How Many Pavers Do I Need? Count, Base and Sand for a Patio

Pavers = area × (1 + extra) × pieces per square foot, from the pallet label or 144 ÷ ((L + J) × (W + J)). A 12 × 15 ft patio at 4.66 per sq ft with 10% extra takes 923 pavers.

The same patio needs a 4 in base of about 3.8 tons and 0.75 tons of bedding sand, dug 7.4 in deep. A 12 × 30 ft driveway with a 6 in base takes about 11.5 tons of base.

How do you calculate how many pavers you need?

pavers = ceil( area × (1 + extra) × pieces per sq ft )
pieces per sq ft = pieces per pallet ÷ sq ft per pallet     (label wins)
                 = 144 ÷ ((L + J) × (W + J))                 (L, W, J in inches)
area = Σ(length × width) in square feet

1. Measure the patio, walkway or drive in feet and multiply length by width. Split other shapes into rectangles. The square feet guide and the square footage calculator handle triangles, circles and L shapes.
2. Find the pieces per square foot on the pallet label or the data sheet. If you only know the size, use 144 ÷ ((L + J) × (W + J)), where J is the joint in inches. Use J = 0 when the stated size already includes the spacer bars.
3. Multiply the area by the pieces per square foot, then add the extra for cuts and breakage.
4. Round up to whole pavers. Pallets are sold whole, so also round up to a full pallet if your supplier will not split one.

When both are available, the pallet figure wins. Stated sizes are rounded or include spacer bars, so 144 ÷ (L × W) can miss the printed count by a few percent.

How many pavers are in a square foot?

It depends on the product. These are the counts printed in the three product documents opened for this guide, and the pavers a 180 sq ft patio would take at 10% and 15% extra. They are examples of how much the count varies, not a product list.

Pavestone prints 480 pieces and 103 sq ft per pallet, which is 4.66 per square foot, where the size with no joint gives 4.64. Rochester prints 400 units and 98 sq ft per pallet, which is 4.08, where the stated size gives 3.99. The third guide says its count “may vary by region and by manufacturer”. The thinner 1.77 in paver is a different product from the 2.36 in and 2-3/8 in pavers above, so check the thickness for the use you have in mind.

Pattern changes the count a little. General Shale’s technical bulletin prints piece counts per 100 sq ft for single-size patterns: for a 3 × 6 in paver, 800 in a basketweave, 820 in a herringbone (2.5% more) and 862 in a 45-degree herringbone (7.75% more). The bulletin does not say whether those counts include edge cuts, so treat them only as a hint that diagonal patterns need more cuts and a larger allowance.

How many extra pavers should you order?

Add 10% for a straightforward patio and 15% when there are many curves, borders or half pavers. That is the guidance in a Menards paver guide, which says the allowance covers damaged pavers and leaves a few for future repairs. It is the one opened source for these percentages and a retailer’s convention, not a standard, so adjust it for your job. Add the allowance once, to the paver count, and do not add it again to the base or the sand.

Worked example: a 12 × 15 ft patio

• Area: 12 × 15 = 180 sq ft.
• Pavestone Holland, 4.66 per sq ft from the pallet: 180 × 4.66 = 838.8 pavers before the extra. With 10%: 838.8 × 1.10 = 922.68, so 923 pavers. With 15%: 838.8 × 1.15 = 964.62, so 965.
• Size-only math for the same paver, 7.87 × 3.94 in with no joint: 144 ÷ (7.87 × 3.94) = 4.644 per sq ft. 180 × 4.644 × 1.10 = 919.5, so 920. The 3-paver difference is the joint effect, and the pallet figure wins.
• Driveway, 12 × 30 ft = 360 sq ft, same paver and 10%: 360 × 4.66 × 1.10 = 1,845.4, so 1,846 pavers.

How deep should paver base be?

The lowest common minimums are 4 in for a patio or walkway and 6 in for a residential driveway. They come from the CMHA (Concrete Masonry and Hardscapes Association, which absorbed ICPI) construction tolerances sheet and from Belgard’s technical guide, and both say “minimum”. The CMHA sheet adds the caveat that those thicknesses are for well-drained soils and should be increased in colder climates or weak soils. Other sources go higher, and one goes lower:

The defaults in this guide are 4 and 6 in, and the base depth is an input in the calculator. Raise it for cold climates, weak or poorly drained soil, or heavier vehicles, and ask your local building department or a qualified professional when you are unsure. Base material is dense-graded aggregate such as crusher run or road base. CMHA’s guide specification points to local highway-type base or ASTM D 2940, and the compaction it recommends for pedestrian areas and residential driveways is at least 98% of standard Proctor density (ASTM D 698), in lifts rather than all at once.

How much paver base do I need?

base volume (yd³) = area × base depth (in) ÷ 12 ÷ 27
base to order (yd³) = base volume × (1 + 15% compaction)
base tons = base to order × 1.5 tons per yd³     (crusher run / road base)

The 15% is a compaction allowance (loose material to compacted thickness) and 1.5 tons per cubic yard is a typical crusher run or road base density. Both are conventions, so use your supplier’s density if you have it. Tons here are short tons of 2,000 lb. The cubic yards to tons guide and the gravel guide explain the conversion, and the gravel calculator lets you try other materials.

