Paver Base Calculator

Extra material covers small dips, settling, spillage, and measurements that are not perfectly square. The calculated amount remains visible so you can compare both figures.

Both are shown. “Calculated” bags cover the measured volume; “Order” bags include the 10% allowance and round partial bags up to whole bags.

Volume comes directly from your dimensions. Weight is a range because moisture, particle size, composition, and compaction change bulk density.

Paver base is the foundational aggregate layer installed beneath interlocking concrete pavers, brick patios, and stone walkways. It is made of dense-graded crushed stone (crusher run / #411 / road base) that compacts into an extremely rigid, load-bearing structure to prevent pavers from sinking, shifting, or cracking.

To calculate paver base: multiply the length by width in feet to get total square footage, multiply by depth in feet (e.g., 4 inches = 0.333 ft), and divide by 27 to find cubic yards. Multiply cubic yards by 1.35 to 1.45 to find tons. For example, a 10×12 ft patio (120 sq ft) at a 4-inch compacted depth needs 1.48 cubic yards (approx. 2.1 tons, or about 80 bags of 0.5 cu ft).

Spread aggregate in 2- to 3-inch lifts, lightly mist with water to lubricate particles, and run a vibrating plate compactor over the surface in overlapping passes. Use a long 8- to 10-foot straightedge level and screed pipes or transit string lines to check for high and low spots, maintaining a 1-inch per 8-foot slope (1% to 2% grade) away from house foundations.

The best gravel for paver base is 3/4-inch minus dense-graded aggregate (also known as crusher run, #411, ABC stone, or road base). It contains a mixture of angular 3/4-inch crushed gravel down to fine stone dust, which compacts into an interlocking, solid mass with zero voids.

Paver base is made of mechanically crushed quarried stone—such as limestone, granite, traprock, or recycled crushed concrete—screened into a blend of coarse angular chips and fine mineral stone dust (fines).

Excavate the area 7 to 9 inches deep (for 4" base + 1" sand + 2-3/8" pavers), compact the subgrade soil, lay geotextile fabric, spread paver base in 2- to 3-inch layers, dampen with water, compact each lift thoroughly with a plate compactor, check level and slope, and then apply 1 inch of uncompacted coarse bedding sand over top.

Paver base is used to provide structural load distribution, frost heave resistance, moisture drainage, and a flat, permanent foundation for paver patios, walkways, driveways, retaining walls, fire pit pads, and shed slabs.

For pedestrian walkways and garden paths, paver base should be 4 inches (10 cm) thick after mechanical compaction. On soft, wet clay soil or in heavy freeze-thaw climates, increasing the base to 6 inches is recommended.

In general, paver base thickness should be 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm) for standard foot-traffic patios and walkways, 6 to 8 inches for hot tubs and heavy landscape features, and 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm) for vehicular driveways.

Use dense-graded crushed stone (crusher run, #411, quarry process, or road base) or recycled crushed concrete base. Alternatively, high-density extruded polypropylene paver base panels (like Brock PaverBase) can replace 4 inches of gravel on pedestrian applications after excavating and screeding a 1/2-inch sand bed.

For a foot-traffic patio or walkway on firm, well-drained soil, interlocking plastic base panels can replace about 4 inches of compacted gravel, with less digging and no plate compactor; they sit on a thin sand bed. They are not rated for driveways, and on soft clay, wet ground, or in deep-frost climates a compacted gravel base is still the safer choice. Panels are sold by the square foot, so the area this calculator shows is still the figure to order from.

Yes. When dense-graded paver base is moistened and compacted with a heavy plate compactor, the fine stone dust packs completely into the spaces between angular aggregate chips, locking them mechanically into a rock-hard, cement-like slab.

A standard 0.5-cubic-foot bag of paver base covers approximately 1.5 square feet at 4 inches deep, 1.0 square foot at 6 inches deep, or 3.0 square feet at 2 inches deep. To cover 100 square feet at 4 inches compacted depth, you will need approximately 67 to 70 bags (0.5 cu ft each).

For residential patios, the compacted paver base should be 4 to 6 inches deep. On well-draining sandy soil, 4 inches is adequate; on clay soil or regions with deep winter frost, 6 inches of compacted base is standard.

No. Never use pea gravel as a paver base. Pea gravel consists of smooth, rounded stones that roll against one another like ball bearings under weight. It cannot compact or lock together, causing pavers to wobble, sink, and separate.

Paver base is the thick structural layer: 4 to 12 inches of angular crushed stone with fines, compacted in lifts, that carries the load and drains. Paver sand is the thin setting layer on top: 1 inch of coarse concrete sand, screeded flat and left uncompacted so each paver beds into it. One cannot stand in for the other. This calculator sizes the base; the sand calculator sizes the bedding layer.

On top of the compacted paver base, use coarse concrete sand (ASTM C33 washed concrete sand or granite screenings) for the 1-inch bedding layer. Do not use fine play sand, masonry sand, or limestone dust, which trap water and wash out.