Paver Driveway Calculator

A drive takes more than a patio — a deeper base, the right paver and the pattern that holds under a turning wheel.

An estimate of material for a residential drive — not a design for heavy trucks or a public street.

Units

Width

12' · 144 in · 12 ft · 3.6576 m

Length

40' · 480 in · 40 ft · 12.192 m

Against the house or a wall

Quantity

Add or subtract

480 ft²

Paver

Carries

Ground

Pattern

Waste (%) ≈

10% covers the pavers cut at the edges in a running bond, which is where this starts; herringbone and 45° patterns cut more. It is added once, to the pavers — the base, the sand and the joints are the size of the patio.

This page recalculates as you type. There is no Calculate button.

Answer

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Pavers, with waste

2,592 pavers

480 ft² paved · 2,592 pavers with 20% waste · base 6 in deep after compacting · dig 9.36 in

Buy 5 + 192 pallets + loose pavers

Base stone 15.49 short tons (2,000 lb)

Bedding sand 1.48 yd³

Polymeric sand 7 × 50 lb bag

Edging 92 ft

Depth to dig 9.36 in

Ticked items cost $6,060.73

More numbers

Paved area 480 ft²

With the 20% for cuts 576 ft²

Base, compacted in place 9.74 yd³

Base, loose yards to order 12.39 yd³

Base in bags 670 × 0.5 ft³ bag of paver base

Soil dug out 15.2 yd³

Pavers and bags, by weight 15,928 lb

Buying noteCall 811 a few business days before you dig. It is the free national before-you-dig service: the utilities mark their lines, and every dig needs it, however shallow.

Buying noteSpike the edging into the base, not the sand: CMHA wants at least 1 in of it bearing on the side of the pavers, and no edging set on the bedding sand.

Buying note15,928 lb is about 11 pickup loads at ~1,500 lb a load, and one pallet is more than a load: have it delivered. Your truck's payload goes under Assumptions.

Breakdown

Area	Measurements	Qty	Paved area	Share
Drive	12' × 40'	Add ×1	480 ft²	100%

How this was worked out

Every number below is yours. Each constant links to the row where you can change it.

Drive 12' × 40' 480 ft²

With the waste for cuts 480 ft² × (1 + 20%) 576 ft²

One paver, joint included 4 in × 8 in ÷ 144 in²/ft² 0.22222 ft²

Pavers 576 ft² ÷ 0.22222 ft² 2,592 pavers

Whole pallets 2,592 pavers ÷ 480 a pallet 5.4 → 6 pallets

Change:Pavers a pallet, 60 mm Holland

Weight of the pavers 2,592 pavers × 6.01 lb 15,578 lb

Change:Weight of a 60 mm Holland paver

Edge to restrain 104 ft − 12 ft 92 ft

Base past the edge 92 ft × 6 in ÷ 12 in/ft 46 ft²

Change:Base past the edge, at least Base past the edge, at most

Base footprint 480 ft² + 46 ft² 526 ft²

Base, compacted 526 ft² × 6 in ÷ 12 in/ft ÷ 27 ft³/yd³ 9.74 yd³

Change:Base under a drive, well-drained ground

Base, weighed 9.74 yd³ × 1.59 short tons/yd³ 15.49 short tons (2,000 lb)

Change:Crusher run, compacted

Base, loose 15.49 short tons (2,000 lb) ÷ 1.25 short tons/yd³ 12.39 yd³

Change:Crusher run, loose

Base, bought 15.49 short tons (2,000 lb), ordered to the next 0.25 15.5 short tons (2,000 lb)

Change:Yield, 50 lb gravel bag

Bedding sand 480 ft² × 1 in ÷ 12 in/ft ÷ 27 ft³/yd³ 1.48 yd³

Change:Bedding sand, screeded Sand, loose

Bedding sand, bought 2.07 short tons (2,000 lb), ordered to the next 0.25 2.25 short tons (2,000 lb)

