Sand Calculator

Multiply the area by the depth you want, in matching units, to get a volume, then divide by 27 to convert cubic feet into cubic yards, since that is how sand is priced and delivered. Pick a sand type first, paver bedding, general fill and leveling, play sand or mason and concrete sand, since each defaults to a realistic depth for that job, which matters more here than on most materials since a bedding layer and a sandbox fill are not remotely the same depth. This calculator runs the area math directly for a rectangle, circle, ring, triangle or trapezoid, or a straight area entry, and adds up multiple areas if you have more than one.

About 1 cubic foot for every 12 square feet of paver area, based on the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute's standard of a nominal 1 inch bedding layer. Choose paver bedding sand from the type list above, which defaults to that 1 inch depth, not exceeding 1.5 inches per the same standard, since too thick a layer lets pavers sink unevenly under traffic and too thin a layer lets them rock and chip against the base beneath.

A nominal 1 inch, not exceeding 1.5 inches, per the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute's installation standard. This is a narrower, more exact recommendation than most sand uses, because a bedding layer that is too thick displaces under foot and vehicle traffic and lets pavers sink unevenly, while one that is too thin lets pavers rock against the hard base underneath and chip at the edges.

Choose play sand from the type list above, which defaults to a 6 inch fill depth within a 4 to 6 inch general guidance range for backyard sandbox play, not a safety surfacing specification. Enter your sandbox's length and width, or its shape if it is not a plain rectangle, and the calculator works out the volume, bag count and weight for that depth.

Calculate above and read the bag count directly off the results, at either a 0.5 or 1 cubic foot bag, whichever size your supplier sells. The panel also shows the equivalent bulk cubic yardage next to it, so you can compare the two without a separate conversion.

54 bags at the common 0.5 cubic foot, 50 pound bag, or 27 bags at 1 cubic foot. A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet by definition, so the bag count is that figure divided by the bag size, rounded up so you never come up short.

Roughly 2,400 to 2,800 pounds, based on a Wisconsin Department of Transportation research report published in December 2023 that measured the in place, loose dry weight of sand-classified natural soil samples at 93 to 106 pounds per cubic foot. That works out to about 1.2 to 1.4 tons per cubic yard dry, heavier once the sand is wet. The calculator above shows this range in pounds, kilograms and tons for whichever type you pick.

Enter your area and depth in the calculator above and the tons figure is worked out directly from the actual volume and a sourced density range, roughly 1.2 to 1.4 tons per cubic yard dry. Bulk sand is commonly quoted and delivered by the ton rather than only by the yard, which is why this calculator shows tons prominently in the main result rather than leaving it as a separate conversion to look up.

Enter your own supplier's price in the calculator above for an exact figure, since cost varies by sand type, region and supplier. As a starting point, general fill and leveling sand is the cheapest option, paver bedding and mason or concrete sand sit in the middle, and washed play sand typically costs the most per yard.

Bulk, past about 3 cubic yards. That threshold is already dozens of heavy bags, more than most people want to carry by hand in multiple trips, and bulk delivery is almost always cheaper per yard at that scale. Below that threshold, bags remain more practical even where bulk works out slightly cheaper per yard, since there is no minimum delivery to arrange for a small job.

Paver bedding sand for the leveling course underneath the pavers, at a nominal 1 inch per the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute's installation standard. That is a different product from polymeric sand, which is swept into the joints between pavers after they are laid, not spread as a bed underneath them.

This is bought by joint coverage per bag rather than by a uniform bed depth across the whole paved area, so the coverage chart on the polymeric sand product you are buying, typically stated as square feet per bag depending on paver size and joint width, will give a more accurate figure than running joint filling through an area times depth calculator built for bedding and fill sand.

Mason or concrete sand, a coarser, more angular sand than paver bedding or play sand, suited to mixing mortar and concrete or forming a setting bed under flagstone. Choose it from the type list above, which defaults to a 2 inch depth within a 1 to 3 inch range for a setting bed use.

Sand is a leveling and bedding material, spread in a thin, uncompacted layer under pavers or as fill; gravel is a structural base material that is compacted in layers to actually bear load, covered on BunnyCorner's Gravel Calculator, which accounts for compaction in a way sand never needs to. Many paver and patio builds use both, a compacted gravel base topped with a thin sand bedding layer, rather than either material alone.

No, and it is left out deliberately rather than forced to give a misleading answer. Pool filter sand is sized to a specific filter tank model's rated capacity, a manufacturer specification, not a footprint and depth the way bedding or fill sand is. Check the capacity plate on the filter tank or the manufacturer's manual for the correct amount instead.

No. Aquarium substrate is a hobbyist tank calculation, typically a much shallower layer measured against a specific tank's footprint, and sits outside the scope of a landscaping and backyard-project sand calculator built around cubic yards, bags and bulk delivery.

Yes. Every measurement field accepts metric or imperial units and converts automatically, and the headline result switches between cubic yards and cubic meters depending on which system is selected, with liters and cubic feet shown alongside either way, and weight shown in kilograms alongside pounds and tons.

This calculator works out the volume and weight of sand needed to fill or cover an area, the same area times depth math used across BunnyCorner's other bulk material calculators. A cement or concrete mix ratio calculator answers a different question entirely, how much sand, cement and aggregate to combine to make a given volume of mix, and is not something this tool covers.