Work out hot mix by the ton for paving, or cold patch by the bag for repairs — with material cost for both.
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Inputs
2–3 in for a driveway overlay, 3 in full depth for new residential.
Results
Hot mix needed
8.70 tons
tons = ft² × depth(in) × 0.006042 (145 lb/ft³ compacted)
Calculated with BuildCalculators.com
Asphalt is ordered by weight, not volume — the plant sells tons, the truck is weighed, and the invoice is per ton. So the calculation runs area × compacted depth × density, with density the constant that does the work: hot mix compacts to about 145 lb per cubic foot, which folds into a single factor of 0.006042 tons per square foot per inch of depth.
The second mode handles the other way asphalt is bought: cold patch, in 50 lb bags from the hardware store, for potholes and broken edges. Same geometry, different material — and the difference matters enough that this page keeps them apart.
tons = ft² × depth(in) × 0.0060420.006042 = 145 lb/ft³ ÷ 12 ÷ 2,000yd³ = ft² × (depth ÷ 12) ÷ 27bags = ft³ ÷ 0.45 ft³ per 50 lb bagHot mix goes down loose and gets rolled to about three-quarters of its loose thickness. The 145 lb/ft³ density — and therefore the factor — describes the finished, compacted mat. Enter the thickness you want to end up with; the paving crew handles the loose allowance.
One square foot, one inch thick, is 1/12 of a cubic foot. At 145 pounds per cubic foot that is 12.08 lb, and dividing by 2,000 lb per ton gives 0.006042 tons. Multiply by your square footage and depth in inches and the tons fall out. The same figure flipped over says one ton covers about 160 ft² per inch of depth.
Hot mix arrives above 250°F, is compacted while hot, and cures into the surface that carries traffic for 15–20 years. Cold patch is asphalt pre-mixed with a slow-evaporating binder so it stays workable in a bag — perfect for filling a pothole today, but it never reaches hot-mix hardness. Paving an area with cold patch is the expensive way to do a bad job.
Plants load by the truck, and most charge a fee below 1–3 tons because the trip costs the same either way. If your job runs under about 3 tons, price the minimum-load fee against a few bags of cold patch — for repairs, the bags usually win.
New residential paving at full depth over a compacted base.
About 8.7 tons of hot mix
Material only. Installed, with base and labour, this driveway runs $4–$7 per square foot — the driveway cost calculator itemises it.
Resurfacing sound asphalt with a new wearing course.
About 7.25 tons
An overlay only works over a sound base. If the old surface has alligator cracking, the base underneath has failed and an overlay inherits it.
The classic repair — done with bagged cold patch.
6 × 50 lb bags of cold patch
Square the hole edges, fill in 2 inch lifts, and compact each lift — a hand tamper or even a car tyre over plywood. Loose-filled patches pump out in weeks.
At 145 lb/ft³ compacted. Divide your area by the coverage for tons.
| Compacted depth | Coverage per ton |
|---|---|
| 1 in | ≈ 160 ft² |
| 2 in | ≈ 80 ft² |
| 3 in | ≈ 55 ft² |
| 4 in | ≈ 40 ft² |
Compacted asphalt thickness over a proper aggregate base.
| Use | Depth | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Overlay on sound asphalt | 1.5–2 in | Thinner cracks early |
| Residential driveway | 2–3 in | Over 6 in of compacted base |
| Parking area, cars | 3 in | Base carries the load |
| Truck traffic | 4 in + | And a thicker base — get it designed |
| Item | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Hot mix at the plant | $90–$160 per ton |
| Cold patch, 50 lb bag | $15–$25 |
| Installed paving | $4–$7 per ft² |
| Overlay, installed | $2–$5 per ft² |
Two markets, two logics. Hot mix is a commodity priced per ton at the plant — $90–$160 in 2026, moving with oil prices — and the real cost of using it is the crew and equipment around it. Cold patch is a retail product where the bag price is the whole story.
The 8.7 ton driveway above is $780–$1,390 in material. Installed — excavation, base, paving, rolling — the same driveway is $1,900–$3,400, because asphalt is a machine trade and mobilising the machines is most of the bill. Material-only maths is for checking a quote, not replacing one.
At $15–$25 per 50 lb bag, cold patch costs several times more per ton than hot mix — roughly $600–$1,000 a ton against $90–$160. That is fine, because you buy six bags, not six tons. The crossover logic: repairs under a few square feet, bags win outright; anything approaching real paving area, they are the wrong tool at any price.
Hot mix cannot travel much more than an hour from the plant before it is too cool to compact. Sites far from a plant pay more per ton, get scheduled around the plant’s day, and in remote areas may not be serviceable at all — worth a phone call before planning around a number.
The factor describes finished, rolled asphalt. If you measure a loose pile or an unrolled lift and call it your depth, the order comes out about a quarter high. Specify the compacted thickness you want; the crew lays it thicker and rolls it down.
It stays workable in the bag because it never fully hardens on the ground. A cold-patch “driveway” ruts in its first summer. Bags are for holes; tons are for surfaces.
Alligator cracking means the support underneath has gone. A fresh overlay looks perfect for a season and then prints the same crack pattern through. Cut out and rebuild failed areas first, or the overlay is rented, not bought.
Hot mix is perishable in the truck — a couple of hours of workability on a good day. It is ordered for a paving day, timed to the crew, never stockpiled. If your dates slip, move the order, not the material.
A 1 ton pickup-load of hot mix can cost nearly as much as 3 tons delivered once the fee lands. For small areas, ask the plant where their minimum sits, and price the cold-patch alternative for anything under a pallet of bags.
At 2 inches compacted, about 80 square feet; at 3 inches, about 55. The rule underneath: one ton covers 160 ft² per inch of depth, at 145 lb/ft³ compacted density.
At 3 inches compacted, 40 × 12 × 3 × 0.006042 ≈ 8.7 tons. At the 2026 price of $90–$160 per ton, that is roughly $780–$1,390 in material.
Hot mix is the real paving material — delivered above 250°F, compacted, and hard for 15–20 years. Cold patch is a bagged repair product that stays workable at air temperature; it fills potholes well but never cures as hard, so it is for repairs, not for paving.
Cold patch repairs, yes — pour, rake and compact. Hot mix paving, realistically no: it arrives hot, must be spread and rolled before it cools, and the compaction equipment matters as much as the material. Small crews and rental rollers exist, but a driveway is usually a contractor job.
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