The two sands a paver patio needs
"Paver sand" is really two different products doing two different jobs, and mixing them up is the most common paver mistake:
- Bedding sand — a 1-inch layer of coarse concrete sand screeded flat over the compacted gravel base. The pavers are set on it, and it lets each one seat firmly and evenly. Volume math: area × depth ÷ 12 = cubic feet, plus ~10% because screeding always wastes some.
- Polymeric sand — a fine sand blended with polymer binders that you sweep into the joints after the pavers are down, then mist with water. It hardens, locking the pavers together and keeping weeds and ants out. It's estimated by coverage per bag, not volume, because joint width and paver size drive how much disappears into the cracks.
This calculator handles both at once. If you're also planning the crushed-stone base under everything (4–6 inches of compacted gravel), that layer plus bulk-delivery pricing lives in our paver base calculator — this page is the bag-count tool for the sand itself.
Bedding sand coverage at a glance
| Patio size | Area | Sand at 1″ (with 10% waste) | 50 lb bags |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 × 10 ft | 100 sq ft | ~9.2 cu ft | ~19 |
| 12 × 10 ft | 120 sq ft | ~11 cu ft | ~22 |
| 12 × 12 ft | 144 sq ft | ~13.2 cu ft | ~27 |
| 16 × 12 ft | 192 sq ft | ~17.6 cu ft | ~36 |
| 20 × 16 ft | 320 sq ft | ~29.3 cu ft | ~59 |
Around 25–30 bags it's usually cheaper to buy bulk — see "bags vs. bulk" below.
Which sand to buy (and which to avoid)
- Bedding: concrete sand (ASTM C33). Coarse, angular, and free-draining — it locks under the pavers. "Leveling sand" and "paver sand" bags at the big-box store are usually this.
- Joints: polymeric sand. Pick a joint-width rating that matches your pavers — standard blends handle 1/8″–1/4″ joints; wide-joint formulas fill up to 1″+ for flagstone.
- Avoid play sand for bedding. It's too fine and rounded, holds water, and lets pavers rock and settle.
- Don't bed in stone dust or polymeric. Stone dust traps water under the pavers; polymeric hardens where it should stay screedable. Bedding sand stays loose by design.
Bags vs. bulk
Bagged sand runs about $4–$8 per 50 lb bag (0.5 cu ft), which works out to $200+ per cubic yard — fine for a small patio, steep for a big one. Bulk concrete sand from a landscape yard costs roughly $30–$60 per ton plus delivery, and a ton is about 20 bags' worth. The calculator shows your bedding volume in cubic yards and tons so you can compare: under ~25 bags, grab bags; over that, price a bulk delivery — the delivery fee usually pays for itself. (Polymeric sand is only sold bagged.)
Getting the bed right
- One inch — no more. The ICPI standard bedding layer is 1″ screeded sand. Doubling the sand doesn't add strength; it adds settling. Low spots should be fixed in the gravel base, not with extra sand.
- Screed with pipes. Lay two 1″ pipes on the base, pull a straight board across them, lift the pipes, and fill the grooves. Don't walk on the screeded bed.
- Don't compact the sand before laying. Set the pavers on the loose screeded bed, then run the plate compactor over the pavers — that's what seats them into the sand.
- Polymeric needs dry pavers. Sweep it in dry, compact, sweep again, blow off the dust, then mist per the label. Sand haze left on a damp surface can stain.
- Buy a spare polymeric bag. Joints eat more than you think, and topping up mid-job beats a second trip.