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How much sand do you need?

Multiply the area by the depth to get cubic feet, then divide by 27 for cubic yards. A 1-inch bedding layer under 200 square feet of pavers takes 0.62 cubic yards, or 34 bags of 0.5 cubic feet.

Example measurements are filled in. Replace them with yours.

Area shape
The area you are measuring, drawn from your measurements in feet.20 ft10 ftCross-section: 1 in of sand, on the existing ground.Existing ground1 insand

Measure the ground you will cover.

Leave out an area
Moving it: wheelbarrow and vehicle

Example quantities

0.62cubic yards to order
34whole bags of 0.5 ft³
0.8estimated US tons

3 wheelbarrow loads

2 vehicle trips

Your order details
  • 200 sq ft to cover
  • 0% extra
  • 1 in deep
  • 16.667 ft³ before extra
  • 16.667 ft³ to order (0.617 yd³)
  • 34 whole bags at 0.5 ft³ each
  • 0.802 US short tons (1,605 lb)
  • Estimated at 2,600 lb/yd³. Moisture changes the weight of a delivered load.
  • 3 wheelbarrow loads of 6 ft³, about 578 lb each when full
  • 2 trips at a payload of 1,250 lb (the door-pillar figure includes the driver and passengers)
How it is calculated
  1. Part 1: 20 × 10 = 200 sq ft.
  2. Add the parts, then subtract 0 sq ft = 200 sq ft.
  3. Fill: 200 × (1 ÷ 12) = 16.667 ft³.
  4. With extra: 16.667 × (1 + 0 ÷ 100) = 16.667 ft³.
  5. Cubic yards: 16.667 ÷ 27 = 0.617 yd³.
  6. Bags: round up 16.667 ÷ 0.5 = 34.
  7. Weight: 0.617 yd³ × 2,600 lb/yd³ ÷ 2,000 = 0.802 US short tons.
  8. Wheelbarrow loads: round up 16.667 ÷ 6 = 3.
  9. Trips: round up 1,604.938 ÷ 1,250 = 2.

Shown in feet and inches. Results are rounded for reading; whole bags and pieces use the full calculation.

How deep?

Under pavers, the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute and Belgard both give a 1-inch layer of bedding sand on the compacted base. For fill, a sandbox or leveling, measure the depth you need.

Bags or bulk

Quikrete sells its paver sand, play sand and all-purpose sand in 0.5 cubic foot bags, and Sakrete’s play sand yields 0.5 cubic feet a bag, so one cubic yard is 54 bags. Two suppliers publish 2,600 lb per cubic yard for masonry sand and 2,700 to 3,000 lb for bedding sand, depending on moisture.

Joint sand is a separate product

Polymeric sand for the joints between pavers is sold by coverage, not by volume. Use the polymeric sand calculator for it, and the paver base calculator for the base and bedding layers together.