CalculatorMulchA patio is three layers. Most people order one.
Paver base
for a patio of 200 sq ft:
3.7 yd of crushed stone
plus 0.6 yd of bedding sand · 5.83 US tons in total
- Crushed stone
- 5.00 tons
- Bedding sand
- 0.83 tons
- Dig out to
- 9.4 in below the finished level
Thinner than the usual recommendation for that use — 6 inches is the figure most paver manufacturers publish, and more in clay or where it freezes.
What the yard needs this month
MonthlyOne job a month, with the depth and the volume it actually needs. No plant catalogues, no upsell — just the material side of the garden.
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How much base and sand does a paver patio need?
Six inches of compacted crushed stone and one inch of bedding sand for a patio — more under a driveway, less under a walkway. For 200 square feet that comes to 3.7 cubic yards of stone and 0.6 of sand, or about 5 tons and 0.8 tons respectively. Those are two different materials from two different piles, and forgetting the second one is the most common ordering mistake on a patio job.
The excavation depth is the number people get wrong next. You dig for the base, the sand and the paver itself: 6 + 1 + 2.375 inches for a standard 60 mm paver is 9.4 inches below the finished level, not six. Getting that wrong is discovered at the worst possible moment — when the pavers are laid and the patio is an inch proud of the door threshold.
Depth follows load, not looks. A walkway carries feet and gets four inches; a patio carries furniture and people and gets six; a driveway carries a car and gets eight to twelve. In clay, or anywhere the ground freezes, add two inches to whichever applies. The base is the only part of the job you cannot fix later without taking the whole thing up.
Base depth by what goes on top
| Use | Compacted base | Bedding sand | Dig out (60 mm paver) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walkway, foot traffic | 4 in | 1 in | 7.4 in |
| Patio, furniture | 6 in | 1 in | 9.4 in |
| Driveway, one car | 8 in | 1 in | 11.4 in |
| Driveway, clay or frost | 10–12 in | 1 in | 13.4–15.4 in |
What 200 sq ft takes
| Layer | Depth | Cubic yards | Tons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crushed stone base | 6 in | 3.7 | 5.0 |
| Bedding sand | 1 in | 0.6 | 0.8 |
| Total | 4.3 | 5.8 |
That is two deliveries or five trips in a half-ton pickup — stone is heavy enough that payload, not bed space, is the limit.
The related tools
For the base stone alone by area and depth, use the gravel calculator; for the bedding layer, sand. To check whether that weight fits in your vehicle, cubic yards to tons shows the payload against the load.
Frequently asked questions
How deep should the base be?
Four inches for a walkway, six for a patio, eight to twelve for a driveway. Add two inches in clay soil or in a freeze-thaw climate. These are compacted depths, so order about 20% more loose material than the finished figure — a plate compactor takes roughly that out of crushed stone.
What kind of stone should the base be?
Crushed angular stone with fines, sold as road base, crusher run or MOT Type 1 depending on where you are. It locks together under compaction. Rounded gravel does not — pea gravel makes a terrible base for exactly the reason it makes a pleasant path.
Can I skip the sand?
No. The bedding layer is what lets each paver settle to a level surface; without it you are laying stone on stone and every high spot in the base becomes a high paver. One inch is the figure — thicker sand is worse, because it ruts under load.
Is polymeric sand the same thing?
No. Bedding sand is coarse concrete sand under the pavers; polymeric sand is a fine jointing sand that goes into the gaps afterwards and sets when wetted. You need both, and this calculator sizes the bedding layer only.
How much extra should I order?
About 10% on the sand for waste and 15–20% on the base for compaction. It is much cheaper to have half a yard left over than to stop a job at four in the afternoon half a yard short.
Does the base need to be wider than the patio?
Yes — extend it about six inches past each edge so the perimeter pavers are supported and the edge restraint has something to spike into. That adds area, so measure the excavation rather than the finished surface.
How we calculate this
Worked example
With Paved area 200, What is going on it Patio — furniture, Base depth 6, Bedding sand 1, this page works out 3.7 yd of crushed stone. plus 0.6 yd of bedding sand · 5.83 US tons in total
- Crushed stone5.00 tons
- Bedding sand0.83 tons
- Dig out to9.4 in below the finished level
Sources:
The layer that decides whether it lasts
Every failed patio fails from underneath. Pavers that sink, rock or open at the joints are almost never a problem with the pavers; they are a base that was too thin, was not compacted in layers, or was laid on soil that was never firmed. The visible part is doing very little structural work — it is a wearing surface sitting on the layer that matters.
Compaction is the part that is easiest to skip and most expensive to skip. Crushed stone has to be compacted in lifts of three or four inches, not dumped six inches deep and rolled once, because a plate compactor’s energy does not reach the bottom of a deep lift. A base laid in one go looks identical on the day and is a different patio in three winters.