Easy Garden Calc

How many pavers for a 10×10 patio?

Short answer

A 10 × 10 ft patio laid in 4 × 8 in brick pavers needs 495 pavers: 450 to cover the 100 square feet, plus 10% for cuts. Under them go about 2.77 tons of crusher run (4 in compacted, running 4 in past the edges) and 9.17 cubic feet of bedding sand.

How to work it out

  1. 10 ft × 10 ft = 100 sq ft
  2. 100 sq ft ÷ (8 × 4 in = 0.222 sq ft) + 10% (not sure yet) = 495 pavers
  3. To order by area: 100 sq ft + 10% = 110 sq ft
  4. Base area (base runs 4 in past each edge): 10.7 × 10.7 ft = 114 sq ft
  5. 114 sq ft × 4 in = 1.4 cu yd compacted
  6. 1.4 cu yd compacted × 1.25 = 1.76 cu yd loose × 1.5 tons/cu yd = 2.63 tons
  7. + 5% waste = 2.77 tons
  8. Effective rate: ≈ 1.97 tons per cu yd compacted
  9. Bedding sand: 100 sq ft × 1 in + 10% for screeding = 9.17 cu ft, or 19 bags of 0.5 cu ft
  10. Bulk sand: 9.17 cu ft × 1.5 tons/cu yd (damp, typical) = 0.51 tons → order 1 ton
  11. Joint sand: 0.88 cu ft of joints 0.125 in wide, filled to 1/8 in below the top × 100 lb/cu ft = 2 bags (50 lb) (about 57 sq ft per bag)
  12. Dig: 4 in base + 1 in sand + 2.375 in paver = 7.38 in → about 7-1/2 in
  13. Soil out: 100 sq ft × 7.38 in under the pavers + 13.8 sq ft × 4 in base-only strip = 2.45 cu yd in the ground × 1.25 = 3.06 cu yd loose
  14. Edging: 40 ft around; 1 spike per foot = 40 spikes

Small 4 × 8 in pavers are forgiving for a first patio: they are easy to carry, easy to cut, and they suit herringbone or basket-weave patterns. At 4.5 pavers per square foot there are a lot of them, though, so the laying takes longer than the digging. With 12 × 12 in pavers the same patio needs 110.

Adjust for your project

ft
ft
in
Measure one paver, or read the label. Multi-size pattern kit? Use "Coverage per pallet" in More options.
in
Sets the extra for cuts. More cuts, more extra
On clay or wet ground ICPI calls for a deeper base and allows a geotextile under it
in
ICPI: at least 4 in on well-drained soil; 6–8 in on clay, wet ground or where it freezes. Driveways: 6 in or more.
sq ft
Printed on the pallet tag or the maker’s spec sheet. It varies by maker and paver size, so we don’t guess · blank to skip
More options: Extra · Sold · Price …
%
Blank = from the pattern above. Straight rows 5% · herringbone 10–15% · curves 15–20%
$
Blank to skip
in
Most patio pavers are 2⅜ in (2.375). For a driveway many makers suggest 3⅛ in (3.125); ICPI allows 2⅜ in on home driveways.
Crusher run (dense-graded base) is the usual choice. Your supplier’s weight per yard is better than ours
in
Blank = the base depth. ICPI: at least the base thickness past the edging spikes (10 in is plenty) so the edge doesn’t roll off
%
Extra loose gravel to reach the compacted depth. Blank = typical: crusher run 25%, #57 stone 5%, your own material 25%. Dense-graded base / DGA 20–30%, clean stone 5–10%
%
Low spots, spillage and edges · 5% is typical
in
About 1 in, screeded (ICPI). Not over 1½ in — thick sand shifts. We add 10% for screeding and spills.
in
Gap between pavers, for the polymeric sand. Pavers with spacer nubs: about 1/8 in (0.125)
No edge restraint needed there. Rectangle: we take off the length first, then the width
Pavers495 pavers
Pavers to order by area (sq ft, with extra)
110 sq ft
Patio area
100 sq ft
Base gravel (crusher run)
2.77 tons (5,531 lb)
Or in bags
100 bags (0.5 cu ft)
Bedding sand
9.17 cu ft (0.34 cu yd)
Bedding sand in bags
19 bags (0.5 cu ft)
Bedding sand, bulk weight (approx.)
0.51 tons (1,019 lb)
Bedding sand, bulk order (rounded up to ½ ton)
1 ton
Polymeric joint sand
2 bags (50 lb)
Dig down about
7-1/2 in
Soil to remove (in the ground)
2.45 cu yd
Soil to haul away (loose, about +25%)
3.06 cu yd
Edge restraint
40 ft
Edging spikes
40 spikes
  • Slope the patio about ¼ in per foot (2%) away from the house — never less than about 3/16 in per foot (1.5%, ICPI’s minimum) — and dig the excavation to the same slope.
  • Bedding sand is screeded about 1 in thick and never used to fill low spots; ICPI keeps it under about 1½ in.
  • Dug soil fluffs up once it is out of the ground — typically 20–30%, more for clay — so the pile, trailer or dumpster needs room for the loose figure, not the in-ground one.

