How many 5 gallon buckets of sealer for a driveway?

Divide the square feet by the coverage on the pail: 450 sq ft per pail on smooth blacktop (1 pail for 10 x 20 ft, 1 for 20 x 20, 2 for 20 x 40), 350 on rough (1, 2 and 3 pails). A 24 x 60 ft drive on rough asphalt with two coats is 7 pails. Buy the last pail; running out with a strip left is a visible line.

How much does a 5 gallon pail of driveway sealer cover?

The data sheet figures used here are 400 to 500 sq ft per pail on a smooth or previously sealed driveway and 300 to 400 on rough, unsealed or coarse-aggregate asphalt, for one coat; this page uses 450 and 350. Many pails are 4.75 gallons, not 5, so the per-gallon figure is about 95 sq ft smooth and 74 rough.

Do I need two coats of driveway sealer?

Two thin coats on a driveway that has never been sealed, is grey and dry, or has hairline cracks; one coat is enough on a driveway resealed every two or three years. The second coat uses about 67% of the first, so two coats on the 20 x 20 ft drive is 2 pails on smooth or 2 on rough, not double the single-coat count.

How many square feet is my driveway?

Width x length, plus the flared part at the street (measure it as a small rectangle and add it) and minus nothing for the car. A 2-car drive is usually 20 to 24 ft wide; measure the length from the garage door to the sidewalk or road edge. Odd shapes: split them into rectangles, add them up, and put the total in the calculator.

How long before I can drive on sealed asphalt?

Keep cars off for 24 to 48 hours, longer if it is cool or humid, and foot traffic off for at least 4 hours; the label on the pail gives the figure for that product. Seal when the driveway will stay above about 50°F (10°C) for two days and no rain is forecast for 24 hours, and never on asphalt less than 6 months old.

How much crack filler do I need before sealing?

Crack filler is bought by the linear foot of crack, not by area, and the jug or tube states how many feet it fills at a given crack width. Walk the driveway with chalk, mark the cracks wider than 1/8 inch, add up the length with a tape, and buy to that figure; fill and let it cure before the sealer goes on.

How much driveway sealer do I need?

A single-car 10 x 20 ft driveway (200 sq ft) takes 1 pail of sealer for one coat on smooth, previously sealed blacktop at 450 sq ft per 5 gallon pail, and 1 pail for two coats on rough, never-sealed asphalt. A two-car 20 x 20 ft drive is 1 pail smooth or 2 pails rough with two coats, and a 20 x 40 ft drive 2 to 4 pails. The second coat takes about a third less than the first. The tables cover 10 x 20 to 24 x 60 ft, one and two coats, and 20 L pails for metric drives.

Open the paint calculator

Pails of sealer by driveway size

5 gallon pails at 450 sq ft per pail on smooth or previously sealed blacktop and 350 on rough, unsealed asphalt. The pails column is what you buy; the second coat is counted at 67% of the first.

One coat
Driveway	Area (sq ft)	Smooth (pails exact)	Buy	Rough (pails exact)	Buy
10 x 20 ft	200	0.44	1	0.57	1
12 x 24 ft	288	0.64	1	0.82	1
12 x 40 ft	480	1.07	2	1.37	2
16 x 30 ft	480	1.07	2	1.37	2
20 x 20 ft	400	0.89	1	1.14	2
20 x 40 ft	800	1.78	2	2.29	3
24 x 30 ft	720	1.6	2	2.06	3
24 x 40 ft	960	2.13	3	2.74	3
24 x 60 ft	1,440	3.2	4	4.11	5

Two coats, second at 67% of the first
Driveway	Smooth (pails exact)	Buy	Rough (pails exact)	Buy
10 x 20 ft	0.74	1	0.95	1
12 x 24 ft	1.07	2	1.37	2
12 x 40 ft	1.78	2	2.29	3
16 x 30 ft	1.78	2	2.29	3
20 x 20 ft	1.48	2	1.9	2
20 x 40 ft	2.96	3	3.81	4
24 x 30 ft	2.67	3	3.43	4
24 x 40 ft	3.56	4	4.57	5
24 x 60 ft	5.33	6	6.86	7

How the numbers are worked out

Area divided by the coverage per pail, rounded up to whole pails: 20 x 20 = 400 sq ft / 450 = 0.89 pails, so 1. Two coats multiply by 1.67. The paint calculator does the same sum for any coverage if you enter the pail as the can size; the concrete driveway guide and the gravel driveway guide cover the other two kinds of drive.

