Paver sand calculator for Nebraska

For a 300-square-foot patio, plan on about 1.25 tons of bedding sand but just 4-8 bags for the joints, a twenty-fold difference in quantity despite both materials being called sand. The calculator below figures the bedding course at exactly 1 inch of coarse sand, using 1.35 tons per cubic yard. Use the chart below that for joint fill, including polymeric coverage for each 50 lb bag.

Two separate calculations

1. Measure bedding from the paved area plus the base's 6-inch overhang, using exactly 1 inch of depth. A deeper sand layer can lead to paver wobble later.
2. For joints, use bag counts, not tons. One 50 lb bag fills 40-75 square feet of standard 1/8 to 1/4 inch joints.

Bagged joint sand

Paver thickness and the width of the joints affect coverage. Read the bag label, then round upward. Save what remains for refilling after the first wash-in lowers the joints a quarter inch.

Bedding rules for the job

• Set a one inch bed, strike it off on pipes or rails, and backfill the rail marks as pavers go down.
• Choose only mason or concrete-grade sand with a coarse, angular texture. Rounded play sand moves under pressure, both beneath pavers and in their joints.
• Leave bedding loose while setting pavers. Compact after the surface is installed so the pavers settle into the sand.
• Stay off the screeded layer. Work forward from pavers already placed.
• Screenings create a firmer bed than sand, but they give less room for leveling adjustments. Use the same bedding material throughout.

Plain vs. polymeric joint sand

After it is wetted, polymeric sand firms up and helps joints resist weeds, ants, and rain. Per bag, it costs several times more, needs to be installed bone dry, and a poorly timed sprinkle can ruin the entire sweep. Fine plain mason sand is low-cost and quick to sweep in, but needs more added every season or two. Polymerics make sense for sloped areas, busy surfaces, and driveways. Mason sand works for a level garden walk. Under either choice, use plain coarse sand as bedding. Polymeric belongs in joints only.

The joint sand refill schedule

Rain, ants, and leaf blowers pull sand from joints. With plain mason sand, add another sweep every year or two; polymeric typically lasts 5-10 years before joint edges begin opening. On a dry day, sweep it in, compact, and mist. Keep leaf blower power low near sand-filled joints. A nozzle can remove a lot of patio joint sand over one autumn.

Example: a 20 x 15 patio

Allow for the overhang: bedding for about 320 square feet at 1 inch works out to 27 cubic feet, or 1 cubic yard and 1.35 tons. Plan on 1.5 tons of mason sand. For 300 square feet of typical joints, figure 4-8 bags of polymeric or 2-3 bags of mason sand. Under both is a 4-plus ton crusher run layer, sized with the paver base calculator. Keep the site pile under a tarp. Sand screeds well when damp-to-dry, not when soaked.

Sorting out bedding and joint sand

More calculators