Paving Stone Calculator
Work out how many pavers you need, plus the bedding sand and gravel base for a patio, path or driveway.
Bedding and base volumes are finished, compacted layers — loose gravel settles when it is compacted, so order a little extra. Follow the paver manufacturer’s guide for your ground and frost conditions; driveways need a thicker base than paths.
About this tool
Enter the area and the size of your paving stones to get the number of pavers (with a cutting allowance and joints), how many fit per square metre or foot, the volume of bedding sand and base gravel, and how deep to dig.
Frequently asked questions
Divide the area by the area one paver covers including the joint. A 21 × 14 cm stone with a 3 mm joint covers 0.213 × 0.143 = 0.0305 m², so 32.8 stones per m². For 20 m² that is 657 stones, or 690 with 5% extra for cuts.
About 5% for a simple rectangular area laid straight. Add more — often 10% or so — for curved edges, many corners or diagonal and herringbone patterns, where more stones are cut.
Norwegian manufacturer Aaltvedt recommends a 3 cm bedding layer of 0–8 mm grit and digging about 20–25 cm for a garden path or 30–40 cm for a driveway. US guidance is about 1 inch of bedding sand over a 4 inch base for patios, thicker for driveways.
Add the paver thickness, the bedding layer and the base: a 6 cm stone on 3 cm bedding and a 15 cm base needs 24 cm. Compact the base in layers — a plate compactor only compacts about 10–15 cm at a time.
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