Sand Calculator

Sand is the most versatile aggregate on a job site and the easiest to under-order. The volume math is identical to gravel: length in feet times width in feet times depth in feet, divided by 27 for cubic yards. Depth is nearly always specified in inches for setting beds and by the foot for fill work, so convert first. A twenty by ten foot patio getting a one inch paver setting bed is 20 x 10 x (1/12) / 27 = 0.62 cubic yards, or about 0.84 tons of masonry sand.

The density of sand varies more than most contractors realize. Dry play sand runs around 1.3 tons per cubic yard, standard damp masonry sand is closer to 1.35, and washed concrete sand is about 1.4. Wet fill sand, saturated in a trench, can weigh 1.45 tons per cubic yard or more. When ordering by the ton, ask the yard for the working density of the material as delivered, not the theoretical dry weight.

Always order at least ten percent extra. Sand blows off the shovel, gets tracked out of the work area, and settles into voids in the subgrade at a rate that surprises contractors who have not worked with it before. On a big paver job, twenty percent waste is not unreasonable.

Masonry sand, also called fine paver sand or ASTM C-144, is the standard setting bed under interlocking pavers. It is a graded, washed sand with fines removed, which lets it lock into a stable but slightly compressible cushion. Do not confuse masonry sand with joint sand, which is a coarser polymeric or dry-swept product that goes in the joints between pavers after they are laid.

Concrete sand, ASTM C-33, is coarser and is used in ready-mix concrete, in French drains under filter fabric, and as base under precast structures. It compacts harder than masonry sand and does not shape as smoothly, which is why it is the wrong choice under pavers even though contractors sometimes substitute it.

Fill sand is a general-purpose sand used for backfilling pipe trenches, filling low areas under structures, and setting utility vaults. It does not need to be washed and often carries clay and silt fines that help it compact. Never use fill sand under pavers, and never use it in concrete mix without cleaning.

Play sand for sandboxes is a rounded, washed sand with the dust and silica screened out. It is the most expensive per cubic yard of the residential sands because of the extra washing and screening. A standard four foot by six foot by twelve inch sandbox needs 24 cubic feet of play sand, or about 0.9 cubic yards, which is roughly 1.2 tons.

A durable paver installation is a stack. On top of the subgrade you place four to six inches of compacted road base or dense-graded aggregate. On top of the base you screed a one inch layer of masonry sand as the setting bed. On top of the setting bed you lay the pavers. Between the pavers you sweep in polymeric jointing sand and activate it with water.

The masonry sand setting bed is exactly one inch thick, no more, no less. Thicker beds shift and rut. Thinner beds tear during screeding and leave hollow spots that eventually crack pavers. Screed the sand flat over the compacted base using two lengths of one inch electrical conduit as screed rails and a straight two-by-four pulled along the rails.

For a patio arena or a paddock in equestrian country, sand depth runs deeper because the sand is the surface, not just the setting bed. A dressage arena is typically four inches of angular concrete sand over a compacted base. A pleasure arena runs three to four inches, and a barrel arena often runs six inches or more so the horses can turn hard without slipping.

Sand yards in Texas price by the cubic yard for pickups and by the ton for delivered loads. If you are picking up in a half-ton pickup, understand that a heaping cubic yard of damp masonry sand weighs about 2,700 pounds and will crush the rear suspension. A safer pickup load is a scant half yard, and even that will sit the truck on the springs.

For delivery, a tandem dump truck can carry 12 to 16 tons, or about 9 to 12 cubic yards of sand. Get the truck as close to the work as possible, because sand is heavy and every extra foot of wheelbarrow run is a real cost in labor. Ask the yard to leave a clean pile on a tarp so you are not scooping subgrade dirt into your final lift of sand.

One local practice worth knowing in North Texas: some yards call dense-graded road base "crushed limestone" and others call it "flex base." Ask what the material is graded as, not just the color, before you order a truckload for a paver base and get sand-heavy fines you cannot compact.

Patio, paver, and hardscape contractors compete for a search-driven customer. The homeowner with an ugly slab and a Pinterest board types "paver patio installer near me" and calls whoever ranks first. Referrals fill a schedule for the season; local search fills the schedule for years.

Peak Local Leads builds and ranks paver and hardscape sites for one contractor per Texas market. Seven day free trial on the calls, flat monthly after that, no per-lead fees. If your area is still open, that is the offer.