Calculating Paver Sand Requirements

Determining the amount of paver sand you need to complete your brick patio, walkway or driveway project can either be done mathematically or by making a rough estimation. What is for certain is that a foundation of crushed stone or pea gravel will get covered with a 1-inch thick layer of sand. On top of that you will lay out the pavers and set them into their final position. Depending on the size of the project, the depth of the gravel or crushed stone will vary. The sand creates a soft and level bed for the pavers to settle into in addition to allowing for proper drainage. You may find that due to the small size of your paver project, you need only to apply a small, inexact amount of sand over the gravel. When you are dealing with a larger area, however, it is cost effective to calculate the precise amount you need so you do not end up under or overdoing it. 

Determine the Square Footage 

Whatever the paver project, the first thing to do when determining the amount of sand you need is to calculate the square footage of the paved area. For square or rectangular areas this is fairly simple. You just multiply length by width. For example, a 10-foot wide driveway that stretches for 50 feet is 500 square feet, for 10 x 50 = 500. Oddly-shaped areas require that you break them up into measurable components, multiply length by width and add the small areas together. Triangular areas can be tricky. For right triangular areas, extend your measurements to form a full square, multiply, then divide by 2 for the square footage. For acute and obtuse triangles, multiply base by height then divide by 2. Whatever the shape of the triangle, the base and height should be 90 degree to each other. 

Find the Cubic Amount of Sand

You now have the area in square feet of the space to be paved. Knowing that you want a 1-inch layer of sand beneath the pavers, your next task is to find a cubic measurement. Sand and gravel is sold in cubic yards. There are 27 cubic feet per cubic yard. That comes later, though. Using the above example of an area of 500 square feet, if you were to lay sand 1 foot deep below it, it would require 500 cubic feet of sand. Of course, you don’t need that much. Given that there are 12 inches per foot. Divide 500 by 12. You get approximately 42. The full equation for the process looks like this:

10ft x 50ft = 500ft² x 1ft = 500ft³ / 12 = approx. 42ft³

You will need approximately 42 cubic feet of sand. To calculate cubic yards (how it is sold), divide 42 by 27. You get approximately 1.55. That means, for an area of 500 square feet, you will need to purchase and lay 1.55 cubic yards of sand to create a layer that is 1-inch thick. The general equation then is square footage divided by 12 divided again by 27. That will tell you how much sand you need.

When dealing with a large paving area, it is always best to make precise calculations so you know how much sand and gravel or crushed stone to buy for the foundation. The math is not difficult. You do, however, have to keep track of several numbers so you get an accurate result.