Paver Sand Calculator
Find how much bedding sand you need under pavers, in bags or cubic yards.
Measure your project
Your answer
That weighs about 0.49 tons. We added 10% extra.
If you buy bags
Which costs less?
This price is for picking it up yourself. Add a delivery fee in "Change prices" if they bring it.
Bag: one store only. Bulk: a stand-in, the concrete sand price from 8 US sellers. Ask which sand suits pavers. Oct 2026, before delivery.
Quick answers
- How deep is bedding sand?
- About 1 in, spread level and left loose. That is the figure in the CMHA paving guide.
- How far does one bag go?
- 6 sq ft per 0.5 cubic foot bag, at 1 in deep.
- Bags per cubic yard
- 54 of the 0.5 cubic foot bags.
- How deep is the base under it?
- 4 in for a patio and 6 in for a driveway, measured after packing.
- Polymeric sand for the joints
- Techniseal and Gator: one 50 lb bag per 60 sq ft of narrow joints, or 22 of wide. Quikrete's chart needs more for ¼ in joints and wider.
How to work it out
- Measure the length and width in feet. Length times width gives the square feet.
- Multiply by how deep the sand will be, in inches. The bedding layer is about 1 in.
- Divide by 12, which gives cubic feet. Then divide by 27 to turn cubic feet into cubic yards.
- Add 10% extra, as the calculator does to start.
- To count bags, divide the cubic feet by 0.5 and round up.
12 × 10 = 120 sq ft
120 × 1 ÷ 12 = 10 cubic feet
10 + 10% = 11 cubic feet
11 ÷ 27 = 0.41 cubic yards
11 ÷ 0.5 = 22 bags
Paver base and paver sand: two layers
Pavers sit on two layers, not one. First comes a base that is packed down hard. Then comes a thin layer of sand, called bedding sand.
The depths here come from the CMHA, a US group for paver and block makers. Its paving guide gives a base of 4 in for a patio and 6 in for a driveway. Both are measured after packing, on soil that drains well.
The sand goes on top, about 1 in deep. You drag a straight board across it to make it flat. This is called screeding. The sand is not packed before the pavers go on.
This page works out the sand. For the base, use our crusher run calculator or crushed stone calculator.
A driveway carries cars. Check your local building rules or ask a builder or engineer.
Bedding sand for common patios
Each patio below has sand 1 in deep. We added no extra.
| Patio | Sq ft | Cubic yards | 0.5 cu ft bags |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 × 10 ft | 100 | 0.31 | 17 |
| 10 × 12 ft | 120 | 0.37 | 20 |
| 12 × 12 ft | 144 | 0.44 | 24 |
| 12 × 16 ft | 192 | 0.59 | 32 |
| 16 × 20 ft | 320 | 0.99 | 54 |
| 20 × 20 ft | 400 | 1.23 | 67 |
The calculator adds 10% unless you change it. One supplier uses that figure for sand. No official one exists.
Bags or bulk?
We found one store price for paver sand bags. It was $4.59 for 0.5 cubic feet, so treat it as rough. A cubic yard takes 54 of those bags, or about $248.
Landscape yards sell coarse or concrete sand loose. Our research doesn't say which sand is best for bedding. So the calculator uses the concrete sand price as a stand-in: $65 a cubic yard, the middle of 8 sellers. Ask the yard which sand they sell for pavers.
A 12 × 12 ft patio needs only 0.44 cubic yards. That is below the 2–3 cubic yard smallest load some yards will deliver.
Polymeric sand for the joints
Polymeric sand is a joint sand. It fills the gaps between pavers after they are laid. It is not the same as bedding sand.
How far a bag goes depends on how wide your joints are. Paver size matters, too. The brands' charts don't agree, so check the bag you buy.
