Paver sand calculator for South Dakota

For a 300-square-foot patio, bedding takes about 1.25 tons, while joint fill takes only 4-8 bags. Though both are called sand, the amount needed differs about twenty-fold. The calculator below determines the bedding requirement from a 1 inch coarse-sand layer at 1.35 tons per cubic yard. Use the chart below that for joint fill, including polymeric coverage for a 50 lb bag.

Two separate calculations

1. To prevent later paver movement, limit bedding to exactly 1 inch: calculate the paved area with the base's 6-inch overhang. Deeper sand is not better.
2. Measure joint material by bags, not tons. For standard 1/8 to 1/4 inch joints, plan one 50 lb bag for 40-75 square feet.

Bagged joint sand

Because paver thickness and joint width change coverage, follow the bag label and round up. Save the extra for when the initial wash-in settles joints by a quarter inch.

Bedding rules for the job

• Screed one inch across pipes or rails, then fill the grooves as pavers go in. That is all.
• Use only angular, coarse mason or concrete-grade sand. Rounded play sand can move under load in the bedding layer and in joints.
• Leave the screeded bedding loose before setting pavers. Compaction happens after installation, when the finished paver surface is compacted.
• The screeded bed must stay undisturbed. Work forward from pavers already set rather than stepping on the sand.
• Screenings make a firmer bedding layer but give less room for leveling than sand. Keep one material across the full surface.

Plain vs. polymeric joint sand

After it is wetted, polymeric sand sets up in the joints to help limit weed growth, ant activity, and rain loss. It costs several times more per bag, requires bone-dry installation, and a mist at the wrong time can ruin the full sweep. Fine plain mason sand is low cost and quick to install, but needs replenishing every season or two. Use polymeric for driveways, slopes, and pavers with heavy traffic. A level garden path can use mason sand. In both cases, the bedding layer is plain coarse sand, since polymeric sand is for joints only.

The joint re-sanding schedule

Joint fill can be carried off by rainfall, ants, or leaf blowers. Refresh plain mason sand with a sweep every year or two; polymeric can last 5-10 years before joint edges start opening. Start dry, sweep in the material, compact it, and mist it. Keep leaf-blower power low near filled joints to avoid blowing sand out.

Example: a 20 x 15 patio

For bedding, include the overhang in about 320 square feet. A 1 inch layer equals 27 cubic feet, or 1 cubic yard and 1.35 tons. Order 1.5 tons of mason sand. For 300 square feet of standard joints, estimate 4-8 bags of polymeric or 2-3 bags of mason sand. Below both is a 4-plus ton crusher run base, determined with the Paver Base Calculator. Cover the on-site sand pile with a tarp: damp-to-dry sand screeds cleanly, but soaked sand does not.

Paver bedding and joint sand guide

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