Paver sand calculator for Louisiana

For a 300-square-foot patio, expect about 1.25 tons of bedding sand, while joint fill needs only 4-8 bags. These materials share a name but not a quantity, with roughly a twenty-fold difference. The calculator below calculates a 1 inch coarse-sand bedding course using 1.35 tons per cubic yard. Refer to the bag chart beneath it for joint coverage, including polymeric sand coverage for each 50 lb bag.

Sizing the two materials

1. Bedding: calculate the paved area, including the base's 6-inch extension, then apply exactly 1 inch. A deeper bed can leave pavers uneven later.
2. For joints, use bag counts rather than tons. Standard 1/8 to 1/4 inch joints need one 50 lb bag for every 40-75 square feet.

Bagged sand for joints

Joint width and paver thickness affect coverage. Read the bag label, then round up. Save extra joint sand for the first wash-in, which can settle joints by a quarter inch.

Bedding rules for paver work

• Grade a One inch bed on pipes or rails. Set the pavers, then work sand into the grooves.
• Choose angular, coarse mason or concrete-grade sand. Rounded play sand can shift under weight, both beneath pavers and within the joints.
• Leave bedding uncompacted before setting the pavers. Compact after installation so the finished paver surface seats into the sand.
• Stay off the screeded sand. Work forward from pavers already in place.
• Screenings make a somewhat firmer bed, but they offer less adjustment during leveling than sand. Use one bedding material throughout the surface.

Plain sand or polymeric joint sand

Once wetted, polymeric sand sets up and helps keep weeds, ants and rain out of joints. Each bag costs several times more, installation requires bone-dry conditions, and a badly timed sprinkle can ruin the sweep. Fine mason sand is low-cost and quick to install, but needs more added every season or two. Use polymeric for sloped pavers, driveways and high-traffic areas. Plain mason sand suits a flat garden path. Beneath either joint treatment, use plain coarse sand for bedding. Polymeric belongs in joints only.

When joints need more sand

Rain, ants and leaf blowers remove sand from joints. Refresh plain mason sand every year or two. Polymeric can hold for 5-10 years before joint edges start opening. Work on a dry day, compact, then mist. Use a lower leaf-blower setting near sanded joints. Much of the joint sand that gets replaced has been blown away a little at a time.

Example: a 20 x 15 patio

Plan bedding for about 320 square feet including overhang. A 1 inch layer needs 27 cubic feet, equal to 1 cubic yard or 1.35 tons. Purchase 1.5 tons of mason sand. For 300 square feet of regular joints, figure 4-8 bags of polymeric sand or 2-3 bags of mason sand. Beneath both is 4-plus tons of crusher run, calculated with the Paver Base Calculator. Keep the site pile under a tarp. Sand that is damp to dry screeds cleanly; saturated sand will not.

Paver bedding and joint sand guide

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