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Paver material calculator
Enter the dimensions. Get the pavers, base, bedding sand, fabric, edge restraint, joint sand and dig for a patio, walkway, driveway or pool deck. Open any line to see the math.
Every quantity traces back to a dimension.
Change a dimension and watch every line that depends on it move.
Start the takeoffThe job
Everything updates as you type.
Takeoff schedule
192 sf · 56 LF · dig 9⅜ in
- 01
Pavers
4 × 8 in (200 × 100 mm) · 60 mm · running bond
964 pcs
covers 207 sf
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Area
16 ft × 12 ft = 192 sf
Pieces per sf
1 ÷ (0.656 ft × 0.328 ft) = 4.645
200 × 100 mm, worked in exact millimetres (304.8 mm to the foot).
Pieces to lay
192 sf × 4.645 = 891.9 pcs
Cut and breakage
891.9 × 1.08 = 963.2 → 964 pcs
8% for running bond. Round up to whole pieces.
Covers
964 pcs ÷ 4.645 = 207 sf
Round up again to full layers or pallets. Check the pallet count with your supplier.
- 02
Aggregate base
6 in compacted · runs past the edge
7.0 tons
≈ 4.1 yd³ in place
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Base footprint
(16 + 1) ft × (12 + 1) ft = 221 sf
Runs 6 in past the edge on every side.
Compacted volume
221 sf × 6 in ÷ 12 ÷ 27 = 4.09 yd³
Weight, loose
4.09 yd³ × 1.35 t/yd³ = 5.53 t
Compaction
5.53 t × 1.25 = 6.91 t → 7.0 t
Order extra loose stone; the plate compactor takes it back. Rounded up to the half ton.
- 03
Bedding sand
1 in screeded
1.0 tons
≈ 0.6 yd³
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Volume
192 sf × 1 in ÷ 12 ÷ 27 = 0.59 yd³
Under the pavers only.
Weight
0.59 yd³ × 1.35 t/yd³ = 0.8 t → 1.0 t
Rounded up to the half ton.
- 04
Geotextile
Under the base · runs past the edge
280 sf
incl. 10% for overlaps
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Fabric footprint
(16 + 2) ft × (12 + 2) ft = 252 sf
Runs 12 in past the edge on every side.
Overlaps
252 sf × 1.10 = 277.2 sf → 280 sf
Seams overlap. Rounded up to the next 10 sf.
- 05
Edge restraint
Spiked 12 in on center
56 LF
56 spikes
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Perimeter
2 × (16 ft + 12 ft) = 56 LF
Spikes
56 LF ÷ 1 ft = 56 spikes
One spike every 12 in.
- 06
Polymeric sand
Joint sand · narrow joints
3 bags
50 lb each
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Bags
192 sf ÷ 65 sf per bag = 2.95 → 3 bags
50 lb bags at narrow joints. Wide joints and thick pavers use more; go by the bag.
- 07
Excavation
9⅜ in deep over the base
6.4 yd³ bank
8.0 yd³ to haul
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Dig depth
2⅜ in pavers + 1 in sand + 6 in base = 9⅜ in
In the ground
221 sf × 9⅜ in ÷ 12 ÷ 27 = 6.39 yd³ → 6.4
Dug over the base footprint. Bank yards are the soil as it sits in the ground.
In the truck
6.39 yd³ × 1.25 = 7.99 yd³ → 8.0
Soil swells once it’s dug. Size the trucks to this number, not the hole.
Quantities are estimates. Confirm depths with the manufacturer’s installation guide and pallet counts with your supplier.
Method
How to work out paver materials
The same method a good estimator uses on paper. Measure, build the section, then turn each layer into something you can order.
- 01
Measure the area and the perimeter
Length times width gives the area in square feet. For an odd shape, break it into rectangles and triangles, work out each one and add them up. Then measure the perimeter: run a tape along every edge, curves included. The perimeter drives the edge restraint and how much base and fabric runs past the edge.
- 02
Build the section, layer by layer
From the top down: pavers, 1 in of bedding sand, compacted aggregate base, and geotextile fabric on the subgrade. Add the layers and you have the dig depth. A 60 mm paver on 1 in of sand and 6 in of base is a 9⅜ in dig.
- 03
Pick the base depth
Start from the use. About 4 in under a pool deck, 6 in under a patio or walkway, 8 in or more under a driveway. Clay, poor drainage, frost and vehicle loads push it deeper. The manufacturer’s installation guide and local code set the real number.
- 04
Run the base and fabric past the edge
The base runs 6 in past the paver edge on every side, so the edge restraint and its spikes sit on compacted stone, not soil. The fabric runs 12 in past the edge, plus 10% for overlaps at the seams.
- 05
Allow for compaction
Base goes down loose and gets compacted in thin lifts, so you order more than the finished volume. This calculator adds 25% to the loose weight. It turns yards into tons at 1.35 t per yd³. Your supplier’s figure for their stone is the one to use.
- 06
Allow for swell when you haul
Soil in the ground is measured in bank yards. Once it’s dug it fluffs up, about 25% for common soil. Size the trucks to the swelled number, not the hole.
- 07
Add cut and breakage by pattern
Every pattern loses pieces to cuts at the edges and a few to breakage. Starting points: running bond and basketweave 8%, 90° herringbone 10%, 45° herringbone 13%. Curves, inlays and lots of borders run higher.
- 08
Round up to what you can buy
Pavers ship by the pallet, stacked in full layers. Round up to full layers or full pallets, and check the pieces per pallet with your supplier. It changes by product and plant. Base and sand come by the ton, fabric by the roll, polymeric sand by the bag. When in doubt, round up. A short load stops the job for a day.
Screed does this for every area of every job.
Then it turns the takeoff into the proposal and the purchase order, in one record, so what you ordered matches what you measured.