For this job · affiliate link
Paver edge restraintThe exposed edge is 40 ft. Without a restraint spiked into the base along it, the outside rows creep outward within a season or two.
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A 10 ft long patio in 4 × 8 in pavers, by patio width

A 10 ft long patio in 4 × 8 in pavers, by patio width
Patio widthPaversBase gravel (crusher run)Bedding sand
6 ft297 pavers1.73 tons5.5 cu ft
8 ft396 pavers2.25 tons7.33 cu ft
10 ft495 pavers2.77 tons9.17 cu ft
12 ft594 pavers3.28 tons11 cu ft
14 ft693 pavers3.8 tons12.8 cu ft

What to know about a 10×10 brick paver patio

A hundred square feet is about the smallest patio that holds a small table and four chairs. It is also small enough to do without a skid steer: the dig is about 7½ in deep, and with the base running 4 in past each edge (soil goes back over that strip) about 2.4 cubic yards of soil in the ground leave the site — dozens of wheelbarrow loads, and more once it fluffs up in the pile.

  • Weight on the pallet. A brick-size concrete paver 2⅜ in thick weighs roughly 6 lb, so 495 of them come to well over a ton. Have them dropped as close to the patio as the driveway allows. Many yards sell these by the pallet with the square-foot coverage printed on the label; enter it in Coverage per pallet to see whether one pallet covers the 110 sq ft you need with extra.
  • Joint sand adds up. Small bricks mean a lot of joint: with 1/8 in joints a 50 lb bag of polymeric sand covers only about 57 sq ft here, so buy 2 bags rather than the one a big-slab patio would need.
  • Slope. Aim for about ¼ in per foot away from the house, which is 2.5 in lower at the far edge across 10 ft, and never less than about 3/16 in per foot. Set your string lines to it before you dig.
  • Pattern. Running bond (staggered like a brick wall) needs the fewest cuts; 5% extra is often enough. A 45° herringbone cuts a paver at nearly every edge, so plan on 15%.
  • Base in bags or bulk. 2.77 tons of crusher run is right at the point where bags stop making sense: it is about 100 bags of 0.5 cu ft. A small bulk delivery is usually easier.

Going bigger? The same pavers over How many pavers for a 12×16 patio nearly double the order, and larger 16 × 16 in slabs change the count completely — see How many 16×16 pavers for a 12×12 patio.

Different size? Use the full Paver Calculator.

What you’ll need

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Frequently asked questions

How many 12×12 pavers for a 10×10 patio?

110 pavers with 10% extra (100 square feet at 1 sq ft each). Base and sand stay the same: 2.77 tons of crusher run and 9.17 cubic feet of bedding sand, but joint sand drops to 1 bag (50 lb).

How many 4×8 pavers for a 10×10 patio laid in herringbone?

Plan on 518 pavers for a 45° herringbone, allowing 15% for the angled cuts along every edge instead of the usual 10%.

How much base gravel for a 10×10 paver patio 6 inches deep?

About 4.41 tons of crusher run: the base grows to 11 × 11 ft because it runs 6 in past each edge, and crusher run packs down about 25%. The dig gets deeper too, to about 9-1/2 in.

Other common sizes

Sources