Asphalt cubic yard guide
The cubic yard is the estimator's unit: drawings give you area and depth, and 27 cubic feet is the box you pour them into. Here is everything one yard of hot mix is, weighs and covers.
Contents
Cubic yard quick facts
One cubic yard is a 3 × 3 × 3 ft cube — 27 ft³, or 0.765 m³. Filled with compacted hot-mix asphalt at 145 lb/ft³, that cube weighs 3,915 lb. Every other number on this page derives from those two constants.
| Measure | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Volume | 27 ft³ | 3 × 3 × 3 ftThe ÷27 in every US takeoff |
| Metric volume | 0.765 m³ | 1 m³ = 1.31 yd³ |
| Weight, compacted | 3,915 lb | 1.96 US tonsAt 145 lb/ft³ |
| Weight, loose | ≈ 3,160 lb | ≈ 1.58 tonsAt ≈ 117 lb/ft³ in the truck |
| Coverage at 4 in | 81 ft² | A 9 × 9 ft square |
| Coverage at 2 in | 162 ft² | Overlay thickness |
If you have poured concrete before, the geometry transfers directly — a concrete yard covers the same 81 ft² at 4 inches, as the concrete coverage guide shows. Only the density and the order unit change.
Yards needed for common projects
| Project | Area × depth | Cubic yards |
|---|---|---|
| Single-car driveway | 480 ft² @ 3 in | 4.4 yd³≈ 8.7 tons |
| Double-car driveway | 720 ft² @ 3 in | 6.7 yd³≈ 13.1 tons |
| Parking space | 162 ft² @ 4 in | 2.0 yd³≈ 3.9 tons |
| Garden pathway | 240 ft² @ 2 in | 1.5 yd³≈ 2.9 tons |
The yard formula
yd³ = ft² × (in ÷ 12) ÷ 27
- ft²
- plan area in square feet
- in ÷ 12
- compacted depth converted to feet (4 in = 0.333 ft)
- ÷ 27
- cubic feet to cubic yards
Depth is compacted depth. If you are checking loose material in a truck, expect about 24% more volume for the same weight.
Worked example: a parking pad order
A 22 × 25 ft equipment parking pad paved 4 in thick. How many cubic yards — and what does the plant hear?
- 1
Area
22 × 25 = 550 ft²
- 2
Volume in cubic feet
550 × 0.333 = 183.3 ft³
- 3
Convert to yards
183.3 ÷ 27 = 6.8 yd³
- 4
Add 5% waste
6.8 × 1.05 = 7.1 yd³
- 5
Translate for the plant
7.1 × 1.96 = 13.9 tons
Result: Order 14 tons — that is 7.1 yd³ of compacted mix on the ground.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a cubic yard of asphalt weigh?
- 3,915 lb compacted — call it 1.96 US tons. That comes straight from the standard compacted hot-mix density of 145 lb/ft³ times 27 ft³ per yard. Loose in the truck it runs about 117 lb/ft³, or roughly 3,160 lb per yard, which is why a load looks bigger than it lays.
- How many square feet does a cubic yard of asphalt cover?
- 81 ft² at 4 inches compacted, 108 ft² at 3 inches, 162 ft² at 2 inches. The shortcut is 324 divided by thickness in inches. These are geometric figures — apply your 5–10% waste factor on top before ordering.
- How many cubic yards do I need for a driveway?
- A single-car driveway of about 480 ft² takes 4.4 yd³ at 3 inches; a 720 ft² double runs 6.7 yd³. Measure your actual footprint, multiply by depth in feet, divide by 27, then add waste — the volume calculator does all four steps at once.
- Why do asphalt plants quote tons instead of cubic yards?
- Plants batch and weigh material over a truck scale, so weight is the unit they can certify. You estimate in yards because drawings give you area and depth. The bridge between the two is density: multiply yards by 1.96 to talk to the plant in tons.
- Is an asphalt yard the same as a concrete yard?
- Geometrically, yes — 27 ft³ is 27 ft³, and both cover 81 ft² at 4 inches. The difference is weight and ordering: concrete arrives ready-mixed by the yard at about 4,050 lb, while asphalt sells by the ton at 3,915 lb per compacted yard. Same box, different bookkeeping.
- Should I round my order up or down?
- Up, always. Running short mid-pave means a cold joint and a second delivery fee that dwarfs the cost of a quarter yard of extra mix. Standard practice is to add 5–10% for waste and grade variation, then round to the plant's minimum increment.
Keep going in the volume series
Sources & references
- [1]MS-4: The Asphalt Handbook, 7th ed. — Asphalt Institute, 2007