Paver sand calculator for Oregon

For a 300-square-foot patio, estimate about 1.25 tons of bedding material but just 4-8 bags for the joints. Both are sand, yet one requires roughly twenty-fold more material. Below, the calculator calculates a 1 inch coarse-sand bed using 1.35 tons per cubic yard. The chart that follows estimates joint fill and shows polymeric coverage for a 50 lb bag.

Two separate calculations

1. For bedding, include the paved area plus the base's 6-inch overhang, then use exactly 1 inch. A deeper sand layer can lead to paver wobble later.
2. For joints, use bag counts rather than tonnage. Typical joints measuring 1/8 to 1/4 inch use one 50 lb bag for 40-75 square feet.

Bagged joint sand

Joint width and paver thickness affect coverage. Read the bag label, then round the amount upward. Keep any remaining joint sand for the quarter inch that may settle after the first wash-in.

Bedding rules for the jobsite

• Set up pipes or rails, screed the sand to one inch, and fill the grooves while laying pavers.
• Use coarse, angular mason or concrete-grade sand only. In bedding or joints, rounded play sand can shift when loaded.
• Leave the bedding loose before setting pavers. Compact the completed paver surface so the pavers settle into the sand.
• Avoid stepping on the screeded sand. Work forward from pavers already in place.
• Sand is more forgiving for leveling, while screenings create a somewhat firmer bed. Use the same material throughout the surface.

Plain versus polymeric joint sand

Once wetted, polymeric sand sets up and helps joints resist weeds, ants, and rain. Each bag costs several times more, installation must be bone dry, and a poorly timed sprinkle can spoil an entire sweep. Fine mason sand is low-cost, quick to install, and generally needs more added every season or two. Polymerics suit sloped areas, driveways, and heavily traveled pavers; plain mason sand works for a level garden path. In either case, use plain coarse sand beneath the pavers, since polymeric material belongs in joints only.

When joints need re-sanding

Rain, ants, and leaf blowers remove material from joints. Plain mason sand often needs a fresh sweep every year or two, while polymeric sand can last 5-10 years before joint edges begin to open. Pick a dry day to sweep it in, compact it, and mist it. Keep the leaf blower on a low setting near sand-filled joints, since airflow can carry the sand away.

Example: a 20 x 15 patio

For bedding, include the overhang for about 320 square feet. At 1 inch, that equals 27 cubic feet, or 1 cubic yard and 1.35 tons. Order 1.5 tons of mason sand. For joints, 300 square feet of standard joints needs 4-8 bags of polymeric or 2-3 bags of mason sand. Beneath both is a 4-plus ton crusher run base, sized with the Paver Base Calculator. Tarp the sand pile on site: damp-to-dry material screeds cleanly, but soaked sand does not.

Paver bedding and joint sand details

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