Bulk materials
Sand Calculator
Enter your area and depth for sand volume in cubic yards, tons, and 50 lb bags. Includes the right sand type and layer thickness for paver bedding, which is where most sand estimates go wrong.
Updated
Area to cover
Add a section for each part of the space. Odd shapes are easiest as two or three simple ones.
Area = length × width
Material and depth
Paver bedding is screeded to exactly 1 in, thicker sand is why patios go wavy.
5% covers settling and uneven ground. Use 10% on rough or sloped sites.
The standard retail size.
Only affects the weight figures, never the volume. Typical range 2400–3000 lb/cu yd, wet material sits at the top.
Enter your measurements to see results.
How this is calculated
The calculation
Volume is area times depth. Sand is dense, roughly 2,700 lb per cubic yard, about 1.35 tons, so the tonnage adds up faster than with mulch or compost.
Bagged sand is sold by weight rather than volume. A 50 lb bag holds roughly half a cubic foot, which means 54 bags to the cubic yard. That is a lot of bags, and bulk becomes worthwhile at surprisingly small volumes.
tons = (area sq ft × depth in ÷ 12 ÷ 27) × 2,700 lb ÷ 2,000
Paver bedding sand: exactly one inch
The single most common paver failure is too much bedding sand. The bedding layer should be screeded to a true 1 inch, not 2, not 3, over a properly compacted aggregate base.
Sand is not a structural material. It does not compact into a stable layer the way crushed aggregate does, so a thick sand bed keeps consolidating under load and the pavers sink unevenly. Using extra sand to smooth out a bumpy base always ends in a wavy patio.
Use concrete sand or coarse masonry sand for bedding. Fine play sand and beach sand hold water and shift; they are the wrong product for this job.
| Use | Sand type | Depth |
|---|---|---|
| Paver bedding layer | Concrete / coarse masonry sand | 1 in exactly |
| Paver joints | Polymeric jointing sand | Fill to ⅛ in below surface |
| Sandbox | Washed play sand | 8–12 in |
| Under above-ground pool | Masonry sand | 2 in |
| Lawn leveling / topdressing | Coarse sand, or sand-compost blend | ¼–½ in |
Worked example
Bedding sand for a paver patio
A 12 ft × 16 ft patio needing a 1 inch screeded bedding layer of concrete sand.
- Area
- 12 ft × 16 ft = 192 sq ft
- Depth in feet
- 1 in ÷ 12 = 0.0833 ft
- Volume
- 192 × 0.0833 = 16 cu ft
- Cubic yards
- 16 ÷ 27 = 0.59 cu yd
- 50 lb bags
- 16 ÷ 0.5 = 32 bags
About 0.6 cubic yards, or 32 bags. At roughly $6.50 a bag that is $208 bagged against $18–33 for the same sand in bulk, worth a trip with a trailer if you can manage it.
Frequently asked questions
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