Change:Yield, 50 lb gravel bag

Joint, a share of the surface (4 in × 8 in − 3.937 in × 7.874 in) ÷ (4 in × 8 in) 3.12%

Polymeric sand 480 ft² × 0.03125 × 2.36 in ÷ 12 in/ft × 109.3 lb/ft³ 323 lb → 7 × 50 lb bag

Change:Weight of polymeric sand

Edging 92 ft 16 × 6 ft edging

Spikes 92 ft × 12 in/ft ÷ 12 in + 1 93 spikes → 93 × loose spike

Change:Spike spacing along the edging

Depth to dig 6 in + 1 in + 2.36 in 9.36 in

Soil dug out 526 ft² × 9.36 in ÷ 12 in/ft ÷ 27 ft³/yd³ 15.2 yd³

What it comes to 5 × $839.00 + 192 × $1.95 + 15.5 short tons (2,000 lb) × $45.00 + $95.00 + 2.25 short tons (2,000 lb) × $45.00 + $95.00 + 7 × $24.99 + 16 × $12.98 + 93 × $1.29 $6,060.73

Assumptions

Every one of these is editable. Change one and the answer changes with it.

Assumption	Value	Confidence
Pavers a pallet, 60 mm HollandPavestone Holland 60mm data sheet (Quikrete, 2025): 480 units a pallet, 2,884 lb. Its 103 ft² a pallet is the pavers' faces alone, 480 × 3.94 × 7.87 in; laid at the 4 by 8 in module a pallet covers 106.7 ft².	pavers/pallet	From a data sheet or an agency document
Weight of a 60 mm Holland paverPavestone Holland 60mm data sheet: a 2,884 lb pallet of 480 units, 6.01 lb each. Unilock gives 6 lb for its 60 mm Hollandstone.	lb	From a data sheet or an agency document
Base under a drive, well-drained groundCMHA PAV-TEC-002-22: residential driveways on well-drained soils, a base at least 6 in thick after compaction. Unilock's figure for established areas is 10 in.	in	From a data sheet or an agency document
Least base under a drive (CMHA)CMHA PAV-TEC-002-22: the least compacted base for a residential driveway on well-drained soil. The page warns under it.	in	From a data sheet or an agency document
Base past the edge, at leastICPI Construction Tolerances (Rev Feb 2020, now CMHA PAV-MAN-006-20), base extension table: a base up to 6 in thick extends 6 in; from 6 to 10 in, as far as it is thick. CMHA PAV-TEC-003-22: at least the base's own thickness.	in	From a data sheet or an agency document
Base past the edge, at mostICPI Construction Tolerances, same table: a base of 10 to 20 in extends 10 in. Between 6 and 10 in it extends as far as it is thick.	in	From a data sheet or an agency document
Deepest lift of base to compactCMHA PAV-TEC-002-22: spread and compact the base in 4 to 6 in lifts with a 7,000 lbf reversible plate compactor, to 98% of standard Proctor density.	in	From a data sheet or an agency document
Bedding sand, screededCMHA PAV-TEC-002-22: bedding sand spread and screeded to an uncompacted nominal 1 in, concrete sand to ASTM C33. Never masonry sand or stone dust.	in	From a data sheet or an agency document
Crusher run, compactedMoDOT's compacted crushed granite or limestone, used for crusher run and paver base: assumed to pack about this tight, as no figure for the graded product was found.	~ short ton/yd³	Derived or single-supplier
Crusher run, looseMoDOT's loose crushed granite or limestone, used for crusher run and paver base: the same rock with its fines left in. No figure found for the graded product itself.	~ short ton/yd³	Derived or single-supplier
Sand, looseMinnesota PCA stormwater material conversions: clean sand about 1.4 short tons per yd³. MoDOT's loose sand, 97-110 lb/ft³, agrees.	short ton/yd³	From a data sheet or an agency document
Yield, 50 lb gravel bag0.5 ft³ per 50 lb bag. Sand, which the sand page buys in the same bag: Sakrete Play Sand (data sheet REV 3-10) and Sakrete's commercial sands (Rev. 06/16) yield 0.5 ft³, Quikrete Premium Play Sand is labeled 'approx 1/2 cu. ft.'; mason sand runs larger, 0.6 ft³ (Sakrete, Rev. 04/16). Gravel: Quikrete All-Purpose Gravel as retailers list it.	~ ft³/bag	Derived or single-supplier
Where a delivered load starts to payAbout where bags stop making sense: 54 bags of 0.5 ft³, some 2,700 lb. Chosen, not sourced.	~ yd³	Derived or single-supplier
Weight of polymeric sandAlliance Gator's sand calculator (modified 10/3/2025) holds a 50 lb (22.7 kg) bag of Gator Supersand G2 as 0.01295 m³: 109.3 lb/ft³. Gator's chart gives a 50 lb bag 65-85 ft² of 2 3/8 in pavers with narrow joints; at a Holland stone's joint this is 75 ft².	~ lb/ft³	Derived or single-supplier
Spike spacing along the edgingSnap Edge specification: 10 in spikes 12 in apart is preferred to longer spikes 18 or 24 in apart. ProFlex: a spike at each end of a piece and at most 18 in apart. CMHA PAV-TEC-003-22 leaves spacing to the maker.	in	From a data sheet or an agency document
Geotextile overlapCMHA PAV-TEC-002-22: geotextile under the base, used over clay and moist silty soils, overlaps at least 12 in down the slope and turns up the sides of the excavation.	in	From a data sheet or an agency document
Least paver thickness on a drive (CMHA)CMHA PAV-TEC-002-22: pedestrian areas and driveways are paved with units 60 mm (2 3/8 in) thick; streets with at least 80 mm (3 1/8 in).	mm	From a data sheet or an agency document
Waste in herringboneHome Depot's paver calculator adds 20% for a complex pattern (run 13/10/2026). No CMHA, Belgard, Unilock or Pavestone figure by pattern was found. Said beside the waste box on a herringbone page, never put in it.	~ ratio	Derived or single-supplier
Your truck's payloadFull-size (1500-series) pickups advertise 2,260-2,440 lb of payload (2026), and ordinary trims carry 600-700 lb less; this is the low end. Your truck's figure is on the driver's door-jamb placard.	~ lb	Derived or single-supplier

