Pad size
Typical depth
Waste
Waste covers screed loss under pavers, box edges, and the extra you dump into a fill. 10% is a common pad. A tight rectangular paver bed can run 5%. Use 0% for a textbook volume.
Order
- Cubic yards bulk
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- 50 lb bags 0.5 cu ft
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Enter length, width, and depth.
This is an estimate, not a weigh-ticket, and not a paver spec. It does not choose polymeric vs all-purpose vs play sand, or how thick a bed or sandbox should be. Bags compact; bulk loads settle. Confirm volume with your landscape yard. Not a soil clone. Not a gravel driveway. Nothing on this page leaves the browser.
How the volume is counted
This is paver-bed bedding and sandbox play sand — not a soil clone and not a gravel driveway. Sand volume is length × width × depth. Depth in inches is divided by 12 to get feet. Divide cubic feet by 27 for cubic yards. Waste is extra material for screeding and edges.
Garden-center sand bags are usually 50 lb and about 0.5 cubic feet — all-purpose, concrete, mason, or play sand. Bag counts round up; you cannot buy a fraction of a bag. Polymeric joint bags are a different product and are not this count.
volume_ft3 = length_ft × width_ft × (depth_in / 12) yards = volume_ft3 / 27 × (1 + waste) bags_50lb = ceil(volume_ft3 × (1 + waste) / 0.5)
Example: 10 ft × 10 ft × 1 in paver bed with 0% waste is 8.333 ft³ → 0.309 yd³, 17 of the 50 lb bags. The same bed at 10% waste is 0.340 yd³ / 19 bags. An 8 inch sandbox on that pad is about 2.469 yd³ / 134 bags.
FAQ
Why a paver bed and a sandbox on the same page?
Same rectangle, two jobs. A paver bed is about 1 inch of bedding sand screeded over compacted gravel. A sandbox is about 8 inches of play sand. Depth chips pick the job. Cubic yards plus 50 lb bags. Not a soil clone. Not a gravel driveway.
Is this a soil clone or a gravel driveway calculator?
No. The soil page is fill dirt vs topsoil for beds and leveling. The gravel page is yards and tons for a driveway or pad. This page is the thin sand layer under pavers, or play sand in a box. The gravel under a paver bed is the structural base — use the gravel calculator for that layer.
Polymeric sand vs bedding sand vs play sand?
Bedding (all-purpose / mason / concrete) is the 1-inch layer under the pavers. Polymeric sand is swept into joints after the pavers are set — a thin line, not a bed. Play sand is for a sandbox. This tool does not count joint volume and does not pick a brand.
How much bedding sand for a 10×10 paver bed?
At 1 inch with 0% waste: 0.309 cubic yards, 17 of the 50 lb bags. At the default 10% waste (screed loss): 0.340 yd³ / 19 bags. That is the sand layer only. The gravel base under it is a different calculator. Not a paver spec.
How much play sand for a 10×10 sandbox?
At 8 inches with 0% waste: 2.469 cubic yards, 134 of the 50 lb bags. That is a bulk drop, not a cart of bags. Shallower boxes scale with depth. Not a playground spec. Not a soil fill.
Is this a paver spec or a weigh-ticket?
No. Quantity math only. Not a paver spec, not a weigh-ticket, not drainage, not a soil clone, not a gravel driveway. Confirm with the yard.