Paver sand calculator for Kansas

On a 300-square-foot patio, bedding calls for about 1.25 tons of sand, while joint filling takes just 4-8 bags. The materials share a name but serve different purposes, with quantities about twenty times apart. Below, calculate bedding at exactly 1 inch of coarse sand using 1.35 tons per cubic yard. The chart that follows estimates joint material, including polymeric coverage for a 50 lb bag.

Two separate calculations

1. Figure bedding from the paved footprint plus the base's 6-inch extension, using exactly 1 inch of depth. Any deeper can leave pavers unsteady over time.
2. Calculate joints by bag count, not tonnage. For standard 1/8 to 1/4 inch joints, allow one 50 lb bag for each 40-75 square feet.

Bagged joint sand

Bag coverage depends on joint spacing and paver thickness. Follow the label, round the amount upward, and retain some sand for joints that settle a quarter inch after the first wash-in.

Bedding rules for the wheelbarrow

• Screed a one inch layer on pipes or rails, then replace the channels as each paver is set.
• Choose coarse, angular mason or concrete-grade sand. Fine rounded play sand can shift under load, both in joints and below pavers.
• Set pavers onto uncompacted bedding. Compact after the surface is laid so the pavers seat into the sand.
• Stay off the screeded layer. Work forward from pavers already in place.
• Compared with sand, screenings make a firmer setting bed but give less latitude for leveling. Keep the material consistent over the full surface.

Plain or polymeric joint sand

When wetted, polymeric sand sets up in the joints and helps limit weeds, ants and rain. It costs several times more per bag, requires bone-dry installation, and one badly timed sprinkle can spoil the entire sweep. Fine plain mason sand is low-cost, quick to install, and needs more added every season or two. Use polymeric for driveway, sloped and high-traffic pavers. A level garden path can use mason sand. In both cases, the bedding layer is plain coarse sand, because polymeric belongs only in the joints.

The re-sanding interval to plan for

Rain, ants, and leaf blowers remove sand from joints. Plan to add plain mason sand every year or two; polymeric commonly lasts 5-10 years before joint edges begin opening. On a dry day, sweep, compact, and mist. Keep leaf blower speed low near sanded joints. A flash rain or repeated blower use can move loose surface material.

Example: a 20 x 15 patio

Bedding: allow about 320 square feet including the overhang. At 1 inch, this equals 27 cubic feet, 1 cubic yard and 1.35 tons. Order 1.5 tons of mason sand. Joints: for 300 square feet of standard joints, use 4-8 bags of polymeric or 2-3 bags of mason sand. Below both layers, use a 4-plus ton crusher run base sized on the Paver Base Calculator. Cover the on-site sand pile with a tarp; damp-to-dry sand screeds well, but soaked sand does not.

Bedding and joint sand guide

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