Paver sand calculator for West Virginia

For a 300-square-foot patio, plan on about 1.25 tons for the bedding course but just 4-8 bags for the joints. They share a name, yet the amount needed differs by roughly twenty times. Use the calculator below for an exactly 1 inch layer of coarse sand, figured at 1.35 tons per cubic yard. The chart below that estimates joint fill, including polymeric coverage for each 50 lb bag.

Two separate calculations

1. Calculate bedding from the paved area plus the base extending 6 inches beyond it, using exactly 1 inch of depth. A deeper layer can let pavers shift later.
2. Figure joints by bag count, not tons. For standard 1/8 to 1/4 inch joints, allow one 50 lb bag for 40-75 square feet.

Bags for joint sand

Joint width and paver thickness affect coverage. Follow the bag label and round your amount up. Keep extra joint sand for the first wash-in, which can leave joints a quarter inch lower.

Bedding rules for paver work

• Set pipes or rails at one inch, screed the sand between them, and fill the tracks as each paver goes in.
• Use only coarse, angular sand rated for masonry or concrete work. Rounded play sand moves under load, both beneath pavers and inside the joints.
• Keep the bedding loose while setting the pavers. Compact the finished surface so the pavers settle into the sand.
• Stay off a screeded bed. Work forward from the pavers already in place.
• Screenings create a somewhat firmer bed than sand, but give less room for leveling adjustments. Use the same material across the entire surface.

Plain sand or polymeric sand for joints

After water is applied, polymeric sand sets up and helps keep weeds, ants, and rain from opening joints. It costs several times more per bag, requires bone-dry installation, and a poorly timed sprinkle can ruin the sweep. Fine plain mason sand is inexpensive and quick to install, but needs topping up every season or two. Polymeric makes sense for sloped pavers, driveways, and busy surfaces. A level garden walk can use mason sand. The bedding layer remains plain coarse sand in either case. Polymeric belongs only in joints.

The joint-sand maintenance schedule

Rain, ants, and leaf blowers remove sand from joints. Refresh plain mason sand every year or two; polymeric commonly lasts 5-10 years before joints begin opening at the edges. Work when dry, compact, then mist. Keep leaf blower power low near sanded joints. A blower can remove joint fill over an autumn.

Example: a 20 x 15 patio

Bedding: the overhang brings the area to about 320 square feet. A 1 inch layer equals 27 cubic feet, or 1 cubic yard, at 1.35 tons. Order 1.5 tons of mason sand. Joints: 300 square feet with standard joints takes 4-8 bags of polymeric or 2-3 bags of mason sand. Under both layers, use a 4-plus ton crusher run base sized with the base calculator. Keep the pile covered on site. Sand that is damp-to-dry screeds well; soaked sand does not.

Paver bedding and joint sand explained

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