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Paver Calculator

A paver calculator works out how many pavers to buy for a patio, path or driveway, plus the gravel base and bedding sand that go underneath. Enter the area and your paver size and it returns the count with a waste allowance, then the base and sand volumes to order.

Your measurements

Result

Pavers are a "both" job: the pavers and base materials ship to the door, and a larger patio or driveway is also a get-quotes job for a paver installer. That makes this one of the better-monetising pages on the site.

How it is calculated

Paver count = area ÷ paver area × (1 + waste), rounded up. The base is the area × the base depth (4 inches typical), and bedding sand is the area × 1 inch — both reported as cubic yards or metres so you can order them by volume.

Steps

Choose area length × width, or enter a total area.
Enter your paver size — 6 × 9 inches is a common patio paver.
Leave the base at 4 inches for a patio; go deeper for a driveway.
Set a small waste allowance (5%) for cuts and breakage.
Order the pavers, plus the gravel base and bedding sand shown.

Worked example

A 12 ft × 10 ft patio is 120 sq ft. With 6 × 9 inch pavers (0.375 sq ft each) and 5% waste, you need about 336 pavers, plus roughly 1.5 cubic yards of gravel base and 0.37 yards of bedding sand.

Common questions

How many pavers do I need per square foot?

It depends on paver size. A 6 × 9 inch paver covers 0.375 sq ft, so about 2.7 per square foot. The calculator does this for any size.

How deep should the paver base be?

Four inches of compacted gravel for a patio or path; 6 inches or more for a driveway that carries vehicles.

Do I need sand under pavers?

Yes — about an inch of bedding sand over the gravel, plus jointing sand swept into the gaps afterwards.

How much waste for pavers?

Five percent for a square layout; more for herringbone, circular or lots of edge cuts.