Paver Calculator
Count patio pavers from your area and paver size, plus the bedding sand and compacted gravel base underneath.
Estimates are for planning. Confirm quantities against your measured site and product packaging before ordering, and follow local building codes.
How to measure for a paver patio
Measure the finished patio area in square feet: length times width, with odd shapes split into rectangles and added up. Measure to the outside of the paver field, not the edge of the excavation, which will run about 6 inches wider on each side to support the edge restraint.
Then pick the paver size. The classic 4 × 8 inch brick paver covers 32 square inches, so it takes 4.5 per square foot. Squares come in 6 × 6 and 12 × 12, and large-format 12 × 24 planks cover 2 square feet each, so the count falls quickly as the unit grows. Larger pavers lay faster but demand a flatter screed, since a big paver bridges humps a small one would follow.
The formula and what it assumes
Paver count equals patio area divided by the area of one paver (length times width in inches, divided by 144), times 1 plus the waste percentage, rounded up. A 200 sq ft patio in 4 × 8s is 200 ÷ 0.222 = 900 pavers, and 990 with the default 10% waste.
The calculator also sizes the two layers underneath. Bedding sand is figured at 1 inch deep across the full area: 0.62 cubic yards for that 200 sq ft patio. The gravel base is figured at 4 inches compacted, with a 15% compaction allowance built in, so the same patio needs 2.84 cubic yards of base material. Those depths follow standard manufacturer guidance: Belgard’s installation guidelines call for 4 to 6 inches of compacted granular aggregate under walkways and patios, 8 to 12 inches under driveways, and a nominal 1 inch screeded bed of concrete sand. If you’re paving a driveway, run the gravel calculator separately at the deeper base spec.
The 10% waste default suits a straight (running bond or stack) layout. Herringbone and any diagonal layout generate a cut at every edge, so use 15%. The count assumes one paver size; mixed-size patterns come with their own per-pattern coverage charts from the manufacturer.
Buying tips
Pavers at big-box stores run roughly $2 to $6 per square foot for standard concrete units, with tumbled, large-format, and permeable styles higher. Buy the whole job from one dye lot if you can, because color varies batch to batch, and keep 5 to 10 spares stored flat for future repairs.
Bedding sand must be concrete sand (washed, coarse, sharp). Don’t substitute play sand, stone dust, or screenings; they hold water and migrate, and most paver warranties exclude them. For the base, crusher run or another well-graded aggregate with fines compacts into the hard layer the patio actually rides on.
Edge restraint is not optional. Without a concrete curb, spiked plastic or aluminum edging, the outer pavers walk apart and the sand bleeds out from under the field. Budget restraint for every edge that doesn’t butt a wall or slab.
The part that determines whether it lasts
Excavate to firm soil, compact the subgrade, then build the gravel base in 2 inch lifts with a plate compactor, checking slope as you go: about a quarter inch of fall per foot, away from the house. Screed the sand to 1 inch with pipes and a straight board, and never compact the sand or walk on it before the pavers go down. After laying, run the plate compactor over the pavers (with a pad or a layer of sand on top to protect the faces), sweep in joint sand, compact again, and top up. A patio built this way outlives one laid straight on dirt by decades, and the digging is the cheap part. If you’re weighing pavers against a slab, the concrete calculator prices the alternative.
Frequently asked questions
How many 4x8 pavers per square foot?
4.5 pavers. A 4 × 8 inch paver covers 32 square inches, and a square foot is 144 square inches, so 144 ÷ 32 = 4.5. A 200 sq ft patio needs 900 of them before waste, 990 with the standard 10% allowance. Larger formats drop fast: a 12 × 12 is one per square foot and a 12 × 24 covers two square feet each.
What goes under pavers?
From the bottom up: compacted soil subgrade, 4 to 6 inches of compacted gravel base (crusher run or similar), then 1 inch of screeded concrete bedding sand, then the pavers. The gravel does the structural work and the sand is only a leveling layer. Skipping or thinning the gravel base is why patios ripple and sink within a few seasons.
Why does the calculator add 10% waste?
Every paver that meets an edge gets cut, and cuts produce offcuts you usually can't reuse. 10% covers a straight-laid rectangular patio with normal edge cuts plus a few breakages. Diagonal layouts and herringbone patterns cut at every border, so bump the allowance to 15% for those. Leftovers aren't wasted; keep a few for future repairs since dye lots vary.
Do I need polymeric sand between pavers?
It's the standard finish. Polymeric sand sweeps into the joints like regular sand, then hardens when misted with water, locking the pavers and resisting weeds and ants. Use it after the surface is compacted, on a completely dry patio, and blow off every grain from the paver faces before wetting or it leaves a haze that's hard to remove.