Sand Calculator

Sand for paver bedding, sandpits and mixing: cubic yards or m³, tons or tonnes, and 50 lb, 20 kg, 25 kg or bulk bags for your area and depth.

Sand is sold by the bag, by the ton or tonne, or by the cubic yard or m³, and the type matters as much as the amount: play sand for sandpits, masonry or building sand (soft) for mortar, concrete or sharp sand (coarse) for concrete, screeds and paving beds, and polymeric sand for paver joints. Enter the area and depth and this calculator gives the volume, the weight and the bags. Dry sand weighs about 100 lb per cubic foot (1.6 tonnes per m³), so a 4 × 4 ft sandbox filled 6 inches deep takes 8 ft³, about 800 lb or sixteen 50 lb bags. Damp sand is heavier, so change the density if you're buying it wet.

Units
Bag sizes
Area
ft
ft
in
Feet and inches work too: type 12'6 or 12.5.
t/yd³
%
Volume
0.78 yd³

21 ft³ · 0.595 m³

Weight
1.05 tons

2,100 lb · 0.95 tonnes

Bags
42

50 lb bag

Bags needed by size
50 lb bag42
25 kg bag39
20 kg bag48
850 kg bulk bag2
1 tonne bulk bag1
How it was worked out
  1. Area: 12 ft × 10 ft = 120 ft²; × 2 in (0.167 ft) deep = 20 ft³
  2. 20 ft³ ÷ 27 = 0.74 yd³
  3. Plus 5% extra = 0.78 yd³
  4. 0.78 yd³ × 1.35 tons per yd³ = 1.05 tons (2,100 lb)
  5. 2,100 lb ÷ 50 lb per bag = 42, rounded up to 42 bags
Typical weights of common materials
Materialt/m³tons/yd³lb/ft³
Concrete2.402.02150
Gravel1.601.35100
Pea gravel1.601.35100
Crushed stone / crushed rock1.601.35100
River rock1.501.2694
Landscape rock / pebbles1.501.2694
Crushed limestone1.601.35100
Decomposed granite1.501.2694
Crusher run1.601.35100
Road base1.701.43106
Crusher dust1.501.2694
Aggregate (20 mm)1.601.35100
All-in ballast1.651.39103
MOT Type 1 sub-base1.801.52112
Sand1.601.35100
Topsoil1.301.1081
Garden soil1.301.1081
Fill dirt1.401.1887
Mulch0.350.2922
Bark chippings0.300.2519
Asphalt (compacted)2.321.96145

Loose, as-delivered figures; asphalt and concrete are as laid. Moisture, stone size and source change the real weight, so use your supplier's figure when you have it. Tons are US short tons (2,000 lb).

Common use cases

  • Fill a sandbox or sandpit
  • A screeded sand bed under pavers or flagstones
  • Sand for mixing mortar or concrete (see the cement calculator for the ratio)
  • Levelling under an above-ground pool or around pipes

How to use

  1. Choose feet and inches or metres and millimetres, and the country whose bag sizes you want.
  2. Enter the length and width of the area, or switch the shape to a circle, triangle or a known area. Use Add another area for L-shapes and separate beds.
  3. Enter the depth of sand. A bedding layer under pavers is about 1 inch (25 mm); a sandpit is often 6 to 12 inches (150 to 300 mm).
  4. Check the density and the extra allowance. Change the density if your supplier quotes a different figure.
  5. Read the volume, weight and bag count, and add a price per ton, cubic yard, m³ or bag for a cost estimate.

FAQ

How many bags of sand do I need?

Work out the volume, convert it to weight, and divide by the bag weight. A cubic foot of dry sand weighs about 100 lb, so it's about two 50 lb bags; a cubic metre is about 64 × 25 kg or 80 × 20 kg bags. The calculator does this and rounds up.

How much does sand weigh?

Dry sand is about 1.6 tonnes per m³ (roughly 1.35 US tons per cubic yard). Wet sand can be 1.9 tonnes per m³ or more, so the same bag of damp sand covers less.

What's the difference between sharp sand and building sand?

Sharp (concrete or grit) sand has coarser, angular grains; it's used in concrete, floor screeds and as a bed for paving. Building (masonry or soft) sand is finer and smoother, which makes a workable mortar for bricklaying. In Australia, brickies sand is the mortar sand.

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