Sand Calculator
Work out how much sand you need for paver bedding, a sandbox, filling under a slab or levelling a lawn. Enter each area with its depth and get cubic yards, tons and bag counts, with a waste allowance built in.
Material and depth
About bedding sand
CMHA Tech Spec 2 and 9: screed bedding sand to a nominal 1 in (25 mm), uncompacted, over the compacted base. Never use it to make up a low base.
Sakrete data sheets: Natural Play Sand 50 lb yields 0.5 cu ft and Multi-Purpose Sand 60 lb yields 0.6 cu ft, both 100 lb/ft³ (1.35 tons per cubic yard). Quikrete All-Purpose Sand meets ASTM C33 but publishes no yield, so its 50, 60 and 70 lb bags use this density.
Areas
Measure each area and pick its shape. Leave an area’s depth blank to use the depth above.
Prices (optional)
Enter what your supplier or store charges to see the cost both ways.
Sand estimate
What to buy
0.77 yd³ of bedding sand
Order 1 cubic yard in bulk, or buy 42 bags of 50 lb.
Includes 10% extra. Bulk suppliers usually sell in half-yard steps, so the order is rounded up.
Bedding sand (ASTM C33 concrete sand) · Depth 1 in unless set per area · 10% extra
- Area
- 228 sq ft21.18 m²
- Cubic yards
- 0.77order 1 yd³
- Cubic feet
- 20.9
- Cubic metres
- 0.59592 litres
- Weight
- 1.05 tons0.95 t, 2,090 lb
- Edging
- 98 ftperimeter of every area
| Bag size | Bags |
|---|---|
| 50 lb bag (0.5 cu ft, derived from density) | 42 |
| 60 lb bag (0.6 cu ft per Sakrete) | 35 |
Your areas, to scale
| Area | Size | Depth | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patio bedding14 ft × 12 ft | 168 sq ft | 1 in | 14 cu ft |
| Walkway bedding20 ft × 3 ft | 60 sq ft | 1 in | 5 cu ft |
| Total | 228 sq ft | 19 cu ft | |
| With 10% extra | 20.9 cu ft | ||
How to use it
- Measure each area. The patio footprint for bedding sand, the inside of the frame for a sandbox, the slab footprint for fill under concrete. Measure to the edge restraint or form, not to the pavers you have laid so far.
- Set the depth for each. Bedding sand is a nominal 1 in and never more than 1.5 in; a sandbox is 6 to 12 in; a levelling layer on a lawn is half an inch. The depths are very different, so give each area its own.
- Pick the sand. Concrete (bedding) sand for bedding, fill and levelling, play sand for a sandbox. Masonry sand for mortar is not listed; it is bought by the bag with the mortar mix. The weight shown uses the density of the sand you choose.
- Allow for waste. Ten percent covers the sand that works into the base, the screed rails you pull out and the heap that is left on the tarp.
- Read the result. Cubic yards and tons for a bulk order, bag counts for a small job, and a per-area breakdown. Add prices to compare.
Bedding sand, fill sand, play sand and masonry sand
"Sand" covers several products that are graded for different jobs, and the grading matters more than it looks.
- Concrete sand (bedding sand): coarse and sharp, graded to the concrete-aggregate standard ASTM C33. The angular grains interlock, which is why it is the bedding layer under pavers and the sand in a concrete mix. It also drains well, so it suits levelling a lawn.
- Fill sand: unwashed, with a mix of grain sizes and often some fines. Cheap, compacts well, used to fill under slabs, around pipes and in trenches. Not for bedding pavers: the fines hold water.
- Play sand: washed, screened fine sand with the dust removed, sold in bags for sandboxes. Soft to touch and easy to mould, and for that reason wrong under pavers, where it shifts.
- Masonry sand: finer than concrete sand, washed, used in mortar for brick and block. Too fine for bedding pavers and too expensive for fill.
- Polymeric sand: fine sand mixed with a binder that sets when wetted, swept into paver joints after laying to lock them and resist weeds and ants. Bought by the bag according to the label's coverage for your joint width, not by volume.
| Material | lb per cu ft | lb per cu yd | Tons per cu yd | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bedding sand (ASTM C33 concrete sand) | 100 | 2,700 | 1.35 | Sakrete data sheets: Natural Play Sand 50 lb yields 0.5 cu ft and Multi-Purpose Sand 60 lb yields 0.6 cu ft, both 100 lb/ft³ (1.35 tons per cubic yard). Quikrete All-Purpose Sand meets ASTM C33 but publishes no yield, so its 50, 60 and 70 lb bags use this density. |
| Polymeric jointing sand | 100 | 2,700 | 1.35 | Graded sand with a polymer binder; the plain-sand density of 100 lb/ft³ (Sakrete sand data sheets) is used only to turn bag weight into volume. Buy by coverage, not by the yard. |
| Play sand (washed, screened) | 100 | 2,700 | 1.35 | Sakrete Natural Play Sand data sheet: a 50 lb bag yields 0.5 cu ft (covers 6 sq ft at 1 in) and a 60 lb bag covers 7 sq ft at 1 in, so about 100 lb/ft³. Quikrete Premium Play Sand is also sold in 50 lb bags. |
Sources for the sand data:
- CMHA (formerly ICPI) PAV-TEC-002, Construction of Interlocking Concrete Pavements (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)
- QUIKRETE Polymeric Jointing Sand (No. 1175-56) sell sheet with coverage calculator (read 2026-10-05)
- Sakrete PermaSand Polymeric Jointing Sand technical data sheet (read 2026-10-05)
- U.S. CPSC Public Playground Safety Handbook (Pub. 325), Section 2.4 loose-fill surfacing (read 2026-10-05)
Polymeric sand is a different calculation
Bedding sand fills a layer, so it is area times depth. Polymeric sand fills the joints between pavers, so the quantity depends on how wide the joints are, how thick the pavers are and how many joints there are per square foot, which is why a bag's coverage chart gives wildly different figures for a tight-laid 60 mm paver and a wide-jointed flagstone. Use the chart on the bag you are buying for your joint width and paver thickness, divide your area by the coverage, and round up a bag. The sweep-in sand also has to go into dry joints on a dry day, and a bag that gets damp sets in the bag, so buy what you need and keep it indoors until you use it.
