A paving bill of materials is the procurement list behind one rectangle: hot mix to order, aggregate base to order, emulsion for the tack coat, and the units of joint sealant — each on its own ticket and each rounded up its own way. Enter the area once (measure an irregular lot with the multi-area calculator), then the thickness of every course you are actually buying, and this tool assembles all four lines from the same engine that runs the rest of the calculators here. Rates that belong to a supplier’s product (tack application rate, sealant yield, every dollar figure) are inputs you fill in, because no published national average for them is reliable.
Asphalt tons = (Area sq ft × Thickness in ÷ 12) × Mix density ÷ 2,000 × (1 + Allowance %) • Base tons = the same chain with the base unit weight • Tack gallons = Area sq ft ÷ 9 × Your tack rate gal/SY • Sealant units = Joint linear ft ÷ Your coverage ft per unit (round up)
| Symbol | Variable | Unit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Paved area | sq ft | One number feeds every weight line; the same area in base calculator form is what the quarry sees. |
| Ts | Surface course thickness | in | Compacted thickness — read the compacted vs loose asphalt guide before converting a loose-lift figure. |
| γm | Mix density | lb/ft³ | Planning default 145; typical HMA runs 142–148. See the asphalt density guide for the sourced bands. |
| Tb | Base course thickness | in | Zero drops the base line from the bill entirely. |
| R | Tack application rate | gal/SY | Your residual emulsion rate — from the product data sheet or the job spec, never a site average. |
| Y | Sealant coverage | linear ft/unit | The yield your sealant product states for the joint width and depth you are cutting. |
| L | Loads per line | loads | Each material line is divided by truck capacity and rounded up separately; see the truckload calculator for the partial last load. |
Every number below is produced by the same engine at build time — not typed by hand.
Weight to order: 55.52 US tons
Weight to order: 30.45 US tons
Weight to order: 55.52 US tons
For a typical new construction: hot mix asphalt for the surface course, compacted aggregate base, tack coat emulsion between the layers or against the existing surface, and joint or edge sealant. Add-on items that this tool does not quantity are fuel, mix delivery haul, waste disposal from milling or demolition, and the labor and equipment to place and compact what is listed.
Take one area figure and the compacted thickness of each course you are buying. For each: area × thickness ÷ 12 × unit weight ÷ 2,000 gives net tons; add the order allowance once for the order quantity. Emulsion is an area conversion (square yards × your application rate) and sealant is a length conversion (linear feet ÷ your product’s coverage). This calculator runs all four and shows every step.
Because each material is ordered on its own ticket, and each is subject to the same short-order risk: layout error, edges, spares and site losses. The allowance is applied once to the mix and once to the base, and never twice to either.
No. Enter your emulsion rate and you get gallons and containers; enter joint length and product coverage and you get sealant units. Leave either blank and the line simply is not on the bill — the tool would rather omit a quantity than invent a rate.
A bill of materials is built forward from dimensions — it is what you would ask a supplier to price. A quote check works backward from a contractor’s number to see whether the tonnage inside it is right. Use this page to build the list, then the quote checker to test the bid against it.