ContractorHandbook

How Many Pavers for a 7x7 Patio?

Pavers to buy

237 pavers

49 sq ft of patio, 4 by 8 in pavers, 6 in compacted base, 1 in bedding sand, ten percent waste.

It does not stop at a number.

When the figures look right, the paver material list downloads as a real PDF with your business details on it, built inside your own browser. Nothing you type is uploaded anywhere.

waste10%patio area, sq ftpaver size plus the joint sets pavers per sq ftarea x pavers per sq ft, plus base stone and bedding sand
The pavers are the visible half of the job and the cheap half of the excavation. Under them sits six inches of compacted base and an inch of bedding sand, and both come off the same area, which is why they are on the material list.

How that number is worked out

These are the figures this page was built with and every line the calculator produces from them. Change anything above and all of it moves.

  • Patio length7 ft
  • Patio width7 ft
  • Paver length8 in
  • Paver width4 in
  • Paver thickness2.375 in
  • Joint width0.0625 in
  • Compacted gravel base6 in
  • Bedding sand1 in
  • Waste allowance10 %

Pavers to buy237 pavers

Patio area49 sq ft
One paver covers0.227 sq ftface plus one joint
Pavers per sq ft4.4
Pavers before waste216
Base gravel, compacted0.91 cu yd
Base gravel to order1.09 cu yd20% added for compaction
Base gravel weight1.52 tons
Bedding sand0.15 cu yd409 lb
Polymeric sand, 50 lb bags149 sq ft per bag
Edge restraint28 ft

The material list this produces

Pavers237
Base gravel, cu yd1
Bedding sand, cu yd0
Polymeric sand, 50 lb bags1
Edge restraint, ft28
Edging spikes28
Geotextile fabric, sq ft54

Patio size compared

Seven feet across, the small end. The last column is edge restraint, which follows the perimeter rather than the area, and at seven feet across there is more than a quarter of a foot of edging for every square foot of patio.

Patio sizePavers to buyPatio areaEdge restraint
7 by 7 ft237 pavers49 sq ft28 ft
7 by 8 ft271 pavers56 sq ft30 ft
7 by 10 ft339 pavers70 sq ft34 ft
7 by 12 ft407 pavers84 sq ft38 ft
7 by 14 ft474 pavers98 sq ft42 ft

What else matters here

A patio this size still needs 1.52 tons of gravel spread and compacted, and the 20 percent the calculator adds to the order is the volume crushed stone loses under a plate compactor.

What this calculator assumes

  • The joint default is 1/16 of an inch because concrete pavers are cast with spacer nubs on the sides and that is the joint you get when they are set tight. A hand set joint at 1/8 or wider takes noticeably more polymeric sand, so type the joint you are actually laying.
  • Waste is 5 percent for a running bond laid square to the edges, 10 for most patios, and 15 or more for herringbone or a circle kit, because every angled cut throws away most of a paver.
  • Base gravel is quoted compacted. Crushed stone loses about a fifth of its loose volume under a plate compactor, so the order line adds 20 percent back.
  • Four inches of compacted base suits a foot traffic patio on good soil. Six is the common default, and eight to twelve is driveway and heavy clay territory.
  • Polymeric sand is the volume of the joints at the full thickness of the paver, at about 100 pounds per cubic foot.
  • Weights use 2,800 lb per cubic yard for crushed stone and 2,700 for bedding sand.

Questions people ask

How many pavers for a 7x7 patio?

237 pavers at 4 by 8 in, covering 49 sq ft with a ten percent waste allowance.

How much gravel for a 7x7 patio?

1.09 cu yd ordered, which is 1.52 tons. That is the compacted 6 in base with twenty percent added, because gravel loses volume when it is compacted.

Different numbers?

The paver calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.

Other common sizes