Paver Calculator
Count the pavers for a patio, walkway or driveway from the paver size and joint gap, add cutting waste for your pattern, and get the compacted gravel base and bedding sand underneath in cubic yards and tons, all from one set of measurements.
Pavers
Areas
Measure to the outside edge of the pavers, where the edge restraint goes.
Base and bedding sand
Prices (optional)
Paver estimate
What to buy
715 pavers
Plus 3.42 cubic yards of paver base and 0.86 cubic yards of bedding sand.
Includes 10% extra pavers for cuts and breakage; the base and sand include the same allowance.
Pavers 9 in × 6 in · joint 1/8 in · base 4 in · sand 1 in
- Area
- 252 sq ft23.41 m²
- Before the extra
- 6502.58 per sq ft
- Pavers to buy
- 715with 10% extra
Paver base (compacted 3/4 in minus aggregate)
- Cubic yards
- 3.422.62 m³
- Weight
- 4.76 tons4.32 t, 9,517 lb
| Bag size | Bags |
|---|---|
| 0.5 cu ft bag | 185 |
| 50 lb bag (0.5 cu ft per Sakrete and Quikrete) | 185 |
Bedding sand (ASTM C33 concrete sand)
- Cubic yards
- 0.860.65 m³
- Weight
- 1.16 tons1.05 t, 2,310 lb
| Bag size | Bags |
|---|---|
| 50 lb bag (0.5 cu ft, derived from density) | 47 |
| 60 lb bag (0.6 cu ft per Sakrete) | 39 |
For a small job in bags: 185 bags of 0.5 cu ft of base and 47 bags of 50 lb of sand.
Your areas, to scale
| Area | Size | Dig | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patio16 ft × 12 ft | 192 sq ft | 5 in | 80 cu ft |
| Walkway20 ft × 3 ft | 60 sq ft | 5 in | 25 cu ft |
| Total | 252 sq ft | 105 cu ft |
How to use it
- Measure the finished area. To the outside of the pavers, where the edge restraint will sit. A patio with a curved side can be entered as a rectangle plus a half circle, or as a known square footage. Add a walkway or a second area as its own row.
- Enter the paver size and joint gap. Use the face dimensions from the spec sheet (a "6 x 9" paver is often a few millimetres under) and the joint width the pavers are designed for; many have spacer nibs that fix it.
- Set the waste for your pattern. Five percent for straight patterns, ten for herringbone or a curve, fifteen for diagonal herringbone and circles. See the pattern notes below.
- Set the base and bedding depths. The defaults are 4 in of compacted base and 1 in of bedding sand, the usual figures for a patio or walkway. Use 6 in of base or more for a driveway.
- Read the result. Pavers before and after waste, pallets if you entered the pieces per pallet, and the base and sand in cubic yards and tons. Enter prices for a materials total.
Base and bedding depths
A paver surface is only as good as what is under it. The Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute (ICPI, since 2023 part of the Concrete Masonry and Hardscapes Association) publishes the construction guidance that installers and most municipal specs follow, and the calculator's defaults come from it:
- Compacted aggregate base: at least 4 in (100 mm) under patios and walkways, at least 6 in (150 mm) under residential driveways. Clay soils and freezing climates call for more, often 8 to 12 in. The base is crushed stone with fines (dense-graded base, crusher run), compacted in lifts of no more than 4 in.
- Bedding sand: a nominal 1 in (25 mm) of coarse, sharp concrete sand, screeded flat and uncompacted until the pavers are laid; no more than 1 1/2 in after compaction. It is a levelling layer, not structure.
- Excavation: paver thickness plus bedding plus base, below the finished level. For a 60 mm (2 3/8 in) paver on 1 in of sand over 4 in of base, dig about 7 1/2 in, more where the base is thicker.
- Edge restraint along every unconfined side, spiked into the base, so the pavers cannot spread.
Because the base is specified compacted, the loose stone you order has to be more. The calculator applies the same waste allowance to the base and the sand as to the pavers; for base on soft ground, raise it.
Density figures for the base and sand come from:
- CMHA (formerly ICPI) PAV-TEC-002, Construction of Interlocking Concrete Pavements (read 2026-10-05)
- Lowe's listing: QUIKRETE HardScapes Paver Base, 0.5 cu ft, 50 lb (read 2026-10-05)
- Sakrete Paver Base technical data sheet (described by Sakrete as a bedding sand; 50 lb bag yields about 0.5 cu ft) (read 2026-10-05)
- Home Depot listing: Pavestone 0.5 cu. ft. Paver Base 98001 (listed product weight 52.86 lb) (read 2026-10-05)
- CMHA (formerly ICPI) PAV-TEC-009, Guide Specification for the Construction of Interlocking Concrete Pavement (read 2026-10-05)
- Sakrete Multi-Purpose Sand technical data sheet (read 2026-10-05)
- Sakrete Natural Play Sand technical data sheet (read 2026-10-05)
- QUIKRETE Sand & Gravel Products data sheet (All-Purpose Sand 1152, All-Purpose Gravel 1151, Premium Play Sand 1113; bag sizes only, no yields) (read 2026-10-05)
Joint gaps
Pavers are laid with a small gap that is then filled with sand, and the gap is part of the arithmetic: each paver takes up its face area plus half a joint on every side. Standard concrete pavers are designed for joints of about 1/16 to 3/16 in (2 to 5 mm), and most have spacer nibs cast into the sides that set it. Tumbled and slab-style pavers are laid with wider joints, 1/4 to 1/2 in. On a small 4 x 8 in paver a 1/8 in joint adds about 5 percent to the footprint, which over the 252 sq ft in the example below is the difference between 1,134 pavers laid tight and 1,083 with the joint; on 12 x 12 in slabs the same joint adds about 2 percent. Enter the joint your pavers are designed for, and use the same figure when you buy the jointing sand.