• Patio, 180 sq ft, 4 in base. 180 × 4 ÷ 12 = 60 cu ft, which is 2.222 yd³. × 1.15 = 2.556 yd³. × 1.5 = 3.83 tons. Without the compaction factor it is 3.33 tons.
• Driveway, 12 × 30 ft = 360 sq ft, 6 in base. 360 × 6 ÷ 12 = 180 cu ft, which is 6.667 yd³. × 1.15 = 7.667 yd³. × 1.5 = 11.5 tons. At Menards’ 8 in the same drive is 360 × 8 ÷ 12 ÷ 27 = 8.889 yd³ × 1.15 × 1.5 = 15.3 tons, so enter the depth you will actually dig.
• Bagged base. Menards says a 1/2 cu ft bag of paver base covers 3 sq ft at 2 in. At 4 in, 3 sq ft takes 2 bags, so 180 ÷ 3 × 2 = 120 bags, which is 60 cu ft, the same volume as above.
• Check against a manufacturer rule. General Shale says to figure 2 tons of 3/4 in crusher run for every 100 sq ft at 4 in. For 180 sq ft that is 3.6 tons, within 6% of 3.83 tons.

The base can extend past the pavers. The CMHA table sets an extension of 6 in for a base up to 6 in thick, measured from the outside of the edge restraint. Belgard says to excavate at least 12 in wider than the pavers in one place and 6 in beyond the perimeter in another, and Menards says 8 in. Because the three disagree, the simple count above uses the paver area with no extension. If you add 6 in on all four sides of the patio, the base area is 13 × 16 = 208 sq ft, and 208 × 4 ÷ 12 ÷ 27 = 2.568 yd³ × 1.15 × 1.5 = 4.43 tons. The pavers and the sand still use 180 sq ft.

How much sand for pavers?

There are two sands. Bedding sand is the screeded layer under the pavers, a nominal 1 in thick (CMHA, Belgard). It is concrete sand meeting ASTM C 33, and CMHA says not to use mason sand or stone dust for bedding. Do not use bedding sand to fill low spots in the base, because the base surface has to be within 3/8 in over 10 ft before the sand goes on. Joint sand is swept into the joints afterward, and CMHA gives joints of 1/16 to 3/16 in.

bedding sand (yd³) = area × 1 in ÷ 12 ÷ 27
bedding sand (tons) = yd³ × 1.35

For the 180 sq ft patio, 180 × 1 ÷ 12 = 15 cu ft, which is 0.556 yd³. × 1.35 = 0.75 tons. The 1.35 tons per cubic yard is a typical dry sand density (a range of 1.3 to 1.5), and wet sand is heavier. The topsoil calculator converts sand volume to tons.

No volume rule for joint sand is sourced, so read the bag. A manufacturer rule gives a sense of scale: General Shale says to figure 1 ton of sand for jointing and a 1 in setting bed for every 125 sq ft. That is 180 ÷ 125 = 1.44 tons for the patio, about twice the 0.75 tons for the bed alone, because the figure includes the jointing sand. CMHA also allows the bedding sand as joint sand, and Belgard recommends polymeric jointing sand. Follow the product’s instructions for the amount.

How deep do you dig?

excavation depth = base + bedding sand + paver thickness

For the patio with 2-3/8 in pavers, 4 + 1 + 2.375 = 7.375 in. For the driveway, 6 + 1 + 2.375 = 9.375 in, which is 9-3/8 in, the figure in Belgard’s worked example. Pavers 2-3/8 in (60 mm) thick are the minimum CMHA lists for pedestrian areas and residential driveways. Measure down from the finished surface, not from the existing ground.

How much edge restraint do you need?

edge restraint (ft) = perimeter − sides against a house, wall or curb
pieces = ceil( edge restraint ÷ piece length from the label )

Edge restraints go around the perimeter wherever a structure does not already hold the pavers in. For the 12 × 15 ft patio with one 15 ft side against the house, the perimeter is 2 × (12 + 15) = 54 ft, minus 15 ft gives 39 ft. If the label said 10 ft per piece, that would be ceil(39 ÷ 10) = 4 pieces. Piece length and stake spacing come from the product, and no extra percentage is added here. CMHA says to mount spiked restraints on the finished base, not on the bedding sand, with the spikes set in from the outside edge of the base by at least the base thickness.

Assumptions, common errors and limits

• Counts assume one paver size in a simple pattern. Mixed sizes, borders and diagonal layouts change the count, so use the 15% allowance or count each size.
• Using 144 ÷ (L × W) instead of the label. Printed counts differ from the size math by a few percent, as the three products above show.
• Stacking allowances. The 10 to 15% extra applies to the pavers. The 15% compaction applies to the base. Keep them separate.
• Using base tons for sand. They have different densities, 1.5 and 1.35 tons per cubic yard here, and a supplier’s figure overrides both.
• Leaving out the paver thickness when working out the dig depth.
• Filling base low spots with bedding sand. Correct the base instead.
• The base depth defaults are minimums for well-drained soil, and the sources disagree above them. Cold climates, weak soils and vehicles can call for more.
• Joint sand has no sourced rate. Buy by the label, and keep a bag for topping up.

Common questions