How to Do a Square-Yard Takeoff From a Driveway Sketch

Dimension every side of the sketch, split the pavement into rectangles and triangles, and add the areas in square feet. Divide by 9 to get square yards. Apply one thickness at a time so a binder lift and a surface lift do not get blended into one confused tonnage.

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Build the sketch before you multiply

A square-yard takeoff starts as a drawing with every side labeled in feet. Measure the pavement, not the lawn around it, and mark what is existing asphalt versus new base. Split odd shapes into rectangles and triangles. A rectangle is length times width. A right triangle is half of length times width. Add those areas in square feet, then divide by 9 to get square yards, because one square yard is 9 square feet. A 24 by 30 foot drive is 720 square feet, which is 80 square yards. Write the units on the page. A bid in square yards compared with a sketch still in square feet will not match until you do that division or multiplication.

Keep each lift separate

Apply one thickness at a time. A 2-inch binder and a 1.5-inch surface are two calculations, or one calculation on the total 3.5 inches if you only need combined tons. Do not blend them into a single mystery number and then wonder why the quote has two lines. The planning formula is area in square feet times inches divided by 12, times 145 pounds per cubic foot, divided by 2000. For 720 square feet at 2 inches, 720 times 2 divided by 12 is 120 cubic feet, times 145 is 17,400 pounds, divided by 2000 is 8.7 tons. At 1.5 inches the same area is about 6.5 tons. Add the lifts if both are in the job. Label both a planning estimate. The plant ticket is the real weight for each mix that ships.

Mark what the takeoff is not

A takeoff is only as good as the measurements. A missing flare, an island you counted as pavement, or a width copied from an old plan will order the wrong tons. Note on the sketch whether the figure is neat tons or includes a waste allowance. Five percent on 8.7 tons is a small add. It does not cover a base you forgot to draw. Commercial bids often speak in square yards. Home sketches often speak in feet. Convert before you compare a contractor's quantity to yours. If their square yards times 9 do not equal your square feet, one of you measured a different shape. Solve that before you argue about price. This page does not set a price. It only keeps the area honest.

A practical sequence

Draw the pavement and dimension every side in feet.
Add rectangle and triangle areas in square feet, then divide by 9.
Run the ton formula once per lift thickness at 145 pounds per cubic foot.
Compare square yards to any bid only after both use the same area.

The mistake to skip

Comparing a square-yard bid to a square-foot sketch without dividing or multiplying by 9.

Questions people ask

Why do pavers bid in square yards?

Many commercial and municipal asphalt bids are written in square yards, so contractors keep that unit on driveway quotes too. Your tape still reads feet. Convert by dividing square feet by 9, or multiply square yards by 9, before you compare tons. Use the same thickness on both sides of the comparison or the tons will not match even when the area does.

Should binder and surface be one tonnage?

Add them if you want the total asphalt weight, and keep them separate if the quote lists two mixes. Each lift has its own thickness. The formula needs that thickness, not the mix name. Both are planning estimates at 145 pounds per cubic foot until the plant tickets arrive. A takeoff that uses only the surface thickness will understate a two-lift job.

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