Work out asphalt and base tonnage, crew time and a quote price for a new driveway from its size and your supplier prices.
Asphalt tons = length × width × (thickness ÷ 12) × density ÷ 2,000.
Base tons = length × width × (base depth ÷ 12) ÷ 27 × tons per cubic yard.
Direct costs = asphalt tons × price + base tons × price + equipment and trucking.
Labor cost = labor hours × wage × (1 + burden %).
Overhead = labor hours × overhead per labor hour.
Price = (labor + direct costs + overhead) ÷ (1 − margin %), or your minimum charge if that is higher.
A 60 × 12 ft driveway is 720 sq ft. At 3 inches and 145 lb per cubic foot, it needs 13.1 tons of asphalt; 6 inches of base at 1.4 tons per cubic yard is 18.7 tons. Enter your own plant and quarry prices to finish the quote. With prices left at zero, the 24 crew hours at $24 with 22% burden cost $702.72, equipment $600 and overhead $192.
Fictional numbers for illustration only. Material prices are left blank on purpose: use your suppliers’ current prices.
Paving quotes go wrong in two places: tonnage and time. Ordering too little asphalt stops the job; ordering too much wastes money. This calculator turns dimensions into tons for both the asphalt and the stone base, then prices the crew and equipment.
Ask your plant for the compacted density of the mix you will use. The default here is only a starting point for the example.
At the 145 lb per cubic foot density used in the example, one ton of compacted asphalt is about 13.8 cubic feet. Spread at different thicknesses, that covers:
| Compacted thickness | Square feet per ton |
|---|---|
| 2 in | 82.8 |
| 2.5 in | 66.2 |
| 3 in | 55.2 |
| 4 in | 41.4 |
A 720 sq ft driveway at 3 inches therefore needs 720 ÷ 55.2, or about 13 tons, which matches the calculator. Lighter or heavier mixes shift the numbers, which is why the density field asks for your plant’s figure.
Few driveways are a clean rectangle. Split the area into simple shapes, work out each one and add the square footage before entering it as length times width.
Fictional example: a 50 × 10 ft run plus a 20 × 12 ft parking pad plus a flared apron of two triangles, each 4 ft wide and 10 ft long, adds up to 500 + 240 + 40 = 780 sq ft. Enter 78 for length and 10 for width to get the same area.
A crew that records time against each job in EZTime gives you the real hours for step two without collecting paper timesheets.
Asphalt and stone prices change with oil prices, region and season. Enter the price your supplier quotes you this week.
Many pavers order a little extra for edges and low spots. Increase the thickness slightly or add tons to cover it.
No. Sealcoating is a separate job with its own material rates.
Margin is profit as a share of the price; markup is profit as a share of cost. A 20% margin equals a 25% markup. Mixing the two up is one of the most common reasons small contractors underprice.
About one ton for every 83 sq ft at a 145 lb per cubic foot density. Check with your plant for the mix you are using.
Many pavers show base work as its own line, since an existing driveway may need little or no new base while a new one may need several inches. It also makes the price easier to explain.
EZTime records crew hours by job and site so your next bid uses real numbers. Book a demo to see it.