De-Icing Salt Calculator

Salt needed is your area times an application rate, scaled by pavement and intensity. The rate is the whole game, so it is always shown and you can override it. Two unit bases apply: lb per 1,000 ft² for walks and driveways, lb per acre for parking lots — they differ roughly 5–10×, which is why surface class comes first.

area:
  dimensions  A = length × width
  acres       A = acres × 43,560 sq ft

salt (per event):
  sidewalk    lb = (A / 1,000)  × rate × material
  lot         lb = (A / 43,560) × rate × material
  material    = 1.20 for concrete, else 1.00

season + buy units:
  season lb = per-event lb × events
  bags      = ceil(lb / bag weight)
  tons      = lb / 2,000                 (US short ton)
  pallets   = ceil(bags / 49)            (lot)
  sacks     = ceil(lb / 2,000)           (lot, super sack)
  trucks    = tons / 22                  (lot, ~22 t/load)

Sidewalk rates (lb / 1,000 ft²) — MPCA Smart Salting verified. Every cell sits inside the verified 1–4 lb/1,000 ft² band, capped at the 4 lb upper limit. Colder/heavier pavement hits the cap rather than scaling higher — below 15 °F more salt does not melt more ice, it just runs off, so the cold bands trip the underperformance note instead.

             Light  Standard  Heavy
≥ 30 °F        1        2        3
25–29 °F       2        3        4
20–24 °F       2        3        4
15–19 °F       3        4        4
< 15 °F        3        4        4

Lot rates (lb / acre) — a spec default model, NOT a verified grid. Only the bold-anchor cells are source-backed: Ninja De-Icer's ≈ 750 lb/acre standard pass, and ASR Property Services' Light 250 / Average 500 / Heavy 1,000 / Extreme 2,000 lb/acre contractor tiers. The intermediate temperature-nudged cells (400 / 600 / 700 / 900 / 1,400 / 1,600) are extrapolated spec defaults — an editable starting point, not a source-backed rate. The resolved rate is always shown and overridable; ASR's 2,000 lb/acre "Extreme" tier is reachable only via the rate override.

             Light  Standard  Heavy
≥ 30 °F       250*     500*     750*
25–29 °F      400      750*    1000*
20–24 °F      500*     900     1200
15–19 °F      600     1000*    1400
< 15 °F       700     1200     1600
(* = a dossier-verified anchor; other cells are spec defaults)

Bags, pallets, and super sacks round up — you cannot buy a fraction of one. Tons and truck loads are shown as continuous figures (suppliers sell partial tons and loads). Packaging conventions follow ASR Property Services: 50 lb bag, 49 bags per pallet, 2,000 lb super sack, ~22 tons per truck load. The optional cost is one-off arithmetic on your inputs — not a quote. No address, account, or contact form.