Paver Base Calculator
Gravel base & sand under your pavers
Prepping a solid base under pavers? Enter the area and base depth to get the cubic yards and tons of crushed gravel base to order.
Paver base depth: how thick should it be?
Used as a paver base calculator square feet tool or a patio paver base calculator, the depth you choose drives everything below.
Base depth is decided by what will sit on the pavers and by how well your soil drains, not by the paver itself.
| Base depth | Suits | Cubic yards | Tons |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 in | Walkways, patios on sandy soil | 1.36 yd³ | 2.02 |
| 6 in | Patios on most soils | 2.04 yd³ | 3.03 |
| 8 in | Clay soil, mild freeze | 2.72 yd³ | 4.03 |
| 10 in | Driveways | 3.40 yd³ | 5.04 |
| 12 in | Driveways in clay with deep frost | 4.07 yd³ | 6.05 |
A 12 × 16 ft patio at 6 inches needs 3.91 cubic yards, or 5.81 tons. In bags that would be 212 fifty-pound bags, which settles the bulk-versus-bagged question immediately. One ton of compacted base covers about 55 ft² at 4 inches or 36 ft² at 6 inches.
Excavate for the whole sandwich
The commonest planning error is digging only for the base. You need depth for everything, and the finished pavers should sit flush with the surrounding grade rather than proud of it:
| Layer | Depth |
|---|---|
| Compacted gravel base | 6 in |
| Bedding sand | 1 in |
| Paver thickness | 2⅜ in typical |
| Total excavation | about 9⅜ in |
Dig a foot wider than the finished patio on every side too, so the edge restraint has something solid to sit on. An edge spiked into loose soil at the perimeter is not restraining anything.
Use crusher run, not clean stone
The base material must be dense-graded crushed stone with fines — sold as crusher run, road base, or 3/4 inch minus. The stone dust in the mix fills the voids so the whole layer locks into a solid slab under compaction. Clean, washed, single-size stone never locks, and rounded pea gravel is the worst possible choice; both stay mobile forever under load.
Compact in 2 inch lifts, not all at once. A plate compactor only densifies 3 to 4 inches at a time, so dumping 6 inches and running over the top gives you a hard crust on loose stone. Dampen each lift lightly first: dry crusher run will not lock, and saturated crusher run pumps under the plate. Damp is what you want.
Slope, fabric and edge restraint
- Slope the base ¼ inch per foot away from buildings, and build that fall into the base, not the sand. Trying to correct drainage with a thicker sand layer is how patios rut.
- Geotextile fabric over soft or clay subgrade, before any stone goes down. It stops the base being pushed into the soil, which is the main reason patios need relaying after a few years.
- Edge restraint on every free edge, spiked every 12 inches into the compacted base. Without it the outer row creeps and the whole field loosens from the perimeter inward.
- Exactly 1 inch of bedding sand, screeded and never compacted before laying. Use coarse concrete sand; the sand calculator sizes that layer.
The pavers themselves are priced with the paver calculator, and the base stone with the crushed stone calculator if you want to compare grades.
How this paver base calculator works out its numbers
Volume is area × depth at 27 ft³ per cubic yard, with 10% added by default for compaction loss and uneven subgrade.
- Density is 110 lb/ft³ for compacted crusher run, giving about 1.49 tons per cubic yard. This is the same constant the paver and crushed stone calculators use, so quantities agree across pages. Real crusher run runs 100 to 135 lb/ft³.
- Base depth guidance (4 in walkway, 6 in patio, 8 to 12 in driveway or deep frost) is common practice in freeze-prone regions, not an engineered specification.
- This is the base layer only. Bedding sand at 1 in is a separate order, and the excavation depth must also allow for the paver thickness.
- Bag counts use a 50 lb bag yielding 0.5 ft³, and are shown mainly to demonstrate that bagged base is impractical at patio scale.
- Not included: geotextile fabric, edge restraint, spikes, bedding sand and polymeric joint sand.
Reviewed September 2026.
Figures reviewed . Every worked example on this page is checked against the calculator above.
Paver Base Calculator: frequently asked questions
How much paver base do I need?
About 2 cubic yards, or 3 tons, per 100 ft² at a 6 inch depth including compaction loss. A 12 × 16 ft patio at 6 inches takes 3.91 cubic yards or 5.81 tons.
How deep should paver base be?
4 inches for walkways and patios on well-drained sandy soil, 6 inches for patios on most soils, and 8 to 12 inches for driveways or clay soil with deep frost.
What is the best base for pavers?
Dense-graded crushed stone with fines, sold as crusher run, road base or ¾ inch minus. The stone dust fills the voids so it compacts into a solid layer. Clean washed stone never locks up and is the wrong material.
How deep should I excavate for a paver patio?
Add the layers: about 6 inches of base, 1 inch of bedding sand and the paver thickness of about 2⅜ inches, so roughly 9⅜ inches total. Dig a foot wider than the patio on each side for the edge restraint.
Can I use sand instead of a gravel base for pavers?
No. Sand alone has no load-bearing strength and washes out, so the patio ruts and settles within a season. You need a compacted crushed-gravel base with only a 1 inch sand bedding layer on top.
How much does a ton of paver base cover?
About 55 ft² at 4 inches deep or 36 ft² at 6 inches, at a compacted density of 110 lb per cubic foot. That is less coverage than lighter materials because compacted base is dense.
Why compact in lifts?
A plate compactor only densifies 3 to 4 inches at a time. Dumping 6 inches and compacting the top gives you a hard crust over loose stone, which fails under load within a season. Spread and compact in 2 inch lifts.
Do I need fabric under paver base?
On soft or clay subgrade, yes. Geotextile separates the stone from the soil so the base is not gradually pushed down into it, which is the usual reason a patio needs relaying after a few years.