TallyTakeoff
Calculators

Paver Calculator

This paver calculator gives you a full patio takeoff in one pass: paver count sized to your pattern's real waste factor, base gravel and bedding sand in cubic yards and tons, and polymeric sand bags — plus the excavation depth to dig to before any base goes down.

Pattern-aware waste factorsPrices editable · reviewed July 2026Whole system, not just pavers
12 ft14 ftdig 9.38 inNOT TO SCALE
Prices — editablenational averages · reviewed July 2026

Price edits are remembered on this device — no account, nothing sent anywhere.

YOU NEED168 SQFT · +5% WASTE
794pavers
dig to 9.38 in · edging 52 ft
base gravel3.58 yd³ · 5.01 t
bedding sand (1 in)0.52 yd³ · 0.70 t
polymeric sand3 bags
Pavers (794 × $0.75)$596
Base gravel (5.01 t × $45)$225
Bedding sand (0.70 t × $18)$13
Poly sand (3 × $25)$75
Materials total$909

≈ $5.41/sqft · excludes edging product & labor

Estimates only, not quotes. Prices are editable national averages — confirm current pricing and quantities with your supplier before you buy.

Plain-English tour

How this paver patio calculator works

Enter your patio as a length × width rectangle or, for an odd-shaped space, just type the total square footage you've already measured (add an L-shaped area as two rectangles first). Pick a paver size — four common sizes are built in, or enter a custom width and length — and a layout pattern, which automatically fills in a realistic cutting-waste percentage for that pattern (you can still override it).

From area and paver size, the calculator works out how many pavers to buy, rounded up to a whole paver. Base gravel and bedding sand are calculated from the same area: gravel volume gets a 15% compaction allowance since a tamped base settles below its loose-poured depth, and bedding sand is fixed at a 1-inch layer regardless of base depth, which is standard practice for leveling pavers on top of the compacted base.

Polymeric sand — swept into the joints, not the bed — is priced by the bag using a standard 60-sqft-per-bag coverage rate, and the results also add up the total dig depth: paver thickness, the 1-inch sand layer, and your chosen base depth, so you know how far down to excavate before any base material goes in.

Laying concrete pavers on a leveled sand bed with a rubber mallet — a paver calculator counts pavers, base gravel and sand
Pavers sit on an inch of bedding sand over compacted gravel — all three are on the list.
Sweeping polymeric sand into herringbone paver joints — the laying pattern changes the waste factor
Herringbone runs about 10% waste versus 5% for running bond — the pattern select adjusts it.
Show the math

The formula

paver area = W (in) × L (in) ÷ 144
pavers = ROUND UP[(area ÷ paver area) × (1 + waste %)]
base gravel yd³ = area × [depth ÷ 12] ÷ 27 × 1.15 · tons = × 1.4
bedding sand yd³ = area × (1 ÷ 12) ÷ 27 · tons = × 1.35
poly sand = ROUND UP(area ÷ 60) bags
dig depth = 2⅜ in paver + 1 in sand + base depth
With the defaults

Worked example: a 12×14 paver patio

The calculator's own defaults: a 12 ft × 14 ft patio, 4×8 in pavers, running bond (5% waste), a 6 in base, and polymeric sand included.

  1. 1. Area12 × 14 = 168 sqft
  2. 2. Paver area(4 × 8) ÷ 144 = 0.222 sqft each
  3. 3. Pavers(168 ÷ 0.222) × 1.05 = 793.8 → 794 × $0.75 = $596
  4. 4. Base gravel168 × (6÷12) ÷ 27 × 1.15 = 3.58 yd³ → 5.01 t → $225
  5. 5. Bedding sand168 × (1÷12) ÷ 27 = 0.52 yd³ → 0.70 t → $13
  6. 6. Polymeric sand168 ÷ 60 = 2.8 → 3 bags → $75
  7. 7. Excavation depth2.375 + 1 + 6 = 9.38 in
  8. 8. Total$596 + $225 + $13 + $75 = $909 ($5.41/sqft)

Switching only the pattern to herringbone (10% waste, same 168 sqft) raises the paver count to 832 — 38 more pavers, about $28 more — purely from the extra angled cuts a 45° herringbone layout requires along every edge.