Before you open the pail

Clean it properly: pressure wash or scrub, kill the moss, degrease the oil spots with a primer made for it, and let it dry a day. Sealer over dirt peels in a season.
Fill the cracks first and let the filler cure; patch holes with cold patch and compact it. The sealer is a coating, not a repair.
Stir each pail from the bottom for several minutes, and mix pails together in a larger tub on a big drive so the colour matches.
Cut in the edges with a brush, then pull the squeegee or push the broom in thin, even passes; two thin coats outlast one thick one.

Metric: 20 L pails

The same label coverage in metric: about 42 m² per 5 gallon pail on smooth asphalt and 33 on rough, scaled to 20 L pails, two coats.

Two coats, 20 L pails
Driveway (m²)	Smooth (L)	Pails	Rough (L)	Pails
30	22.6	2	29.1	2
40	30.2	2	38.8	2
60	45.3	3	58.2	3
80	60.4	4	77.6	4
100	75.5	4	97	5
150	113.2	6	145.5	8

Frequently asked questions

How many 5 gallon buckets of sealer for a driveway?: Divide the square feet by the coverage on the pail: 450 sq ft per pail on smooth blacktop (1 pail for 10 x 20 ft, 1 for 20 x 20, 2 for 20 x 40), 350 on rough (1, 2 and 3 pails). A 24 x 60 ft drive on rough asphalt with two coats is 7 pails. Buy the last pail; running out with a strip left is a visible line.
How much does a 5 gallon pail of driveway sealer cover?: The data sheet figures used here are 400 to 500 sq ft per pail on a smooth or previously sealed driveway and 300 to 400 on rough, unsealed or coarse-aggregate asphalt, for one coat; this page uses 450 and 350. Many pails are 4.75 gallons, not 5, so the per-gallon figure is about 95 sq ft smooth and 74 rough.
Do I need two coats of driveway sealer?: Two thin coats on a driveway that has never been sealed, is grey and dry, or has hairline cracks; one coat is enough on a driveway resealed every two or three years. The second coat uses about 67% of the first, so two coats on the 20 x 20 ft drive is 2 pails on smooth or 2 on rough, not double the single-coat count.
How many square feet is my driveway?: Width x length, plus the flared part at the street (measure it as a small rectangle and add it) and minus nothing for the car. A 2-car drive is usually 20 to 24 ft wide; measure the length from the garage door to the sidewalk or road edge. Odd shapes: split them into rectangles, add them up, and put the total in the calculator.
How long before I can drive on sealed asphalt?: Keep cars off for 24 to 48 hours, longer if it is cool or humid, and foot traffic off for at least 4 hours; the label on the pail gives the figure for that product. Seal when the driveway will stay above about 50°F (10°C) for two days and no rain is forecast for 24 hours, and never on asphalt less than 6 months old.
How much crack filler do I need before sealing?: Crack filler is bought by the linear foot of crack, not by area, and the jug or tube states how many feet it fills at a given crack width. Walk the driveway with chalk, mark the cracks wider than 1/8 inch, add up the length with a tape, and buy to that figure; fill and let it cure before the sealer goes on.

How much paint do I need for a 12x12 room?
Gallons of paint for a 12 x 12 ft room with 8, 9 or 10 ft ceilings, one or two coats, a door and two windows deducted, plus the 4 x 4 m room in litres.
How many square feet does a gallon of paint cover?
A gallon covers about 350 to 400 sq ft on smooth walls, less on rough or bare surfaces. Gallons for 400 to 2,000 sq ft at one and two coats, and litres per square metre.
How much paint do I need for a ceiling?
Quarts and gallons of ceiling paint for 10x10, 12x12, 15x15 and 20x20 ft ceilings at one and two coats, plus 3x3 to 5x5 m ceilings in litres.
How much paint for a 10x10 room? (10x12, 12x14 and 14x16 too)
Gallons of paint for a 10x10 room with an 8 ft ceiling, a door and two windows, one or two coats, plus the ceiling; 10x12 to 14x16 rooms; 3x3 to 4x5 m rooms in litres.

Last updated 2026-09-13. Figures are planning estimates from typical product data: check the yield, size or coverage printed on what you buy and round up.