About pavingcalc — Asphalt & Paving Estimation Resource Center
pavingcalc.net is a free asphalt and paving estimation resource built by working paving estimators. The numbers behind every calculator come from real ordering decisions on residential driveways, parking lots, and overlays — not from generic SaaS templates.
Why this site exists
Every free asphalt calculator I'd used as an estimator was wrong by 5–5%. They'd skip compaction loss, assume metric tonnes were US short tons, or ignore waste entirely. After fielding the same "we came up short — what happened?" call from contractors and homeowners for years, I started writing my own spreadsheets. This site is those spreadsheets, cleaned up, with the math shown.
What you'll find here
- A free main asphalt calculator covering rectangles, circles, triangles, and L-shaped (multi-section) areas
- Project-specific tools for driveways, cost, tonnage, and UK tarmac
- The methodology page showing density values, compaction factors, and how every formula was derived
- Field-based 2026 pricing ranges by region, refreshed quarterly
Who runs it
Author and reviewer: Ethan Walker, Senior Asphalt Estimator and Paving Project Consultant with 15+ years estimating residential driveways, commercial parking lots, road overlays, and patch jobs at a regional paving contractor.
How we keep it honest
- Field-tested numbers. The 145 lb/ft³ density, 7% default waste, and $100–150/ton range all come from actual delivery tickets and plant quotes.
- Cost ranges, not single prices. Plant pricing changes monthly. We publish ranges and the date they were valid.
- No paywalls, no sign-ups. The site runs on Google AdSense — that's our entire business model.
- No affiliate links to paving contractors. Our reviews can't be bought.
Contact & corrections
Found a number that doesn't match your local plant? Field a question? Use the contact page — every email lands in our inbox and gets read. If your data corrects ours, we update the page and credit you.
The technology side
Hosted on Cloudflare Pages, no tracking beyond Google Analytics (anonymous traffic stats) and Google AdSense. The calculator runs entirely in your browser — your dimensions and prices never hit our servers. See the privacy policy for details.