Waste for cuts
Every paver that meets an edge at an angle has to be cut, and the offcut is usually too small to use. How many that is depends on the pattern and the shape of the area, not on the size of the job, which is why the allowance is a percentage:
- Running bond or stack bond, square to the edges: 5 percent. Cuts only at alternate row ends, and the offcut from one end often finishes the other.
- Basket weave: 5 to 7 percent. Similar to running bond if the area is a multiple of the pattern unit.
- 90-degree herringbone: 10 percent. Every edge has a cut; offcuts are reusable about half the time.
- 45-degree herringbone, circles, curves and free-form edges: 15 percent. Every edge paver is a diagonal cut and little is reusable.
Keep a dozen spares. Pavers are made in production lots and the colour drifts between them, so a repair five years later with new pavers will show.
Patterns and pallets
The pattern changes the look and the waste, not the paver count: the same area needs the same number of pavers in running bond as in herringbone before cuts. Herringbone, with every paver locked by its neighbours at right angles, is the stiffest pattern and the usual recommendation for driveways. Running bond is the easiest to lay and the most forgiving of slightly out-of-square edges. Pavers are sold by the piece, by the square foot or by the pallet, and the pallet is the unit for delivery: a fixed weight, so the pieces per pallet depend on the paver. Take that figure from the product's spec sheet, enter it, and the calculator rounds up to whole pallets. Buying a whole pallet when you need most of one is usually cheaper than paying the per-piece price for the remainder.
Worked example: a patio and a walkway
A 16 by 12 ft patio and a 20 by 3 ft walkway in 6 by 9 in pavers with a 1/8 in joint, 10 percent waste for cuts, 4 in of compacted base and 1 in of bedding sand:
Result
- Area252 sq ft
- Pavers before waste650
- Pavers to buy715
- Base, 4 in compacted3.42 cu yd (4.8 tons)
- Bedding sand, 1 in0.86 cu yd (1.16 tons)
The two areas are 252 sq ft. Each paver with its joint occupies 0.388 sq ft, so the surface takes 650 pavers (each area is rounded up to whole pavers on its own, since offcuts from the patio rarely finish the walkway), and 715 with 10 percent for cuts. Under it go 3.42 cubic yards of base (about 4.8 tons) and 0.86 cubic yards of sand. The base is the delivery that matters; the sand is a small load or a pile of bags, and the pavers come on pallets.
Mistakes people make
- Skimping on base. Four inches compacted is the minimum, and it is compacted thickness. Order the loose stone to match.
- Using sand to fix the base. Bedding is 1 in. A low spot is a base problem.
- Forgetting the slope. A patio should fall about 1/4 in per foot away from the house. Set the base to the slope; the sand only follows it.
- Ordering exactly the paver count. Cuts, breakage and future repairs all come from the same lot. Add the waste and a few spares.
- Measuring to the inside of the edging. Edge restraint sits outside the pavers; measure the paved surface.
- No edge restraint. Without it the pavers spread and the joints open within a season.
Frequently asked questions
How many pavers do I need per square foot?
Divide 1 by the footprint of one paver including its joint. A 6 by 9 in paver with a 1/8 in joint takes up 0.388 sq ft, so you need 2.58 per square foot before waste; a 4 by 8 in paver about 4.3; a 12 by 12 in paver about 0.98. The calculator does this for any paver size and joint, then adds the cutting waste.
How much base do I need under pavers?
The paver industry's guidance (ICPI, now part of the Concrete Masonry and Hardscapes Association) is a minimum of 4 in of compacted aggregate base for patios and walkways and 6 in for residential driveways, thicker on clay soils and in freezing climates, where 8 to 12 in is common. That is compacted thickness, so order loose stone with a 10 to 15 percent allowance and compact it in layers of no more than 4 in. The calculator reports the base in cubic yards and tons.
How much sand goes under pavers?
A nominal 1 in of coarse concrete sand, screeded flat, and never more than 1 1/2 in after compaction. Sand is not for making up a low base: too thick a layer settles unevenly and the pavers rock. For the 252 sq ft in the example above, 1 in of bedding is 0.86 cubic yards with the allowance.
How many pavers come on a pallet?
It depends entirely on the paver. A pallet is limited by weight, not by count, so thin small pavers come several hundred to a pallet and large thick slabs a few dozen; the supplier's spec sheet gives the pieces and square feet per pallet for each product. Enter that figure in the calculator and it rounds your order up to whole pallets, which is how most yards sell and deliver them.
What waste factor should I use for pavers?
Five percent for a rectangle laid in a running bond or stack bond with the pavers parallel to the edges, where the only cuts are at the ends of alternate rows. Ten percent for a 90-degree herringbone or a patio with one curved edge. Fifteen percent for a 45-degree herringbone, circles and free-form shapes, where every edge paver is a diagonal cut and the offcuts are too small to reuse. Add a handful of spare pavers from the same lot for future repairs, because colours change between production runs.
Can I lay pavers on sand without a gravel base?
Only for a stepping-stone path or a small, temporary area where you accept movement. For a patio or walkway that should stay flat, the compacted base is what carries the load and drains the water; sand on soil heaves in winter, washes out in rain and lets the pavers sink where you walk most. The base is most of the digging and most of the delivery weight, which is why the calculator puts it beside the paver count.
Do I need polymeric sand in the joints?
Not strictly, but it is the usual finish now: swept into the joints and misted, it sets into a firm, flexible filler that resists weeds, ants and washout. Plain joint sand works and is cheaper, but needs topping up. Either way the quantity depends on joint width and paver thickness, so use the coverage chart on the bag; the sand calculator explains why it is not an area-times-depth calculation.