Pavers for a driveway

The drive this page opens with is 12 by 40 feet, its short end at the garage: 480 square feet. Laid in herringbone, with 20% for the cuts that pattern makes at every edge, that is 576 square feet, and at 4.5 Holland pavers to the square foot the drive takes 2,592 pavers — five pallets and 192 loose at the reference prices.

A deeper base than a patio

CMHA, the industry's technical body, puts the base under a residential drive at no less than 6 inches after compaction on well-drained ground, against 4 for a patio. On clay or freshly filled ground the page uses Unilock's 12 inches. At 6 inches, reaching 6 inches past the 92 feet of free edge, this drive takes 15.49 short tons (2,000 lb) of base, delivered, and the hole is 9.36 inches deep. Compact it in lifts of no more than 6 inches.

Which paver, which pattern

A 60 mm (2 3/8 inch) paver is what CMHA gives for driveways; 80 mm is for streets and anything heavier than a car. Pick the 45 mm Holland some stores sell and the page says it is too thin for a drive. ICPI's tolerance guide recommends herringbone for every surface that carries cars: the pavers lock against each other under a turning wheel, where a running bond can creep. That is why this page opens in herringbone, at the waste it costs.

The edge carries the load

A paver drive fails at its edge first. The edging has to bear on at least an inch of the paver's side and be spiked into the base, not the sand — the page counts a spike every foot. Mark the end against the garage, and any side against a walk or a slab, on the part's card: it needs no edging. Call 811 a few days before you dig. We are not connected with any maker or store named here.