How to Figure Paver Base Materials

Consult with a local home improvement store or patio company about the best materials to use in your region. For example, Pave Tech recommends a thicker layer of base materials for a patio to be constructed on top of low-lying, wet soil. Ground Maintenance also urges residents in colder climates to lay down a thicker base than residents in warmer climates.

Select a size and design for your paver patio. This will directly impact how much base material you will need. For the purpose of this tutorial, we'll be working with a 12-by-15-foot rectangular patio to be constructed on well-drained soil in a warm climate. Ground Trades Xchange suggests expanding your measurements 6 to 8 inches in each direction. For this tutorial, that means a width of 13 feet and a length of 16 feet. This will give you a broader base for your patio, meaning a more secure foundation for the pavers that will go on top.

Choose your base materials. Since our example patio is to be built in a warm climate, we can used crushed rock for the first layer of base. You can purchase this material in a bag, but another option -- an easier one -- is to purchase the correct amount of stone directly from a dealer who can deliver it to your construction site.

Calculate how much crushed rock you'll need. Grounds Maintenance suggests a 4-inch layer of the material to start the foundation of your paver patio. We need to figure out how many cubic feet will be in that layer, as crushed rock is typically ordered based on that measurement. Convert all measurements to feet: 13 feet for width, 16 feet for length and 0.333 feet for depth. Multiple the three numbers together. That gives us 69.333 cubic feet (round up to 70 cubic feet).

Calculate how much sand you'll need for your next base layer. Just like with the crushed rock, the sand can be purchased in bags or directly from a supplier. Your layer of sand should be no thicker than 1.5 inches. To calculate how much sand you'll need, convert the measurements to feet: 13 feet wide, 16 feet long and 0.125 feet deep. Multiply these numbers together. This gives us 26 cubic feet.

Remember that the sand will compact as it seeps into the crevices between the crushed rock. The Paving Expert suggests adding 40 percent extra to your sand order to accommodate this compaction. Forty percent of 26 is 10.4 cubic feet; that means you'll want to order a total of 36.4 cubic feet of sand (round up to 37).