Project guide
Paver patio
Pavers are the part everyone photographs. Whether the patio is still flat in five years is decided by the compacted base nobody sees.
- TimeA full weekend of digging for a small patio
- DifficultyHard work rather than difficult work
How much base for a paver patio?
- Road base at 4 inches: one cubic yard covers about 81 square feet at 4 inches, so 300 square feet takes about 4 cubic yards (roughly 5.2 tons).
- Concrete sand at 1 inch: one cubic yard covers about 324 square feet at 1 inch, so 300 square feet takes about 1 cubic yard (roughly 1.4 tons).
What the job involves
Excavating well below finished height, building and compacting a base, screeding a thin bedding layer, and only then laying pavers. This guide covers everything up to the pavers; the pavers themselves are not sold here.
What you need, and roughly how much
Road base
The structural base, compacted
4 inches patio, walk or pedestrian area, compacted
Patios and walks on well-drained soil take a compacted base of 4 inches. A driveway takes more, and wet or weak soil or a cold climate more again. If a vehicle will ever park on it, size the base for the vehicle.
One cubic yard covers about 81 square feet at 4 inches, so 300 square feet takes about 4 cubic yards (roughly 5.2 tons).
Does the same job at this layer: Recycled concrete.
5 listed yards publish a price for this.
Concrete sand
The bedding layer, screeded, never compacted
1 inch bedding under pavers, screeded, uncompacted
Bedding sand is spread and screeded to a nominal 1 inch and left uncompacted; it is bedding, not base, and once screeded it is not to be disturbed. Use concrete sand, never masonry sand, limestone screenings or stone dust.
One cubic yard covers about 324 square feet at 1 inch, so 300 square feet takes about 1 cubic yard (roughly 1.4 tons).
Not for: Mason sand, stone dust or limestone screenings under pavers. All three are ruled out for bedding.
4 listed yards publish a price for this.
What else you will need
- The pavers, and polymeric sand for the joints. Neither is sold here; a hardscape supplier or a big-box store carries both.
- A plate compactor. This one is not optional and hand tamping will not do it.
- Two lengths of pipe and a straight board, for screeding the bedding layer.
- Geotextile fabric between soil and base where the ground is wet or weak.
How to do it
- Set finished height first, sloping away from the house at no less than the specified minimum, then dig to base plus bedding plus paver thickness below it.
- Lay geotextile over the subgrade where the soil is wet or weak; it keeps soil from migrating up into the base.
- Fill 4 inches of road base in lifts, wetting lightly and plate-compacting each lift fully.
- Check the slope with a level and a long board before you go further. This is the last easy moment to fix it.
- Lay screed pipes on the base, fill with bedding sand to 1 inch, and strike it flat with a straight board. Lift the pipes and fill their tracks.
- Lay pavers from one corner without walking on the screeded sand, then compact the pavers and sweep jointing sand in.
Common mistakes
Not digging deep enough
Finished height, minus the paver's own thickness, minus 1 inch of bedding, minus 4 inches of base, is where the digging stops — and finished height has to sit above the surrounding grade so water leaves. Check the paver's thickness before you dig.
Building it dead flat
Build in a minimum slope, falling away from the house. Flat means water sits on the surface and in the base instead of leaving.
Compacting or walking on the bedding sand
The bedding layer is screeded and then not touched. Compacting it, or walking on it before the pavers go down, makes an uneven bed you cannot fix from above.
Using the wrong sand
Concrete sand is the specified bedding. Masonry sand, limestone screenings and stone dust are named as never to be used: they do not compact uniformly and can trap water in the bedding layer.
Yards near you that carry it
455 listed yards carry gravel; 420 listed yards carry sand. Set your area and the nearest come first, by distance and never by price. Every yard, by state · Road base prices · Concrete sand prices