Measuring a patio for pavers
Pavers are counted by the area they cover, so measure the ground that will be paved: break it into rectangles, circles and triangles, add them, and take out a planter or the base of a post with a cut-out. A walkway is a long rectangle, or several. The calculator adds the areas up before anything is rounded, so a patio in three parts does not buy three part-pavers.
Each paver covers its length times its width. The count is the area divided by that, then the extra for cuts, rounded up to whole pavers.
Worked example. A patio of 12 × 12 ft in pavers of 4 × 8 in.
- Patio: 12 ft × 12 ft = 144 sq ft, or 20,736 sq in
- Pavers: 20,736 sq in ÷ 32 sq in a paver = 648, which is 4.5 to a sq ft
- With 5% extra for the cuts: 680.4, rounded up to 681 pavers
- By the area, for a yard that sells by the square foot: 151.2 sq ft
- Edging round the outside: 48 ft
The size on the label and the real size
A paver is sold by a round name, and the paver itself is often a little smaller. The use and care guide of one 4 × 8 paver (Lowe’s) gives it as 3.88 × 7.75 in, and 4.8 to a square foot, where the name would make it 4.5. Typed at that size, the same patio takes 689.59 pavers, 725 with the extra.
So type the size on the maker’s sheet. The joints between the pavers cover a little of the patio too, by a width the guide does not give: a count at the real size leaves them out, and so leans to enough.
Patterns and the extra for cuts
A straight pattern, a running bond, a stack bond or a basket weave, is cut where its courses end, and the calculator opens on 5% extra. A herringbone, square to the edges or at 45°, ends in cut pavers along every edge: take 10%, which the page sets when you choose one. The example in a herringbone is 713 pavers. A curved edge is cut paver by paver too: a round patio 12 ft across, 113.1 sq ft, takes 560 pavers at 10%.
The pattern changes the extra, not the count: the area is the same whichever way the pavers are turned. The plan draws the pattern at the size of your paver, to scale, unless the patio is so large that its pavers would be too small to see. A basket weave needs a paver as long as two or more of its widths, and a herringbone one longer than it is wide; the guide above names herringbone, basket weave and running bond for its 4 × 8.
A pattern of mixed sizes
Some pavers are sold as a set of sizes laid together. The maker’s sheet of the pattern gives each size’s share of the area: type the sizes and their shares, as parts, and the calculator counts each size on its share. In three sizes of 6 × 9, 9 × 9 and 9 × 12 in, a third of the area each, the example takes 135, 90 and 68 pavers, 293 in all, each size rounded up on its own. The plan shows the patio, not the pattern: lay it as the sheet shows.
Edging
Edging holds the outer pavers in place, and runs round the outer edge of every area. A side against the house or a wall needs none: type its length, and the edging of the example with one side of 12 ft against the house is 36 ft. The round patio above takes 37.7 ft.
Base and sand
Pavers are laid on a compacted gravel base and a layer of bedding sand, with sand swept into the joints after. The gravel calculator has a compacted base, in tons; the sand calculator counts the bedding layer and the polymeric sand for the joints from the chart on its bag. Each adds its lines to the same list as the pavers.
Common mistakes
- Counting at the name of the paver. A 4 × 8 is not 4 × 8 in: read the size on the maker’s sheet.
- Rounding each area on its own. Add the areas first, and round once.
- The same extra for every pattern. A herringbone and a curved edge waste more than a running bond.
- Edging along the house. A wall holds the pavers on that side.
Questions about pavers
How many pavers do I need for a 12 × 12 patio?
681 pavers of 4 × 8 in, with 5% extra: 648 before the extra. At the real size of one maker’s 4 × 8, 725.
How many 4 × 8 pavers are in a square foot?
4.5 by the name, and 4.8 by the real size of the paver in the guide we read. Use the maker’s figure for yours.
How much extra should I order for a herringbone?
10%, against 5% for a straight pattern: every edge of a herringbone is cut.
How do I work out landscape edging?
It is the length of the outer edge of the patio, less the sides that stand against a wall. A square patio of 12 ft takes 48 ft.
Sources
- Lowe’s, 4x8 Holland Paver, use and care guide (19 June 2019). Unit dimensions 1.77 in high, 7.75 in long and 3.88 in deep; 4.8 units to a square foot. Laid in herringbone, basket weave and running bond, with small spacer bars on its sides for a consistent gap. Colour, dimensions, weight and availability may vary by region and by maker. Read on .
Updated . How we calculate. Found a mistake? Tell us.