Paver Calculator
Patio area in — paver count for any size, polymeric sand bags, and the gravel and sand underneath, all on one shopping list.
The short answer
Formula. Pavers = patio area × 144 ÷ (paver width × paver height, in inches) × (1 + waste %), rounded up; polymeric sand runs about one bag per 50 sq ft.
Example. A 12 ft × 16 ft patio of 4×8-in Holland pavers at 5% waste takes 908 pavers plus 4 bags of polymeric sand.
How this calculator works
Pavers first: area in square feet × 144 gives square inches, the paver's width × length gives square inches per piece, and dividing — after the cut allowance inflates the area — gives the count. A 12 × 16 ft patio with 5% waste is 201.6 sq ft; Holland pavers at 4 × 8 in cover 32 sq in each, so 201.6 × 144 ÷ 32 ≈ 908 pavers. Suppliers sell Holland by the pallet (roughly 240–270 pieces) or by the sq ft bundle — the count converts to either once you have it.
Then the two materials generic calculators forget. Polymeric sand sweeps into the joints and hardens; a 50 lb bag covers roughly 45–50 sq ft at standard joint widths, so the 192 sq ft patio takes 4 bags (coverage is on the bag — enter your number). Base gravel and bedding sand are volume: area × depth ÷ 27 gives cubic yards, and gravel gets +25% because crushed stone compacts to about 80% of its loose volume — skip the correction and your 4-inch base ends up 3.2 inches after the plate compactor, which is how patios develop that unhappy wobble in year three. One inch of bedding sand sits between gravel and pavers; concrete sand, sharp and angular, not play sand.
Edge restraints and slope finish the real shopping list. A hidden plastic or aluminum edge spiked every foot keeps the perimeter pavers from migrating — buy roughly the patio perimeter in length. And patios need roughly 1 inch of fall per 8 ft away from the house, which slightly changes effective area on sloped yards but mostly matters for where the water goes. The pattern matters to the waste factor more than to the count: herringbone and 45-degree layouts consume the extra 5% you added; running bond on a rectangle can nearly use every piece.
Sources & review date
- Polymeric sand coverage of about 50 sq ft per bag is a typical figure — joint width and depth move it; it is an editable input.
Last reviewed: October 2026. Numbers that drift (fees, prices, densities) are editable inputs on this page.
Paver FAQs
How many pavers in a square foot?
4×8 Holland: 4.5 per sq ft. 6×6: 4 per sq ft. 12×12: 1. 16×16: 0.5625. 24×24: 0.25. Multiply by your area (plus waste) — or let the calculator do the inch-level math.
How much does a pallet of pavers cover?
Depends on the paver: Holland pallets commonly run 90–120 sq ft, larger formats less. The count from this page divided by the supplier's pieces-per-pallet (or sq ft per pallet) gives you pallets — always round up and ask about returning unopened bundles.
Can I lay pavers on just sand?
For a small walkway, some do; for anything you expect to stay flat for a decade, no. The compacted gravel base carries loads and drains; sand-only beds pump and rut under traffic and frost. The base material math here is the cheap insurance.
Stone dust instead of bedding sand?
Widely sold, generally not recommended: stone dust holds water and locks together when wet, which can trap moisture against the pavers and heave in freeze-thaw. Concrete (coarse) sand is the industry standard bedding layer.