Paver Calculator — Pavers, Base Gravel and Sand
The pavers are the easy part. This also works out the base gravel, bedding sand, jointing sand and edging — which is where most paver projects go wrong.
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How to work it out
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Measure the paved area
Length × width. Curved patios are close enough measured as the rectangle that contains them — the curve waste is covered by the 10% allowance.
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Dig deeper than you think
The excavation has to take the base gravel, an inch of bedding sand and the paver thickness. For a patio on a 4 in. base with 2-3/8 in. pavers that is about 7.5 in. below finished level.
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Compact the base in layers
Lay the gravel in 2 inch lifts and compact each one with a plate compactor. One deep layer dumped and rolled once will settle unevenly, and every dip shows in the finished surface within a year.
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Fit the edge restraint before the sand
Pavers with no edge spread sideways under use. The perimeter restraint is what keeps the whole field tight, and it is the part most DIY patios skip.
Pavers by area
Including 10% waste.
| Area | 4 × 8 in. bricks | 6 × 9 in. | 12 × 12 in. | Base gravel at 5 in. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 sq ft | 248 | 147 | 56 | 0.77 cu yd |
| 100 sq ft | 496 | 294 | 111 | 1.54 cu yd |
| 150 sq ft | 744 | 440 | 165 | 2.31 cu yd |
| 200 sq ft | 991 | 587 | 221 | 3.09 cu yd |
| 300 sq ft | 1487 | 880 | 330 | 4.63 cu yd |
| 400 sq ft | 1982 | 1174 | 441 | 6.17 cu yd |
| 600 sq ft | 2973 | 1760 | 660 | 9.26 cu yd |
Order 5-10% over whatever the calculator says and keep the spares. Color varies between production runs.
What goes under the pavers
| Layer | Depth | Material |
|---|---|---|
| Compacted sub-grade | — | The native soil, compacted flat. |
| Base | 4 in. patio, 6–8 in. driveway | Crusher run, compacted in 2 in. lifts. |
| Bedding | 1 in. exactly | Coarse concrete sand. Screeded, never compacted. |
| Pavers | 2-3/8 in. typical | Laid, then compacted into the bedding. |
| Joints | Full depth | Polymeric sand, swept in and watered. |
The bedding layer is exactly one inch. Thicker and the pavers sink unevenly under load — this is the most common paver failure.
How many pavers for a 10x10 patio?
A hundred square feet with 10% waste is 110 sq ft to cover. In 4 × 8 in. bricks — 0.22 sq ft each — that is 496 pavers. In 12 × 12 in. slabs, 110.
Underneath you need about 1.2 cubic yards of base gravel at 4 inches, roughly 17 bags of bedding sand, and two bags of polymeric jointing sand.
The base is the whole job
Pavers do not fail because the pavers are bad. They fail because the base moved.
Four inches of properly compacted crusher run under a patio, six to eight under anything a car drives on, laid in two inch lifts and compacted each time. A plate compactor hire for one day costs a fraction of relaying a sunken patio.
One inch of bedding sand, no more
The bedding layer is screeded to exactly one inch and never compacted before the pavers go down. The pavers are what compacts it, when you run the plate over them at the end.
Two or three inches of sand feels easier to level, and it is the single most common reason a patio develops ruts and rocking pavers within a season.
Polymeric sand, not builder's sand
Sweep polymeric sand into the joints, blow the surface clean, then mist it with water. It sets slightly firm, locks the pavers together, and stops weeds and ants getting in.
Ordinary sand washes out in the first heavy rain, and then the joints fill with whatever blows in. One bag covers roughly 80 sq ft with standard joints.
Curved and circular patios
For a curve, measure the rectangle that contains the shape and use that area — then raise the waste allowance to 15%, because every edge paver gets cut.
For a circle, the area is π × radius². A 12 ft circle has a 6 ft radius, so 3.14 × 36 = 113 sq ft. Add 15% and that is 130 sq ft to cover.
Circular patios are far easier with a purpose-made circle kit — wedge-shaped pavers sized to form true rings. Cutting a circle from rectangular pavers means a tapered cut on every single one in the outer ring, and it rarely looks as good as it should for the effort.
Give it a fall, or you will have a pond
A patio must slope away from the house at about a quarter inch per foot — one inch over four feet. Level looks right on a drawing and holds water in reality.
Set that fall into the compacted base, not into the sand. Trying to create the slope with thicker sand in one place is exactly the mistake that makes pavers sink unevenly.
Run a string line from the house wall out to the far edge, drop it by the right amount, and screed the base to that line before any sand goes down.
How this is worked out
No black box — here is the arithmetic the calculator runs, so you can check it against your own numbers.
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area = length × width, summed over every sectionMulti-part patios total correctly. -
× (1 + waste ÷ 100)5% for square edges, 10% for curves, 15% for herringbone. -
pavers = area ÷ area per paver, rounded upA 4 × 8 in. brick is 32 sq in. ÷ 144 = 0.22 sq ft. -
base gravel = area × base depth ÷ 12 ÷ 27Cubic yards of compacted crusher run. -
bedding sand = area × 1 in. ÷ 12 ÷ 0.5Exactly one inch, in 0.5 cu ft bags. -
jointing sand = area ÷ 80One bag of polymeric sand covers about 80 sq ft.
Common questions
How many pavers per square foot?
Divide 144 by the paver's area in square inches. A 4 × 8 in. brick is 32 sq in., so about 4.5 per square foot. A 12 × 12 in. slab is one per square foot.
How deep should a paver base be?
Four inches of compacted crusher run under a patio or path, six to eight under a driveway. Lay it in 2 in. lifts and compact every lift.
How much sand do I need under pavers?
Exactly one inch of coarse concrete sand, screeded level and not compacted. More than an inch is the most common cause of pavers sinking and rocking.
Do I need polymeric sand?
It is worth it. It locks the pavers together, resists weeds and ants, and does not wash out of the joints in heavy rain the way ordinary sand does. One bag covers about 80 sq ft.
Do I need edge restraint?
Yes, on every edge that is not against a wall. Without it the outer pavers creep outwards under use and the whole field gradually loosens. It is the part most DIY patios skip and then regret.
How much extra should I order?
Ten per cent for a normal patio, fifteen for herringbone or lots of curves. Keep the spares — paver color varies between production runs and a later replacement never matches.
Can I lay pavers on sand alone?
Only for something temporary you accept will move. Without a compacted gravel base the pavers settle into the soil unevenly through the first wet season.
How deep do I need to dig?
Base depth plus one inch of sand plus the paver thickness. For a patio that is about 7.5 inches below the finished level, and you want a slight fall away from the house for drainage — about a quarter inch per foot.
Where these figures come from
Every figure below is traceable. How we check the numbers explains how they are verified, and the coverage reference collects them all in one place.
- Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute — base depth, bedding thickness and edge restraint requirements
- ASTM C33 — the coarse concrete sand specification for bedding
- Manufacturer coverage charts — pavers per square foot and polymeric sand coverage
Think a number here is wrong? Tell us — we check every report, correct the page, and date the change. Last checked September 11, 2026.