Worked example: a 20 × 3 ft paver walkway
Hypothetical educational example. The walk is straight, 20 by 3 feet, with 8 by 4 inch pavers, a 1/8 inch joint and 10% extra pavers. The 4 inch base is the pedestrian minimum shown on republished ICPI drawings. The tonnes on this page use the paver calculator’s 2.0 t/m³ assumption, which is not an ICPI weight.
Inputs
| Length | 20 ft |
|---|---|
| Width | 3 ft |
| Paver | 8 × 4 in |
| Joint | 1/8 in |
| Waste | 10% |
| Base | 4 in compacted |
| Bedding sand | 1 in |
Arithmetic
- Area = 60 sq ft.
- One paver plus joint = 8.125 × 4.125 = 33.515625 sq in. Count = 60 × 144 ÷ 33.515625 = 257.79.
- With 10% = 283.57, which rounds up to 284 pavers.
- Base volume = 60 × 4 ÷ 12 = 20 cu ft = 0.74 cu yd. At the calculator’s 2.0 t/m³ that is about 1.25 short tons.
Required, waste and purchase
- Required
- 257.8 pavers before the 10%, and 0.74 cu yd of base before any density conversion.
- Purchased
- 284 pavers. There is no box size in this scenario, so the purchase unit is the paver. Bedding sand displays as 0.19 cu yd and about 0.25 short tons at 1.6 t/m³. Edge restraint is at most 46 ft, not a required purchase of 46 ft.
- Units
- US feet and inches, cubic yards and short tons.
Assumptions
- 4 inches is the pedestrian compacted-base minimum on the ICPI drawings cited below. Driveways on those drawings are thicker. This walk is not a driveway.
- The 2.0 t/m³ base density and the 1.6 t/m³ sand density are site assumptions in the paver calculator. The gravel calculator’s sub-base default is 2.1 t/m³, which weighs the same 0.74 cu yd at about 1.31 short tons. Ask the supplier which density to order.
- Joint sand at 60 sq ft per 50 lb is an editorial allowance in the calculator, so the “1 × 50 lb” line is not a manufacturer yield.
What this example does not decide
- Not a pavement structural design and not a drainage plan.
- No brand of paver is named, and no price is given.
Where to go next
- Paver calculator — Run these inputs
- Loose materials topic — Volume method for base and sand
- Depth guide — Depths for loose materials
- Sand calculator — Bedding sand as its own order
- Landscaping calculators — Tool list
Questions
Why might another page show 1.31 tons for the same base?
The gravel calculator’s sub-base default is 2.1 t/m³. The paver calculator uses 2.0 t/m³ for the same geometry and shows about 1.25 short tons. Neither figure is an ICPI published weight. Use the supplier’s density.
Are 284 pavers a whole box?
This example does not assume a box quantity. 284 is the paver count after 10% and whole-paver rounding. A box count needs the number printed on the pallet you buy.
Sources
- ICPI construction tolerances guide (republished PDF) — accessed 2026-11-09: “Minimum base thickness: Sidewalks, patios, pedestrian 4 in. (100 mm). Bedding layer thickness 1 in. (25 mm) nominal.”
- ICPI-16 patio on compacted aggregate base (republished drawing) — accessed 2026-11-09: “4" (100 MM) MIN THICKNESS. 1" (25 MM) BEDDING SAND.”