Paver Calculator: How Many Pavers Do I Need
Estimate how many pavers to buy for a patio or path and how much bedding sand goes under them. Enter the area in feet, the size of a single paver in inches, and a waste allowance for cuts and breakage. The tool returns the pavers per square foot, the whole pavers to buy rounded up, and the sand for a 1 inch setting bed in cubic yards. Use it while planning a shopping list so you order once and avoid a second trip.
How to calculate pavers
- Enter the patio length and width in feet into the two Patio fields.
- Enter a single paver's length and width in inches into the Paver fields.
- Set the Waste percent to cover cuts and breakage, often 10.
- Read Pavers needed, the Per sq ft figure, and the Sand bed in cubic yards.
- Press Copy estimate to save the full shopping summary.
Examples
10 by 10 ft patio with 6 by 6 in pavers, 10% waste
Patio 10 x 10 ft, paver 6 x 6 in, waste 10%
100 sq ft, 4 pavers per sq ft, 440 pavers, 0.31 cu yd sand
12 by 16 ft patio with 8 by 4 in brick pavers
Patio 12 x 16 ft, paver 8 x 4 in, waste 10%
192 sq ft, 4.5 pavers per sq ft, 951 pavers, 0.59 cu yd sand
15 by 15 ft area with large 12 by 12 in slabs
Patio 15 x 15 ft, paver 12 x 12 in, waste 10%
225 sq ft, 1 paver per sq ft, 248 pavers, 0.69 cu yd sand
Frequently asked questions
How many pavers do I need per square foot?
Divide 144 by the paver length times width in inches. A 6 by 6 inch paver covers 36 square inches, so it takes 144 divided by 36, which is 4 pavers per square foot. An 8 by 4 inch brick covers 32 square inches, giving 4.5 per square foot.
How does the tool count the whole pavers to buy?
It takes the patio area, scales it up by your waste percent, divides by the area one paver covers, and rounds up because you can only buy whole pavers. For a 100 square foot patio with 6 by 6 pavers and 10 percent waste that works out to 440 pavers.
How much waste should I add?
About 10 percent suits straight, grid layouts and covers ordinary cuts and breakage. Bump it to 15 or 20 percent for diagonal, herringbone or circular patterns, which waste more at the edges. The field defaults to 10 percent.
How much sand do I need under pavers?
The tool sizes a 1 inch bedding sand layer across the whole area and converts it to cubic yards. For a 100 square foot patio that is about 0.31 cubic yards. This is the setting sand only, not the joint sand you sweep in afterward.
Do I still need a gravel base?
Yes, for almost every patio. A compacted gravel base of 4 to 6 inches sits under the sand to spread loads and drain water. This tool sizes the sand bed only, so calculate the gravel separately based on the depth your soil and climate need.
Does it account for gaps between pavers?
No. It assumes the pavers butt together edge to edge. Real installs leave small joints filled with polymeric or jointing sand, which means you will use very slightly fewer pavers than the estimate. The waste allowance more than covers that difference.
Can I use it for an L-shape or a circle?
The area is a simple length times width rectangle. For an L-shape, split it into rectangles, run each one, and add the results. For a circle or curve, estimate the enclosing rectangle and lean toward a higher waste percent for the extra edge cuts.
Should I buy a few extra pavers beyond the estimate?
Yes. Keep a handful of spares from the same batch, because color and exact size drift between production runs. Having matching pavers on hand makes future repairs invisible instead of an obvious patch.
Is my data private?
Yes. Every calculation happens in your browser, so the dimensions you type stay on your device and are never uploaded to a server.
Learn more
- Paver Base and Bedding Sand Guide
The layers under a lasting patio, why bedding sand and jointing sand differ, and how to order pavers with the right waste allowance.
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