How many pavers do I need?

The formula

1. Measure the area in feet and work out square feet: length × width for a rectangle. Measure to the outside edge of the finished paving, including any border.
2. Add extra for cuts. About 5% for straight or running bond, 5–10% for basketweave, 10% for 90° herringbone and 10–15% for 45° herringbone. See paver patterns for why.
3. Multiply by pavers per square foot and round up.

Pavers per square foot chart

Worked examples

A 12 × 12 ft patio

144 sq ft. With 5% extra (running bond) and 10% extra (90° herringbone):

Working for 4 × 8 in at 5%: 144 × 1.05 = 151.2 sq ft, × 4.5 = 680.4, round up to 681.

A 10 × 10 ft patio

100 sq ft at 5% extra: 473 pavers of 4 × 8 in, 420 of 6 × 6 in, 280 of 6 × 9 in, 105 of 12 × 12 in, 60 of 16 × 16 in or 27 of 24 × 24 in.

A 20 × 20 ft patio

400 sq ft. In 4 × 8 in pavers that is 1,890 at 5% or 2,070 at 15% for a 45° herringbone, a difference of 180 pavers. In 12 × 12 in pavers it is 420 at 5% and 460 at 15%. Pattern choice matters more on big patios than people expect.

Borders: soldier and sailor courses

A border of pavers set around the edge frames the patio and gives the edge restraint a clean line to push against. Count it separately from the field.

• Soldier course: 4 × 8 in pavers set with the short end along the edge. Each paver takes 4 in of edge, so 3 per foot, and the border is 8 in wide.
• Sailor course: pavers set lengthwise along the edge. Each takes 8 in, so 1.5 per foot, and the border is 4 in wide.

Example: a 12 × 12 ft patio with a soldier course of 4 × 8 in pavers. Each side has 144 in of edge; the 8 in corner squares take 2 pavers each, and the 128 in between them take 32 pavers. That is 32 × 4 + 2 × 4 = 136 border pavers. The field inside is 10 ft 8 in square, 113.8 sq ft, which needs 538 pavers at 5% extra. Border pavers are rarely cut, so they don’t need much extra.

Wider joints and “paver calculator with spacing”

Concrete pavers have small spacer nibs that hold a joint of about 1/16 to ⅛ in, and their sizes already allow for it. Don’t add the joint again.

Slabs, natural stone and some clay pavers are laid with a wider gap you set yourself. For those, choose Custom size in the calculator and enter the real paver size and the gap. The calculator adds the gap to both sides:

Example: 12 × 12 in slabs with a ½ in gap lay on a 12½ in grid, so 144 ÷ (12.5 × 12.5) = 0.92 per sq ft. A 12 × 12 ft patio at 5% extra needs 140 slabs instead of 152.

Patterns made of several sizes

Many paver lines are sold as a set of two or three sizes laid in a repeating pattern, and they are sold by the square foot. For those, the square-foot figure on the slip (area plus extra) is what you order. The maker’s spec sheet tells you how many square feet are in a layer or on a pallet, and the paver weight and pallet calculator turns that into pallets and weight.

Common counting mistakes

• Measuring to the inside of the border. Measure the whole finished area, then subtract the border if you count it separately.
• Forgetting the steps, landings and walkway that connect to the patio. Add them as sections.
• Using the same extra for every pattern. A 45° herringbone with curved edges can use 15% or more.
• Rounding down to a pallet. If you’re a few square feet short of a full pallet, order the full pallet or a few extra pieces; color can vary between production runs.

The paver patio cost calculator takes the same count and adds prices.