What is the Calculation on the Number of Patio Pavers Needed to Do a Job?

Finalize the Design

• Draw your proposed patio to scale on graph paper, including the adjacent section of the house or other structures. When this is complete, measure and mark out the patio outdoors on the ground where it will be installed. Either marking paint or small marking flags can be used. Now is the time to change the size and/or shape of the patio. Remeasure the patio and note down any changes in size.

Determining Area and Perimeter

• To determine the area of a square or rectangular patio, multiply the total length by the total width. If there are multiple areas, add these together. Measure the length of the perimeter if you are planning to use a border. To find the area of a circular patio, measure the radius of the circle and use the formula 3.14 (pi) times radius squared. Determine the perimeter with the formula 2 times 3.14 times radius.

  For an irregularly shaped patio, square off all the areas of the patio, measure their individual areas, then add the total area of the squares or rectangles. Estimate the perimeter by measuring small sections of the edge and adding them together.

Specifications for a Sample Patio

• As an example, say your patio is a rectangle, 10 feet wide by 12 feet long, which makes a total area of 120 square feet. You're planning to use 12-by-12 inch concrete pavers in a stacked pattern, which is like a grid.

Paver Quantities for the Sample Patio

• Always increase paver quantities 10 percent to allow for cutting waste. For the example patio, the quantity of square pavers to order would be 120 square feet plus 10 percent, which equals 132 square feet. A common size pallet of 12-by-12 inch pavers contains 120 square feet, so you would need slightly more than one pallet of pavers. A partial pallet is called a band, and typically includes 29 square feet.

  If you'd like to add a simple border of 12-inch pavers in a contrasting color, multiply 44 linear feet (the perimeter of the patio) by the 1-foot-wide border, which equals 44 square feet. Adding 10 percent equals 49 square feet of border pavers. To determine the actual number of pavers for the patio, the manufacturer's catalog will indicate how many pavers of the desired style there are per square foot.

Other Considerations

• When ordering pavers for a circular or irregularly shaped patio, increase the paver total by 15 percent, instead of 10 percent, to account for additional cutting waste in the curved areas.

  Pavers of the same color may vary from pallet to pallet. If you are constructing a large patio for which you will be ordering several pallets, pull and mix pavers from all the pallets of the same color when laying the patio to avoid producing areas of different colors.