Worked example: bedding under a patio and a sandbox
A 12 by 14 ft paver patio needs 1 in of bedding sand, and a 6 by 6 ft sandbox is being filled 9 in deep, both with 10 percent extra:
Result
| Area | Sq ft | Depth | Cubic feet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paver bedding, 12 x 14 ft patio | 168 | 1 in | 14.0 |
| Sandbox, 6 x 6 ft | 36 | 9 in | 27.0 |
- Volume with 10% extra45.1 cu ft
- Cubic yards1.67
- Tons2.26
- 50 lb bags91
The bedding layer is only 14.0 cubic feet, while the sandbox, 18 percent of the area, takes 27.0 cubic feet because it is nine times as deep. Together with the allowance that is 1.67 cubic yards, or 91 of the 50 lb bags. The sandbox alone is a reasonable bag job; the two together are a small bulk delivery, and the two sands are different products, so in practice you would buy concrete sand in bulk and play sand in bags.
Mistakes people make
- Using bedding sand to fix a bad base. Bedding is 1 in. If the base is low, add base stone, not sand; thick sand settles unevenly and the pavers rock.
- Buying the wrong sand. Play sand under pavers, masonry sand as bedding, fill sand in a sandbox. Match the sand to the job.
- Estimating polymeric sand by volume. Use the bag's coverage chart for your joint width.
- Guessing at bag volume. Bags are sold by weight; the volume is on the label and it is what fills the space.
- Screeding the sand before the base is right. Bedding sand follows the base; a wavy base makes a wavy patio however carefully the sand is pulled.
Frequently asked questions
How many 50 lb bags of sand are in a cubic yard?
A 50 lb bag of all-purpose or play sand holds about half a cubic foot, so 54 of the 50 lb bags or 45 of the 60 lb bags make a cubic yard. That is over a ton of bags to lift twice, which is why anything beyond a sandbox or a small patio is better bought in bulk.
How much does a cubic yard of sand weigh?
For bedding sand the calculator uses 100 lb per cubic foot, so a cubic yard weighs about 2,700 lb, or 1.35 tons. Damp sand weighs more, and sand sold by the ton is usually damp, so ask the supplier how many yards their ton is.
How much sand do I need for a sandbox?
Length times width times depth. A 6 by 6 ft box filled 9 in deep holds 27 cubic feet, exactly 1 cubic yard or 54 of the 50 lb bags, before any allowance. Six to twelve inches is the usual depth; deeper is better for digging and moulding, and a box filled to the top spills. Use washed play sand, which is screened and free of the dust and sharp grit in builder's sand.
Which sand goes under pavers?
Coarse, sharp concrete sand (the grading sold for making concrete, ASTM C33), screeded to 1 in, never more than 1.5 in. Its angular grains lock under the pavers instead of shifting. Fine masonry sand, play sand and stone dust hold water and migrate, and are not recommended as bedding by the paver industry. The paver calculator works out the bedding and the base together.
How much polymeric sand do I need?
Far less than bedding sand, and it depends on three things the bag label accounts for: the joint width, the paver thickness and how the pavers are shaped. A bag's stated coverage can vary by a factor of three between narrow joints on thick pavers and wide joints on thin ones. Read the coverage chart on the bag for your joint width, divide your patio area by it, and buy one bag more than that; opened bags do not keep once they are damp.
Can I use play sand under pavers or in mortar?
Not for either. Play sand is fine and rounded, so it shifts under load and holds water; bedding needs the coarse, sharp grains of concrete sand. Mortar wants masonry sand, which is finer than concrete sand but still sharp and graded for the purpose. Play sand is for sandboxes, and concrete sand is for bedding, levelling a lawn and mixing concrete.
How much sand to level a lawn?
Top-dress with a thin layer, no more than about half an inch at a time, so the grass can grow through it, and repeat the next season if needed. For a 1,000 sq ft lawn, half an inch is 41.7 cubic feet, about 1.54 cubic yards (2.1 tons). A mix of sand and compost is kinder to the lawn than pure sand, which can dry the surface out; enter it as a second material in the project planner.