Techniseal and Alliance Gator
This table uses the lowest coverage these two brands print for narrow and wide joints.
| Patio | Narrow (⅜ in or less) | Wide (¾ to 1¼ in) |
|---|---|---|
| 10 × 10 ft | 2 | 5 |
| 10 × 12 ft | 2 | 6 |
| 12 × 12 ft | 3 | 7 |
| 12 × 16 ft | 4 | 9 |
| 16 × 20 ft | 6 | 15 |
| 20 × 20 ft | 7 | 19 |
Narrow: one bag per 60 sq ft. Wide: one bag per 22 sq ft. No extra added.
Quikrete PowerLoc
Quikrete gives bags per 400 sq ft for each joint width. Per bag, that is 44 sq ft at ¼ in and 31 at ⅜ in. So for joints ¼ in and wider, its chart needs more bags than the table above.
| Patio | ⅛ in | ¼ in | ⅜ in | ½ in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 × 10 ft | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 10 × 12 ft | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| 12 × 12 ft | 2 | 4 | 5 | 7 |
| 12 × 16 ft | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 |
| 16 × 20 ft | 4 | 8 | 11 | 14 |
| 20 × 20 ft | 5 | 9 | 13 | 17 |
Quikrete's chart is for standard 2 × 4 × 8 in brick pavers. It says its figures leave out waste and uneven joints.
What each maker prints
| Product | Narrow joints | Wide joints |
|---|---|---|
| Techniseal HP NextGel (50 lb) | 60–120 sq ft | 25–40 sq ft |
| Alliance Gator SuperSand G2 (50 lb) | 65–85 sq ft | 22–42 sq ft |
| Sakrete PermaSand (40 lb, ¼ in joints) | 30–45 sq ft | not given |
Each maker sets these figures for its own paver size and joint width.
We found no polymeric sand price we could check, so ask your store.
Questions people ask
How much paver sand do I need?
Enough for a layer about 1 in deep under the pavers. Each cubic yard covers 324 sq ft at that depth. Type your patio size above for bags and cubic yards.
How much paver sand do I need per square foot?
At 1 in deep, each sq ft takes about 0.08 cubic feet. So 100 sq ft takes about 8.3 cubic feet.
How many bags of paver sand do I need?
Divide your sq ft by 6, then round up. That counts 0.5 cubic foot bags at 1 in deep. A 12 × 10 ft patio takes 20 bags before extra, or 22 with 10%.
Do you need paver base and paver sand?
Yes, in the CMHA paving guide. A packed base goes down first, 4 in deep for a patio. Then about 1 in of sand goes on top.
Do I need to pack the sand before laying pavers?
No. CMHA says to level the bedding sand and leave it loose. The base under it is the layer you pack down.
How much polymeric sand do I need?
It depends on the brand and the joint width. Techniseal and Alliance Gator charts give one 50 lb bag per 60 sq ft of narrow joints. Quikrete's chart gives 44 sq ft at ¼ in, and 31 at ⅜ in.
How many square feet does a bag of polymeric sand cover?
Techniseal prints 60–120 sq ft per 50 lb bag for narrow joints. Alliance Gator prints 65–85 sq ft. Quikrete's chart runs from 80 sq ft at ⅛ in down to 24 at ½ in.
Where our numbers come from
- Base under pavers: CMHA paving guide (4 in for a patio, 6 in for a driveway)
- Material weights: Caterpillar earthwork tables
- Paver sand bag price: one US store (Oct 2026)
- Sand prices: the middle of 7–8 US sellers per cubic yard (Oct 2026)
- Delivery fees: price lists from 7 US landscape yards (Oct 2026)
- Sand extra: Palmetto Sand & Gravel (add 10%)
- Polymeric sand coverage: Techniseal HP NextGel data sheet
- Polymeric sand coverage: Alliance Gator SuperSand G2 data sheet
- Polymeric sand coverage: Sakrete PermaSand data sheet
- Polymeric sand coverage: Quikrete PowerLoc sell sheet
Made by BuildersCount. Last checked 3 Oct 2026.
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