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Paver base calculator

Enter the shape, what the pavers carry and the soil. We set the base depth, then work out the gravel, the bedding sand, the bags, the bulk tons and how deep to dig.

192 sq ft takes 2.61 cu yd of paver base, about 3.7 tons or 141 bags, and 0.65 cu yd of bedding sand, 36 bags. Dig 7.4 in deep.
Gravel base
64.0 cu ft compacted, 2.61 cu yd to order with 10% extra, 3.7 tons at 1.4
Bedding sand
16.0 cu ft, 0.65 cu yd to order, 0.9 tons at 1.35
In 0.5 cu ft bags
141 base, $912.27; 36 sand, $214.92
Base in bulk
$73.01 to $109.51 at $20.00 to $30.00 a ton, before delivery
Dig depth
4 + 1 + 2-3/8 = 7.4 in, for pavers flush with the ground
Soil to remove
4.37 cu yd, measured in the ground

Bag prices are Pavestone 0.5 cu. ft. Paver Base at $6.47 and 0.5 cu. ft. Paver Sand at $5.97, Home Depot Hamilton Mill, read Nov 6, 2026, before tax. The bulk range is This Old House, Landscape rock cost (updated Jun 8, 2026), crushed limestone per ton before delivery, read Nov 7, 2026.

Count the pavers too: paver calculator

Pavers with pattern waste, edge restraint and polymeric sand on top of this base.

Planning figures for pavers on foot traffic or a home driveway, not an engineer's design. Follow your paver maker's installation guide, and call 811 before you dig.

How the paver base calculator works

Pick what the pavers carry and the soil, and the paver base calculator sets the gravel depth. It turns the area into cubic feet of compacted base and of bedding sand, adds 10% for compaction and loss, converts to tons and to 0.5 cu ft bags, and adds the base, the sand and the paver into the depth you dig. For the 12x16 ft example, 192 sq ft on 4 in of base, that is 2.61 cu yd of gravel, 0.65 cu yd of sand and a 7.4 in dig.

The gravel base

Paver base is crushed stone with its fines left in, sold as paver base, crusher run, road base or dense-graded aggregate. The fines lock the stone together when it is compacted, so it carries the load and does not shift. Spread it in lifts of about 4 in, wet it lightly and run a plate compactor over each lift. Pea gravel and round river rock do not lock and are not a paver base.

The bedding sand

Over the compacted gravel goes 1 in of coarse concrete sand, screeded flat between two pipes and never walked on. The pavers sit on it and are vibrated into it. Stone dust is sold for the same job in many yards; the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute names ASTM C33 concrete sand, the figure this page uses.

The dig depth

For pavers flush with the ground, dig the base plus the sand plus the paver thickness. Slope the bottom of the dig away from the house, the way the finished surface will fall; about 1/4 in per foot is a common figure, and your paver maker's guide gives its own. Dig about 6 in wider than the patio on every side, so the edge restraint has gravel under it.

Paver base and sand by patio size

AreaBase depthBase, cu ydBase, tonsBase bagsSand bagsDig
10x10 ft patio, firm soil4 in1.361.974197.4 in
10x12 ft patio, firm soil4 in1.632.388227.4 in
12x12 ft patio, firm soil4 in1.962.7106277.4 in
12x16 ft patio, firm soil4 in2.613.7141367.4 in
12x16 ft patio, clay or soft soil6 in3.915.5212369.4 in
16x20 ft patio, firm soil4 in4.356.1235597.4 in
3x30 ft walkway, firm soil4 in1.221.766177.4 in
12x24 ft driveway, firm soil6 in5.878.23175310.1 in

Volumes include the 10% extra. Patios use a 2-3/8 in paver and the driveway a 3-1/8 in (80 mm) paver in the dig depth.

Bags or bulk

A 0.5 cu ft bag of paver base is $6.47 and of paver sand $5.97. The 74 base bags and 19 sand bags for a 10x10 ft patio come to $592.21, which is easy to carry home. The 12x16 ft patio already takes 141 bags of base, $912.27, against $73.01 to $109.51 for the same 3.7 tons in bulk before delivery. From about a cubic yard up, call a stone yard for a delivered price.

The rest of the patio

The paver calculator counts the pavers with the waste for your pattern, the edge restraint and the polymeric sand for the joints, on top of this base. For gravel alone, a path or a shed pad, use the gravel calculator, and for the whole bill the patio cost calculator.

Where the numbers come from

The 1 in bedding sand is from the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute Construction Tolerance Guide (February 2020): a 1 in nominal bedding layer of ASTM C33 concrete sand. The same guide lists a 6 in base for a residential driveway and 8 in for a parking area; it gives no patio figure, so the 4 in patio base and the 6 in on soft soil are our editorial choice, as is the 8 in for a driveway on soft soil. The weights of 1.4 tons per cubic yard for gravel and 1.35 for sand, and the 10% ordering allowance, are editorial and the same as in our paver and gravel calculators.

Bag prices: Pavestone 0.5 cu. ft. Paver Base, $6.47, and 0.5 cu. ft. Paver Sand, $5.97, at the Home Depot Hamilton Mill store (ZIP 30011), read Nov 6, 2026, before tax. The bulk range, $20.00 to $30.00 a ton of crushed limestone, is from This Old House, Landscape rock cost (updated Jun 8, 2026), crushed limestone per ton before delivery, read Nov 7, 2026; delivery is extra and local.

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Questions

Anything else? Write to us or see every calculator.

Questions people ask

Multiply the area by the base depth in inches divided by 12 for cubic feet, divide by 27 for cubic yards and add about 10% because the gravel compacts. A 12x16 ft patio on a 4 in base takes 2.61 cu yd to order, about 3.7 tons or 141 bags of 0.5 cu ft.

At the 1.4 tons a cubic yard we use for crushed stone, about 104 lb a cubic foot, a 50 lb bag is about 0.48 cu ft, close to the 0.5 cu ft paver base bag we priced. Spread 4 in deep it covers about 1.4 sq ft, before the extra for compaction. That is why a patio base adds up to a lot of bags: the 12x16 ft example takes 141.

For a patio or a walkway on firm, well-drained soil we start at 4 in of compacted gravel, and 6 in or more on clay or soft ground. The Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute names 6 in for a residential driveway and 8 in for parking areas, and gives no patio figure, so the patio depth is our editorial choice. Your paver maker's guide has the last word.

1 in of bedding sand, the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute figure, screeded over the compacted base. On the 12x16 ft example that is 0.65 cu yd with 10% extra, 36 bags of 0.5 cu ft. More sand does not level a bad base; it settles unevenly under the pavers.

Add the base, the sand and the paver. For a patio flush with the ground: 4 in of base, 1 in of sand and a 2-3/8 in paver make 7.4 in. Dig the base about 6 in wider than the patio on every side so the edge restraint sits on gravel.