Paver sand calculator for New Mexico

For a 300-square-foot patio, allow about 1.25 tons for the bedding bed and just 4-8 bags for the joints. They are both sand, but the quantities are far apart. The calculator sizes bedding as exactly 1 inch of coarse material, figured at 1.35 tons per cubic yard. The chart beneath it covers joint material, including polymeric sand yield from a 50 lb bag.

Two separate calculations

1. Figure bedding from the paved area plus the base's 6-inch overhang, using exactly 1 inch of sand. More depth lets pavers shift and wobble later.
2. Joints: use bags rather than tons. At 1/8 to 1/4 inch, standard joints need one 50 lb bag for each 40-75 square feet.

Bags for joint sand

Bag coverage depends on paver thickness and how tight the joints are. Follow the label, round upward, and save some joint sand because the first wash-in can drop joints a quarter inch.

Bedding rules for paver work

• Lay a one-inch screeded bed over rails or pipes. As pavers go in, pack sand into the rail channels.
• Choose angular, coarse mason or concrete-grade sand. Fine rounded play sand can shift under bedding and joint loads.
• Set pavers on loose screeded bedding. Compact after the surface is laid so they seat into the sand.
• Place pavers from the finished area ahead. Do not step on the screeded bedding.
• Screenings create a firmer setting layer, though they give less room for leveling than sand. Keep the same bedding material across the entire surface.

Plain versus polymeric joint sand

Water activates polymeric sand, helping the joints hold against weeds, ants, and rain. It runs several times more per bag, requires bone-dry installation, and a mist at the wrong time can ruin the sweep. Fine mason sand is inexpensive and quick to sweep in, but usually needs more added every season or two. Polymeric suits sloped areas, driveways, and heavily traveled pavers. A level garden path can use mason sand. Under either joint material, use plain coarse sand for bedding, since polymeric belongs only in the joints.

The joint-sand refill schedule

Rain, ants, and leaf blowers can pull joint sand away. Plan to add plain mason sand every year or two; polymeric can hold for 5-10 years before joint edges start opening. Apply on a dry day, compact, then mist. Use a lower leaf-blower setting near sanded joints.

Example: a 20 x 15 patio

For bedding, allow about 320 square feet including the overhang. At 1 inch, that is 27 cubic feet, equal to 1 cubic yard or 1.35 tons. Order 1.5 tons of mason sand. For joints, 300 square feet with standard joints takes 4-8 bags of polymeric or 2-3 bags of mason sand. Under both sits a 4-plus ton crusher run base, calculated on the Paver Base Calculator. Keep the site sand pile tarped: damp-to-dry material screeds well, while soaked sand does not.

Bedding and joint sand guide

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