- Home
- Home & Construction
- Sand Calculator
Sand Calculator
Find how much sand you need for paver bedding, a sandbox, a pool base or leveling. Enter the area and depth for cubic yards, cubic feet, tons and the number of 50 lb bags, with cost by the yard, ton or bag.
- Volume in cubic feet
- 17.5 cu ft
- Estimated weight
- 0.88 ton
- Area covered
- 100 ft²
- Bags needed
- 35
- Estimated cost
- $32.41
Saved setups
Save a set of inputs you reuse — your usual rate, your loan, your room sizes — and load it back in one tap.
Your recent calculations
Results you calculate here are kept on this device so you can come back to them.
Formula
How to use it
- Choose the shape and enter the dimensions.
- Enter the sand depth in inches.
- Adjust density if your sand is damp or your supplier gives a figure.
- Choose the pricing unit and read the cost.
Worked examples
A 10 × 10 ft area covered 2 inches deep at $50 a yard
- Volume in cubic feet
- 16.67 cu ft
- Volume needed
- 0.62 yd³
- Estimated weight
- 0.83 ton
- Bags needed
- 34
- Estimated cost
- $30.86
A 1 inch bedding layer under a 16 × 12 ft patio with 10% extra, in bags at $5.50
- Volume in cubic feet
- 17.6 cu ft
- Volume needed
- 0.65 yd³
- Estimated weight
- 0.88 ton
- Bags needed
- 36
- Estimated cost
- $198.00
Common depths
Paver bedding: a 1 in screeded layer of coarse concrete sand over the compacted gravel base, no thicker. Sandbox: 6–12 in of washed play sand. Under an above-ground pool: about 2 in of masonry sand.
Sand type matters. Coarse, angular concrete sand drains and locks under pavers; fine masonry sand is for mortar and pool bases; play sand is washed and screened for sandboxes.
Dry versus wet weight
Dry sand weighs about 100 lb per cubic foot, or 2,700 lb (1.35 tons) per cubic yard. Damp sand delivered from an open pile can weigh 110–120 lb per cubic foot, so a ton of wet sand is less volume than a ton of dry.
Questions people ask
How many 50 lb bags of sand are in a cubic yard?
About 54. A 50 lb bag holds roughly 0.5 cubic feet and a cubic yard is 27 cubic feet.
How much sand do I need under pavers?
A 1 in bedding layer takes 1 cubic foot for every 12 sq ft. A 12 × 16 ft patio needs 16 cubic feet, about 0.6 cubic yards, plus 10% extra.
How much sand fills a 6×6 sandbox?
At 8 in deep a 6 × 6 ft sandbox takes 24 cubic feet: 48 bags of 0.5 cubic feet, or 0.89 cubic yards.