives US tons at 110 lb per square yard per inch, Florida DOT’s estimating figure and Michigan DOT’s rate for 1 in. A 50 × 20 ft drive paved 3 in thick is 1,000 × 3 × 110 ÷ 18,000 = 18.33 tons. 110 is at the low end of the DOT figures; most run about 109 to 114, and typical mixes weigh 108 to 120 lb per square yard per inch, so put your plant’s number in the Mix weight field.

How many square feet does a ton of asphalt cover?

At 110 lb per square yard per inch, one ton covers 163.64 sq ft at 1 in thick, 81.82 at 2 in, 54.55 at 3 in and 40.91 at 4 in. A heavier mix covers less.

How much does a cubic yard of asphalt weigh?

Compacted, 3,960 lb (1.98 tons) at 110 lb per square yard per inch, because a cubic yard is one square yard 36 inches thick. The Asphalt Institute’s 148 lb/ft³ gives 3,996 lb, and WSDOT estimates 2.05 tons per cubic yard.

How many tons of millings will I haul off?

Millings weigh what the mat weighed in place, so 12,000 sq ft milled 2 in deep is 146.67 tons at 110. In the truck they are loose. The calculator uses 1.43 tons per cubic yard, Nebraska DOT’s stockpiled figure and the closest published loose weight we found, so that is 102.6 loose yd³, 9 loads by a 12 yd³ bed. Real loose millings can bulk more, so check the bed count against your first tickets. Enter your legal payload too: the calculator counts loads both ways and uses the larger.

Should I add for compaction (rolldown)?

Not to the tons. The 110 lb figure is per inch of compacted thickness, so the tons already cover it. The paver lays the mat thicker, about 25% for a dense-graded mix and 15% for open or gap-graded (NAPA), so 3 in compacted goes down about 3.75 in loose. Adding 25% to the tons orders 25% too much.

How much tack coat do I need?

FHWA’s Table 1 gives undiluted rates by surface, in gallons per square yard: new asphalt 0.03 to 0.07, existing asphalt 0.06 to 0.11, milled 0.06 to 0.12 and concrete 0.05 to 0.08. The calculator starts at the middle of each range. Over 1,000 sq ft of existing asphalt at 0.085 gal/sy that is 9.44 gal, 2 five-gallon pails. The table assumes the emulsion is 33% water; diluted 1:1 it takes twice the gallons.

How thick should a trench patch be?

Whatever your street opening permit says. Springville, Utah wants 4 in or the existing thickness plus 1 in, whichever is greater, with the pavement saw-cut back 12 in past the trench at full depth. Lowell, Massachusetts wants the existing thickness or 4 in, in lifts of 2 in or less, and 8 in where cobblestones or concrete lie under the asphalt; its permanent patch then mills 1.5 in on either side of the trench to the centerline and the curb line, at least the trench width plus 10 ft along the curb. Santee, California wants 3 in over 6 in of base or the existing section, with a surface cap milled 1.5 in on residential streets and 2 in on others, 1 ft past each side. Toronto mills and repaves the lane for a longitudinal trench, the trench length plus 5 m at each end, at least 3 m wide. Newmarket, Ontario wants 75 mm HL8 and 40 mm HL3 or the existing depth. Set the Trench patch row’s Cutback to Full depth or Surface cap only; enter a lane or curb-to-centerline mill and overlay as a Mill row plus a Pave row over milled asphalt.

How thick should an asphalt driveway be?

The Minnesota Asphalt Pavement Association’s design guide puts car lots and driveways at 4.5 in of full-depth asphalt on good soil, 5.5 in on moderate soil and 7 in on poor soil, each with a 2 in wear course. On aggregate base it calls for 2 in of wear plus 2 in of binder over 3 in of base on good soil, 2 in plus 2 in over 6 in on moderate soil, and 2 in plus 3 in over 6 in on poor soil: 4 in of asphalt on good or moderate soil and 5 in on poor. Your town’s driveway standard governs.

How much extra should I order?

There is no standard waste percentage, so the Extra field starts blank. WSDOT’s estimating table says its quantities do not provide for widening, waste from stockpile or thickened edges. Nebraska DOT adds 15% to the tons for its 1 in SLX thin lifts, for slope and profile correction; that is a rule for one thin overlay mix, not a general allowance.

What does A/C mean on an asphalt takeoff?

FHWA’s glossary defines asphalt concrete (AC) as a mixture of mineral aggregates, asphalt binder and additives: the hot mix. The same letters are also used for the binder, as in “AC content” in the PAPA note on mix weight. To keep them apart, this calculator says hot mix for the mix and tack for the coat.

Is this in short tons or metric tonnes?

In ft and in the calculator gives US short tons of 2,000 lb. In m and cm it gives metric tonnes; 1 tonne is 1.10 short tons. Ontario MTO’s draft estimating guide measures hot mix by the tonne or the square metre.

Related free tools