Paver Calculator
Paver count plus gravel base and bedding sand for a patio.
5% for simple grids, 10% or more for herringbone and curves.
You need
594 pavers
Waste included. Buy the full amount at once so colors come from one batch.
- Patio area
- 120 sq ft
- Gravel base (4 in)
- 1.48 cu yd
- Bedding sand (1 in)
- 0.37 cu yd
Estimates only. Verify quantities before ordering.
How this is calculated
Pavers = patio area in sq in / paver area in sq in, plus your waste factor, rounded up. Gravel base = area x 4 in depth, bedding sand = area x 1 in depth, both converted to cubic yards (divide cubic feet by 27).
Pick your paver size, enter the patio dimensions, and this calculator counts the pavers plus the two base layers people forget to price: compacted gravel and bedding sand. The counts assume pavers laid tight; patterned layouts with border courses cut more pieces, which is what the waste factor covers.
The base is the actual structure of a paver patio. Plan on 4 inches of compacted crushed gravel for foot traffic and 6 inches or more where vehicles drive, topped with 1 inch of screeded concrete sand. This calculator includes the 4 inch base figure; scale it up proportionally for driveways.
Pavers for common patio sizes
Rows assume 4 x 8 in pavers with 10% waste, a 4 in gravel base, and 1 in of bedding sand.
| Patio size | Pavers | Base gravel | Sand |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 x 10 ft | 495 pavers | 1.23 cu yd | 0.31 cu yd |
| 12 x 10 ft | 594 pavers | 1.48 cu yd | 0.37 cu yd |
| 12 x 12 ft | 713 pavers | 1.78 cu yd | 0.44 cu yd |
| 16 x 12 ft | 951 pavers | 2.37 cu yd | 0.59 cu yd |
| 20 x 16 ft | 1,584 pavers | 3.95 cu yd | 0.99 cu yd |
Paver thickness and where each belongs
Thickness is a load question, not an appearance one. Pavers around 60 mm, roughly two and three eighths inches, are the standard for patios, walkways, and anything carrying foot traffic. Where cars will park or turn, step up to 80 mm, about three and an eighth inches. A 60 mm paver under a vehicle will crack or sink at the wheel paths even over a good base, and replacing a driveway field is far more expensive than the thickness upgrade would have been.
Concrete pavers are the common choice: consistent in size, widely stocked, and cheapest per square foot. Clay brick pavers hold their color permanently because the color is fired through rather than pigmented on the surface, but they cost more and come in fewer sizes. Natural stone, flagstone or bluestone, varies in thickness piece to piece, which makes setting slower and means ordering by weight or coverage rather than by unit count.
Permeable pavers are worth knowing about if drainage or local stormwater rules are a factor. They use wider joints filled with clean stone so water passes through into an open-graded base rather than running off. They need a different base build than the calculator above assumes, so treat their quantities as a separate conversation with the supplier.
Pattern, cuts, and how much waste to order
Waste tracks the pattern and the shape of the area more than the size. A running bond or stack bond on a rectangular patio wastes very little, and 5 percent covers it. Herringbone at 45 degrees produces a cut at every edge along both sides, so budget 10 percent and closer to 15 percent on a small or awkwardly shaped area where the perimeter is large relative to the field.
Circles, curves, and diagonal borders push waste higher still, because each cut piece usually cannot be used anywhere else. If the design has a curved edge, measure the bounding rectangle for ordering purposes and accept that the offcuts are the cost of the curve. It is worth laying the pattern out dry across a few square feet before committing, since the actual joint spacing on the ground rarely matches the nominal size on the box.
Order the whole job at once. Pavers are made in batches and the color shifts between them, sometimes noticeably. A pallet bought two weeks later to finish a corner will often read as a patch for the life of the patio. Pulling from several pallets at the same time as you lay, rather than emptying one pallet before opening the next, blends any variation that does exist.
Edge restraint is not optional
A paver field has no structural connection between units, so the only thing stopping it spreading sideways is what sits at the perimeter. Without restraint the outer courses creep outward under traffic, the joints open, and the sand washes out of them. This happens slowly enough that people blame settlement, when the actual cause was a missing edge.
Plastic paver edging spiked into the compacted base is the usual answer and is cheap relative to the field it protects. A concrete toe, a soldier course set in mortar, or an existing structure like a house wall or curb also works. Whatever you use, it has to sit on the compacted base rather than on the bedding sand, and the base needs to extend a few inches past the last paver to give the spikes something solid to bite into.
Common questions
How many 4 x 8 pavers per square foot?
A 4 x 8 inch paver covers 32 square inches, so it takes 4.5 of them per square foot before waste. A 100 square foot patio needs about 450 pavers plus 5 to 10% extra for cuts along the edges.
How deep should the base be under pavers?
Excavate about 7 inches for a patio: 4 inches of compacted crushed gravel, 1 inch of bedding sand, and the paver thickness (usually 2 3/8 inches). Driveways need 6 to 10 inches of gravel base instead, compacted in 2 to 3 inch layers.
Do I need edge restraints?
Yes. Without a restraint (plastic edging spiked into the base, concrete curb, or a building edge), pavers migrate outward and the joints open up. It is the most commonly skipped component and the most common reason a new patio spreads within a year.
What goes in the joints between pavers?
Polymeric sand is the standard: it is swept into the joints, misted, and hardens enough to resist weeds and washout. Plain sand also works but needs periodic topping up. Either way, the joints are filled after compacting the pavers into the bedding layer.