What we assume

Assumptions & defaults

Paver calculator assumptions
Waste by pattern (editable)Running bond / basketweave 5% · herringbone 10% · circular 15%
Paver thickness2⅜ in (60 mm), fixed
Bedding sand depth1 in, fixed
Base compaction+15% over loose volume
Gravel / sand density1.4 / 1.35 tons per yd³
Polymeric sand coverage60 sqft per bag
Prices (editable)Paver $0.75 · gravel $45/t · sand $18/t · poly $25/bag

Paver thickness and bedding-sand depth aren't collected as inputs because they're standardized enough across pedestrian concrete pavers to treat as fixed assumptions — see Sources below. Gravel and sand quantities round to two decimals before cost is calculated, so every line multiplies out exactly as printed. Every price field is a labeled, editable national-average estimate, reviewed July 2026.

Pure geometry

How many pavers per square foot, by paver size

Pavers per square foot by common paver size
Paver sizeArea eachPavers per sqft
4 × 8 in (Holland)32 in²4.50
6 × 6 in36 in²4.00
6 × 9 in54 in²2.67
12 × 12 in144 in²1.00

Divide 144 by the paver's W × L in inches — that's the whole trick, before the pattern's waste factor from the waste factors reference goes on top. Under the pavers, the paver base calculator math is the same area-times-depth volume the gravel calculator runs — 4 in of compacted base for a patio, more for anything a vehicle touches — and the paver sand calculator layer is a fixed 1 inch of bedding sand, both already included in this page's output. If the patio loses out to a poured slab, the concrete calculator prices that alternative in bags and yards.

Where the numbers come from

Sources & standards

Base depth, bedding-sand depth, and edge-restraint guidance follow Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute (ICPI) Tech Spec technical bulletins for pedestrian and vehicular segmental pavement. Paver thickness (2⅜ in / 60 mm) reflects the standard dimension published in concrete-paver manufacturer technical specifications for pedestrian applications. Aggregate and sand density figures reflect published aggregate-supplier product data sheets. Polymeric sand coverage-per-bag reflects manufacturer bag-label coverage charts; actual coverage varies with joint width and paver size, so check your specific product's label before ordering. Prices reviewed July 2026 — see how our price reviews work.

Before you lay

Frequently asked questions

How deep should the base be for a patio versus a driveway?
About 4–6 inches of compacted gravel is standard under a pedestrian patio; a driveway or anywhere vehicles will drive needs roughly 8–12 inches, because the base is what actually carries and spreads the load — the pavers themselves are just a wear surface. Poor or clay-heavy soil pushes both numbers toward the higher end.
What's the difference between polymeric sand and regular sand?
Bedding sand (often plain concrete or mason sand) is the leveling layer the pavers sit on and isn't meant to bind anything. Polymeric sand is swept into the joints between pavers and contains a binder that activates when watered in, locking the joints against washout, weed growth, and ant nests — that's the material this calculator's polymeric sand checkbox estimates in bags, separate from the bedding sand underneath.
How many pavers come on a pallet?
It varies by manufacturer and paver size — commonly somewhere in the 100–150 square feet of coverage per pallet for standard concrete pavers — so check the pallet tag or your supplier's spec sheet for your exact product rather than assuming a fixed count. This calculator gives you the total paver count and area; divide by your specific pallet's coverage to know how many pallets to order.
Do I need edge restraint around a paver patio?
Yes, for interlocking pavers laid in sand — without a restraint anchoring the perimeter (plastic, aluminum, or a concrete curb), the whole field can spread and shift under repeated foot or vehicle traffic, opening the joints over time. This calculator estimates edging length from your perimeter; it doesn't price specific restraint products since they vary widely by material.
Which pattern wastes the least paver material?
Running bond and basketweave are the most efficient, typically around 5% waste, since most cuts are simple straight lines. Herringbone roughly doubles that (about 10%) because most edge pieces are angled cuts, and circular or curved layouts run higher still (about 15%) for the same reason. Switching the pattern selector above updates the waste percentage automatically — you can still override it if your layout or skill level differs.
Can I skip the gravel base on a small patio?
Not if you want it to stay flat. Without a compacted base, pavers settle unevenly as the soil beneath shifts with moisture and freeze-thaw cycles, even on small patios — the base is doing the structural work, not the pavers. The only common exception is a temporary, removable paver layout set directly on an already-solid existing surface, which isn't what this calculator assumes.
Does this paver calculator work for clay brick pavers?
For counting, yes — a clay brick paver at the classic 4 × 8 in face is the same 4.5-per-square-foot geometry, and pattern waste applies the same way. Two differences to mind: clay pavers are commonly thinner (2¼ in) than the 2⅜ in concrete pavers this page assumes, and their color runs through the body rather than a surface layer. The base and bedding-sand layers calculated here stay the same either way.
THE LAYER BELOW
Size the base course exactly — gravel by the ton.
Gravel Calculator
Keep estimating

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