Sand Calculator

Measure bedding sand for a patio, a sandbox or a trench, in cubic yards and tons.

Your measurements

The area you are filling

Measure the finished area you want covered, not the excavation. If the shape is irregular, split it into rectangles and add the results together.
Both measurements are in feet. For anything measured in inches, divide by twelve first. A 30 inch path is 2.5 feet wide.
In inches, because that is how depth is specified on site. What counts as usual depends on the material: an inch of bedding sand under pavers, 2 to 3 inches of gravel or mulch over a prepared bed, 4 inches for a concrete patio slab, 5 or 6 for a driveway carrying vehicles, and 6 to 12 inches of topsoil depending on what has to grow in it.
Use this when the same measurement repeats, such as four identical pads or three beds of the same size. Leave it at one for a single area.
Ten percent is the usual allowance, and what running short actually costs is rarely the material. On a bulk delivery it is a second haulage charge for a part load. On a concrete pour it is worse, because a slab finished in two goes has a cold joint through it. 10.00%
Material and price
Weight per cubic foot varies by material and with how wet the load is. Loose gravel and crushed stone run about 100 to 110, dry concrete sand near 100, screened topsoil nearer 74, and compacted hot mix asphalt about 145. Ask the supplier if the load matters, because the same volume weighs more after rain.
Enter the price and then say what it is per, below. Delivery and any minimum load charge are not included here.
Bagged material is priced per bag, delivered aggregate per ton, and ready-mix per cubic yard. Pick whichever matches the quote you are working from.
Material to order
0.68 cu yd
9%
is spare
The job itself 0.62 cu yd
Waste allowance 0.06 cu yd
Order this much 0.68 cu yd
Area covered
200 sq ft
Same in cubic feet
18.33 cu ft

What to buy

Weight 0.92 tons
Material cost $32
Works out per cubic yard $47.25

Every figure here is a planning estimate, not a professional takeoff. Yields, waste factors and code requirements vary by product, supplier and jurisdiction, so confirm quantities against the manufacturer’s data and your local building department before you order.

Generated by Mathterial

Sand is quoted by the ton and used by the cubic yard, and it is heavy enough that guessing the conversion gets expensive fast. This sand calculator gives you both from the same measurements, and it starts at the bedding depth that paver installations actually call for.

One inch of bedding sand, screeded, and no more

This is the number most paver jobs get wrong, and getting it wrong is a callback rather than a cost overrun.

Bedding sand goes down about one inch, screeded level over a compacted aggregate base. A 20 by 10 foot patio at that depth takes 0.68 cubic yards, or 0.92 tons, roughly $32 at $35 a ton. CMHA’s Construction of Interlocking Concrete Pavements specifies the bedding screeded to an uncompacted nominal one inch.

Thicker feels safer and is not. Sand deeper than about an inch keeps consolidating under load, and the pavers move with it: rutting in the wheel tracks, lippage at the joints, and a surface that has to come up and be relaid. Depth belongs in the compacted base underneath, never in the bedding course.

Going to 2 inches doubles the order to 1.36 cubic yards and 1.83 tons, so the mistake costs you money on the way in as well as on the way back.

Weight moves with the weather

Dry sand runs around 100 pounds per cubic foot, putting a cubic yard at about 1.35 tons. Wet sand runs closer to 120, which is 1.62 tons for the same cubic yard, roughly a fifth heavier.

Yards deliver material in whatever condition it is in that day, and you are charged by weight while the site consumes volume. On a rainy week that gap is real money, and the density field above exists so you can model it rather than absorb it.

Which sand the job needs

  • Concrete or sharp sand for paver bedding. The angular grains lock together and hold the screed.
  • Polymeric sand for the joints between pavers once laid, which is a separate and much smaller quantity.
  • Play sand for sandboxes, washed and screened, at whatever depth the box is built to.

Do not substitute soft building sand into a bedding course. It holds water, it does not interlock, and it is the reason a patio that was flat in spring is not flat by fall.

Ordering it

Bulk delivery beats bags on anything past a few cubic feet, and sand is dense enough that a modest-looking pile is a serious weight. Confirm the truck can reach the tipping point and that the surface will take the load, because a load tipped in the wrong place gets moved twice.

For the compacted aggregate base that goes underneath, the gravel calculator works out that layer, and the concrete calculator covers a slab if you are pouring rather than laying.

Sand calculator FAQ

How much sand do I need under pavers?

About one inch of bedding sand, screeded level over a compacted base. A 20 by 10 foot patio needs roughly 0.68 cubic yards, or 0.92 tons, including a 10% allowance. Build depth into the base course, not the sand.

How many tons is a cubic yard of sand?

About 1.35 tons for dry sand at 100 pounds per cubic foot. Wet sand runs closer to 1.62 tons for the same volume, roughly a fifth heavier, so moisture matters on any order priced by weight.

Why should bedding sand not be thicker than an inch?

Sand deeper than about an inch keeps consolidating under load, so the pavers settle unevenly and develop ruts and lippage. Any additional depth the design needs belongs in the compacted aggregate base below.

What kind of sand goes under pavers?

Concrete or sharp sand, whose angular grains interlock and hold a screed. Avoid soft building sand, which retains water and does not lock up. Polymeric sand is for the joints after laying, not for the bedding course.