How Many Pavers for a 600 Square Foot Patio?
Pavers to buy
2,902 pavers
600 sq ft of patio, typed 20 by 30, 4 by 8 in pavers, 6 in compacted base, 1 in bedding sand, ten percent waste.
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How that number is worked out
These are the figures this page was built with and every line the calculator produces from them. Change anything above and all of it moves.
- Patio length30 ft
- Patio width20 ft
- Paver length8 in
- Paver width4 in
- Paver thickness2.375 in
- Joint width0.0625 in
- Compacted gravel base6 in
- Bedding sand1 in
- Waste allowance10 %
Pavers to buy2,902 pavers
| Patio area | 600 sq ft |
|---|---|
| One paver covers | 0.227 sq ftface plus one joint |
| Pavers per sq ft | 4.4 |
| Pavers before waste | 2,638 |
| Base gravel, compacted | 11.11 cu yd |
| Base gravel to order | 13.33 cu yd20% added for compaction |
| Base gravel weight | 18.67 tons |
| Bedding sand | 1.85 cu yd5,000 lb |
| Polymeric sand, 50 lb bags | 6100 sq ft per bag |
| Edge restraint | 100 ft |
The material list this produces
| Pavers | 2,902 |
|---|---|
| Base gravel, cu yd | 13 |
| Bedding sand, cu yd | 2 |
| Polymeric sand, 50 lb bags | 6 |
| Edge restraint, ft | 100 |
| Edging spikes | 100 |
| Geotextile fabric, sq ft | 660 |
Patio size compared
Twenty feet across, the large end. Read the two right hand columns together: the area doubles between the top and the bottom of this table while the edge restraint does not come close to doubling, which is the one economy of scale a patio has.
| Patio size | Pavers to buy | Patio area | Edge restraint |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 by 15 ft | 1,451 pavers | 300 sq ft | 70 ft |
| 20 by 20 ft | 1,935 pavers | 400 sq ft | 80 ft |
| 20 by 25 ft | 2,419 pavers | 500 sq ft | 90 ft |
| 20 by 30 ft | 2,902 pavers | 600 sq ft | 100 ft |
| 20 by 40 ft | 3,869 pavers | 800 sq ft | 120 ft |
What else matters here
Two thousand nine hundred and two pavers over 600 sq ft, on 13.33 cu yd of gravel weighing 18.67 tons. The largest patio on this list, and the base is where it is won or lost.
A 6 in base does not go down as 6 in. A plate compactor only compacts the top three or four inches of loose stone properly, and everything below that stays loose no matter how many passes it gets. So the base goes in as lifts: spread three to four inches, compact it in overlapping passes in two directions, then spread the next and compact again. Two lifts for a 6 in base, over the full 600 sq ft, twice.
This is the step that gets compressed when a job runs late, and it is invisible the day it is finished. A patio on a single dumped 6 in lift looks identical to a patio on two compacted lifts, right up until the first winter, when the soft layer consolidates unevenly under load and the surface dips wherever the traffic is. There is no repair for it short of lifting the pavers, and the 20 percent the calculator adds to the ordered gravel exists precisely because properly compacted stone loses that much volume.
What this calculator assumes
- The joint default is 1/16 of an inch because concrete pavers are cast with spacer nubs on the sides and that is the joint you get when they are set tight. A hand set joint at 1/8 or wider takes noticeably more polymeric sand, so type the joint you are actually laying.
- Waste is 5 percent for a running bond laid square to the edges, 10 for most patios, and 15 or more for herringbone or a circle kit, because every angled cut throws away most of a paver.
- Base gravel is quoted compacted. Crushed stone loses about a fifth of its loose volume under a plate compactor, so the order line adds 20 percent back.
- Four inches of compacted base suits a foot traffic patio on good soil. Six is the common default, and eight to twelve is driveway and heavy clay territory.
- Polymeric sand is the volume of the joints at the full thickness of the paver, at about 100 pounds per cubic foot.
- Weights use 2,800 lb per cubic yard for crushed stone and 2,700 for bedding sand.
Questions people ask
How many pavers for a 600 square foot patio?
2,902 pavers at 4 by 8 in, including a ten percent waste allowance. The bare coverage is 2,638.
How much gravel for a 600 square foot patio?
13.33 cu yd to order, weighing 18.67 tons. That is the 11.11 cu yd compacted plus twenty percent, because stone loses volume when it is compacted.
Can a 6 inch base be compacted in one go?
No. A plate compactor only reaches the top three or four inches of loose stone. A 6 in base goes down as two lifts, each spread and compacted separately before the next.
The paver calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.