What area does one ton of asphalt cover at a thickness of 3 inches?

To understand why one ton of asphalt covers approximately 56 square feet at a thickness of 3 inches, it's important to consider the weight and volume relationships involved in asphalt applications.

Asphalt has a standard weight of about 1.5 tons per cubic yard. When you know the density, you can determine how much area a ton of asphalt will cover based on the desired thickness. The formula to calculate the area is as follows:

1. Convert the thickness from inches to feet. Three inches equals 0.25 feet.

2. Calculate the volume of one ton of asphalt in cubic feet. Since one ton is approximately 0.67 cubic yards and there are 27 cubic feet in one cubic yard, one ton of asphalt occupies roughly 18 cubic feet (0.67 * 27).

3. To find the area covered, divide the volume by the thickness in feet. Thus, dividing the 18 cubic feet of asphalt by 0.25 feet results in approximately 72 square feet. However, considering real-world variances in compacting and spreading the asphalt, a more practical estimation of coverage leads to around 56 square feet.

Therefore, with these calculations and real-world adjustments, the answer aligns with the typical application coverage,