Paver Calculator
A paver patio is really four orders: the pavers, the gravel base, the bedding sand, and the joint sand. Most calculators give you the first one and leave you guessing on the rest. Enter your patio size, pick the paver, and set the base depth. You'll get the paver count with cut waste, base gravel in tons, an inch of bedding sand, and the polymeric sand bags to lock the joints, everything the yard and the home center will ask for, in one screen.
The four orders inside one patio
Paver projects fail at the supply run, not the design. The pavers get counted, then the base gravel gets guessed, the bedding sand gets forgotten, and the polymeric sand gets bought in the wrong amount on the third trip. This tool prices the whole stack from two measurements: pavers with cut waste, crushed base by the ton, one inch of concrete sand, and the joint sand bags that lock it all together.
Pavers per square foot, by size
| Paver size | Face area | Per 100 sq ft (with 10% waste) |
|---|---|---|
| 4 x 8 in (Holland brick) | 0.22 sq ft | 495 |
| 6 x 6 in | 0.25 sq ft | 440 |
| 6 x 9 in | 0.375 sq ft | 294 |
| 12 x 12 in | 1.0 sq ft | 110 |
| 16 x 16 in | 1.78 sq ft | 62 |
| 24 x 24 in | 4.0 sq ft | 28 |
Waste isn't optional with pavers. Every edge that isn't a straight run of full units means cuts, and every cut risks a break. Ten percent covers a rectangular patio; curves and diagonal patterns want 15.
The base is the project
A paver patio is a gravel pad wearing nice clothes. The industry spec (ICPI, the paver institute) calls for compacted crushed base, 4 to 6 inches under foot traffic and 8 to 12 under vehicles, compacted in thin lifts, then exactly one inch of coarse concrete sand screeded flat. Not stone dust, not play sand: coarse washed concrete sand, which drains and locks.
In tonnage, the base is usually the heaviest line of the job. At 4 inches, every 100 square feet needs about 1.9 tons of crushed stone plus 0.4 tons of sand. The pavers themselves weigh about 11 pounds per square foot, so a 300-square-foot patio is roughly 5 tons of material arriving at your curb, worth knowing before it does.
A 12 by 14 patio, worked
168 square feet in 6 by 9 pavers: 493 pavers with 10% for cuts. Base at 4 inches: 2.1 cubic yards, 3.1 tons of crushed stone. Bedding: half a yard of concrete sand, about 0.7 tons. Joints: 3 bags of polymeric sand. At typical prices ($0.60 a paver, $45 a ton of base, $40 of sand, $25 a bag) the material bill lands near $600. An installed quote for the same patio would run $2,500 to $5,000, which tells you where the money in hardscaping lives: in backs, not blocks.
Mistakes that cost a second delivery
- Compacting the base in one thick lift. It won't densify past about 2 inches per pass; layer it or the patio ripples next spring.
- Screeding sand thicker than an inch to fix a wavy base. The sand isn't structure, and thick spots settle into dips under the table legs.
- Sweeping polymeric sand on a damp day. Moisture sets the polymer mid-sweep and hazes the surface. Bone-dry pavers, then mist per the bag.
- Skipping edge restraint. Without a spiked edge, the border pavers walk away from the field a little every season.
Compare the finished patio against other surfaces in the driveway cost calculator, or size the base layer alone in the crushed stone tool.
Common questions
Depends on the paver. A 6x9 runs 2.7 per square foot, a 12x12 is one per foot, a 4x8 brick is 4.5. The calculator does the division and adds cut waste, which edges and curves always demand.
Four to 6 inches of compacted crushed stone for patios and walkways, 8 to 12 for anything a vehicle touches. Skimping the base is why patios ripple after two winters. Compact it in 2-inch passes.
Coarse concrete sand for the 1-inch bedding layer, never fine play sand or stone dust. The joints on top get polymeric sand, which hardens and keeps weeds and ants out.
Material for a basic patio runs $5 to $10 per square foot; installed jobs run $15 to $30. A 20x20 lands around $8,000 to $12,000 installed in most markets. The driveway cost tool compares surfaces side by side.
Estimates for planning. Verify against your supplier's units and your local building codes before ordering or building. For anything structural, follow your engineer or local code.