Paver sand calculator for Wyoming

On a 300-square-foot patio, the bedding calls for about 1.25 tons, but the joints need only 4-8 bags. These materials do different work despite sharing the same name. Below, the calculator measures a 1 inch coarse-sand bedding layer using 1.35 tons per cubic yard. The chart that follows covers the joints, including polymeric sand coverage for each 50 lb bag.

Two separate calculations

1. Start with the paved area plus the base's 6-inch overhang, and use exactly 1 inch for bedding. A thicker layer can let pavers shift later.
2. Figure joint fill by bag, not tonnage. For standard 1/8 to 1/4 inch joints, one 50 lb bag covers 40-75 square feet.

Bagged joint sand

Joint width and paver thickness affect coverage, so follow the bag label and buy enough to round upward. Save some joint sand for the first wash-in, since the joints may settle a quarter inch.

Bedding rules for the wheelbarrow

• Set up pipes or rails, screed the bedding to one inch, and refill the resulting channels as pavers are placed.
• Use only coarse, angular sand rated for masonry or concrete work. Play sand is rounded, so it can move under load beneath pavers and within the joints.
• Keep bedding sand uncompacted until the pavers are set. Then compact the finished surface to seat the pavers in the bedding.
• Keep off the screeded layer. Work forward while standing on pavers already set.
• Compared with sand, screenings make a firmer bed and give less room for leveling adjustments. Stay with one material over the full surface.

Plain or polymeric joint sand

After it is wetted, polymeric sand firms up and helps keep weeds, ants and rain from working through the joints. It costs several times more per bag, has to be applied bone dry, and one mist at the wrong time can ruin the full sweep. Fine mason sand is inexpensive, quick to sweep in, and needs replenishing every season or two. Use polymeric for driveways, sloped pavers and high-traffic areas; mason sand suits a level garden path. Under the pavers, use plain coarse sand in either case. Polymeric sand is only for joints.

The joint re-sanding interval

Rain, ants and leaf blowers gradually remove joint sand. Plan to add plain mason sand every year or two, while polymeric can hold 5-10 years before joint edges begin to separate. Work on a dry day: sweep in the sand, compact it, then mist it. Use a low leaf-blower setting near filled joints, since Wyoming wind and a strong nozzle can carry sand away.

Example: a 20 x 15 patio

Allow about 320 square feet after including the overhang. Bedding at 1 inch requires 27 cubic feet, equal to 1 cubic yard or 1.35 tons. Purchase 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. Both layers sit over 4-plus tons of crusher run, with the amount sized using the Paver Base Calculator. Keep the site sand pile under a tarp: damp-to-dry sand screeds cleanly, but soaked sand does not.

Sorting bedding and joint sand

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