How much does a cubic foot of asphalt weigh?

145 lb compacted — the standard hot-mix density used across this site. Loose material runs about 117 lb/ft³, so a cubic foot shoveled from a pile weighs noticeably less than a cubic foot rolled into a pavement. Always state which condition you mean when comparing quantities.

How many cubic feet does a 50 lb bag of cold patch fill?

About 0.4 ft³ loose out of the bag, compacting down to roughly 0.33 ft³ in the hole — call it three bags per compacted cubic foot. Manufacturers vary slightly, so check the bag, but 0.33 ft³ compacted is the planning number that keeps you from a second store run.

How many bags do I need for one pothole?

Volume in cubic feet is length × width × depth, all in feet, then divide by 0.33. A 24 × 24 in hole 3 in deep is 1 ft³ — three bags. Add 25% because cold patch keeps consolidating under traffic; an underfilled repair becomes a dish within weeks.

When should I switch from bags to bulk hot mix?

Around 25–30 bags the economics flip. That is roughly 8–10 ft³, and most plants will sell a half ton (about 6.9 ft³ compacted) or full ton (13.8 ft³) at a fraction of the per-pound bag price. The catch is hauling: hot mix must be placed within about two hours.

How many cubic feet are in a ton of asphalt?

13.8 ft³ compacted (2,000 lb ÷ 145 lb/ft³). Loose, the same ton occupies about 17 ft³. If you are checking a small bulk delivery against your patch list, use the compacted figure — that is the volume that ends up in the pavement.

Can I calculate patches in gallons or buckets?

Yes — a 5-gallon bucket holds about 0.67 ft³, a useful field unit for carrying loose mix to scattered repairs. Two bucket loads of loose material compact to roughly one cubic foot in the hole. It is coarse, but for pothole work coarse and fast beats precise and late.

Asphalt · Volume Guide

Asphalt cubic foot guide

Yards are for paving; feet are for fixing. Pothole repairs, utility cuts and edge patches are all cubic-foot problems, and the unit maps neatly onto the bags and buckets you actually carry.

Contents

1.Cubic foot quick facts
2.Pothole math: bags per hole
3.Worked example: a ten-pothole lot

Cubic foot quick facts

The cubic foot is the right scale for repair work: big enough to price a patch, small enough to count in bags. Three numbers cover almost every small-batch decision.

Small-batch reference values at 145 lb/ft³ compacted and ≈ 117 lb/ft³ loose.
Quantity	Volume	Note
1 ft³ compacted hot mix	145 lb	27 ft³ = 1 yd³Loose ≈ 117 lb/ft³
50 lb cold-patch bag	≈ 0.4 ft³ loose	≈ 0.33 ft³ compacted≈ 3 bags per compacted ft³
5-gallon bucket	≈ 0.67 ft³	≈ 78 lb of loose mixHandy field measure
1 US ton, compacted	13.8 ft³	≈ 17 ft³ looseThe bulk crossover unit

Pothole math: bags per hole

Measure the hole after squaring its edges — length, width and depth in feet — multiply the three, and divide by 0.33 ft³ per bag. The table shows how quickly volume grows: doubling a hole's width and length quadruples the bags.

Bags at 0.33 ft³ compacted each, before the 25% overfill allowance.
Pothole size	Compacted volume	50 lb bags
12 × 12 in, 2 in deep	0.17 ft³	1 bag
24 × 24 in, 3 in deep	1 ft³	3 bags
36 × 36 in, 4 in deep	3 ft³	9 bags

Worked example: a ten-pothole lot

Patching a parking lot

A retail lot has 10 potholes averaging 24 × 24 in and 2 in deep after squaring. How many 50 lb bags does the crew load?

1
Volume per hole
2 × 2 × 0.167 = 0.67 ft³
2
Total compacted volume
0.67 × 10 = 6.7 ft³
3
Bags at 0.33 ft³ each
6.7 ÷ 0.33 = 20.3 bags
4
Add 25% overfill
20.3 × 1.25 = 25.4

Result: Load 26 bags — about 1,300 lb of cold patch, comfortably one pickup trip.

At 26 bags this job sits right at the bulk crossover: a half ton of hot mix would cover it if a plant is nearby and the crew can place it hot.

Frequently asked questions

Size the patch, skip the second trip

The volume calculator turns hole dimensions into cubic feet, yards and meters instantly.

Asphalt Volume Calculator

Sources & references

[1]MS-4: The Asphalt Handbook, 7th ed. — Asphalt Institute, 2007