How Many Tons of Gravel Base Under 1,000 Square Feet of Asphalt?

Gravel under asphalt is planned near 1.4 tons per cubic yard, not with the hot-mix formula. One thousand square feet at six inches is about 18.5 cubic yards, about 26 tons. At four inches it is about 17 tons. The quarry ticket is the real weight.

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Yards first, then the 1.4 factor

Base stone is a different material from compacted hot mix, so the 145-pound asphalt formula does not weigh it. A planning default for gravel is about 1.4 tons per cubic yard. Cubic yards equal the area in square feet times the thickness in feet, divided by 27. For 1,000 square feet at 6 inches, the thickness is 0.5 foot. Multiply 1,000 by 0.5 to get 500 cubic feet, then divide by 27 to get about 18.5 cubic yards. Multiply 18.5 by 1.4 and you get about 25.9, stated as about 26 tons. At 4 inches the thickness is 4 divided by 12, or one-third of a foot. Then 1,000 times that third, divided by 27, is about 12.3 cubic yards, and 12.3 times 1.4 is about 17 tons. Both totals are planning estimates. The quarry ticket is the real weight, because that stone has its own unit weight.

Keep the asphalt tons on another line

The hot mix above this stone is still figured at 145 pounds per cubic foot. One thousand square feet of asphalt at three inches is about 18.1 tons of mix, which is not the 26 tons of gravel and must not be added to it as if they were one product. Order stone from the quarry conversation and mix from the plant conversation. If the base is only under part of the 1,000 square feet, use that smaller area. If the stone extends past the asphalt for edge support, the base area is larger than the mat and the tons rise. Measure the base outline, not the pavement outline, when you are buying stone. A finished thickness is the depth after compaction. A loose dump that looks like six inches will compact to less, so a single fluffy load is not a six-inch base.

What the default does not design

About 26 tons and about 17 tons do not say whether four inches or six inches of stone is right under your asphalt. Firm soil and light cars are a different problem from clay that pumps or from trucks. This math only converts a thickness you already chose. It is not a code section. If the quarry publishes a unit weight different from 1.4 tons per cubic yard, put their number in place of 1.4 and multiply the cubic yards again. An open graded stone and a dense graded stone can differ. Ask which product is in the truck. After delivery, the scale ticket is the weight you bought. Compare it with the cubic yards you measured, and remeasure if the footprint or the compacted depth changed in the field.

A practical sequence

Convert the base thickness from inches to feet and multiply by the area.
Divide those cubic feet by 27 to get cubic yards.
Multiply by about 1.4 tons per cubic yard for a planning weight.
Call 1.4 a planning default and let the quarry ticket be the real weight.

The mistake to skip

Adding gravel tons to asphalt tons and ordering the sum as hot mix.

Questions people ask

How many tons of gravel is under 1,000 square feet at 6 inches?

About 26 tons as a planning estimate. The volume is 1,000 times 0.5 foot, divided by 27, or about 18.5 cubic yards. Times about 1.4 tons per yard, that is about 26 tons. The quarry ticket uses the stone's real unit weight. A loose six-inch pile is not the same as a compacted six-inch base.

Why not use 145 pounds per cubic foot for the stone?

That density is the planning default for compacted hot mix. Gravel is commonly planned near 1.4 tons per cubic yard, which is a different factor for a different material. Swapping them mis-orders both the plant and the quarry. Keep each ticket with its own line.

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