The complete paver patio guide

A paver patio is a base with a decorative lid

Pavers do not carry load the way a slab does. Each unit transfers its load into the compacted aggregate beneath it and into its neighbours through the sand-filled joints. The system is only as good as the base — which is why a professional install spends more time below grade than above it.

The stack, top to bottom: pavers (2 3/8 in for pedestrian units, 3 1/8 in for vehicular), 1 inch of bedding sand or chip, 4-8 inches of compacted dense-graded aggregate, geotextile fabric on poor soils, then compacted subgrade.

Get that stack right and a paver surface outlives poured concrete, because individual units flex with frost movement instead of cracking, and any damaged unit lifts out and swaps in an afternoon.

Quantities: pavers, sand and base

Paver count is area divided by the coverage of one unit, plus waste. A 4×8 inch brick paver covers 0.222 sq ft, so a 300 sq ft patio needs about 1,350 pieces before waste. Add 5% for a straight-edged rectangular layout, 10% for a running bond with a border, and 15% for herringbone or any curved edge — diagonal patterns generate a cut on every perimeter unit.

Bedding sand is 1 inch, screeded, never more. Deeper bedding does not level a bad base, it just gives the pavers somewhere to sink into. One inch over 100 sq ft is 8.33 cubic feet, about 0.31 cubic yards, or roughly 0.42 tons of concrete sand.

Base aggregate follows the same volume maths at the compacted depth, plus 20-25% for compaction. Buy it by the ton and check the yard's tons-per-cubic-yard figure for the product they are actually loading.

• Pavers = area ÷ unit coverage × waste factor
• Bedding sand = area × 1 in ÷ 12 (cubic feet)
• Base = area × compacted depth ÷ 12 × 1.25 (loose cubic feet)

Slope, drainage and edges

Every paver surface needs a fall of at least 1/8 inch per foot — 1% — away from any structure. On a 16-foot patio that is a 2-inch drop, which must be built into the base rather than the bedding layer.

Edge restraint is not optional. Without a rigid perimeter, the outer courses migrate outward under traffic and the joints open across the whole field. Spiked polymer restraint on a base that extends 6 inches past the paver edge is the standard detail.

Joint sand — polymeric for most residential work — locks the units together and stops weeds and ant nesting. It is installed dry, swept, vibrated in and only then lightly watered to activate.

What it costs

Installed paver patios run roughly $14-$28 per square foot in 2026 for standard concrete pavers, and $22-$45 for clay brick, large-format porcelain or natural stone. Paver driveways sit at the upper end because the base and paver thickness both increase.

Materials are typically 40-50% of the total — a higher share than asphalt — because the pavers themselves are a manufactured product. Labour is the other half, and it scales with cut count far more than with area.

The cheapest way to reduce cost is layout discipline: design to a whole-paver dimension, keep the perimeter straight, and avoid 45-degree patterns on small areas. Design changes that eliminate cuts are free; a saw operator is not.

Where installs go wrong

Four failures cover nearly everything: base too shallow for the soil, base compacted in one deep lift rather than 3-4 inch layers, bedding sand used as a levelling medium, and no edge restraint.

A fifth, in freeze-thaw climates, is a base that cannot drain. Dense-graded aggregate holds water; on clay soils an open-graded base with a drainage outlet performs far better and is now the recommended detail in most northern specs.

Where to go next

The guides below cover base build-up in detail, the cost drivers that actually move a quote, the finishing details that decide whether the patio stays tight, and the basics of segmental retaining walls when the site has a grade change.

Base depth by application

Compacted dense-graded aggregate depth under 1 in of bedding sand.

Pavers per 100 square feet

Before waste. Add 5-15% depending on pattern and edge complexity.