Sand Calculator: Cubic Yards, Tons and 50 lb Bags

A 10 × 10 ft area covered 1 inch deep, the usual bedding layer under pavers, takes 8.33 cubic feet (0.31 cu yd) of sand: about 0.43–0.48 tons of damp bulk sand, or 17 bags of 0.5 cu ft, before any extra. Enter your own shape and depth below.

Weight	0.45–0.50 tons
Finished volume	0.31 cu yd
Area covered	100 sq ft

0.5 cu ft bags (50 lb)	18 bags
0.6 cu ft bags (60 lb)	15 bags

Pickup, 8 ft bed (assumes 2,000 lb of cargo)	1 (by weight)
Single-axle dump truck (about 6 cu yd)	1
Tandem dump truck (12–14 cu yd)	1

How to calculate how much sand you need

Bulk sand is sold by the cubic yard or the ton; bagged sand is sold by weight, and most bags also state a volume. Work out the volume, then convert.

cubic feet = length (ft) × width (ft) × depth (in) ÷ 12
cubic yards = cubic feet ÷ 27
tons = cubic yards × 1.40–1.55 (damp sand)
bags = cubic feet ÷ cubic feet per bag, rounded up

Example: bedding sand for a 12 × 12 ft paver patio

Volume at 1 inch: 12 × 12 × 1 ÷ 12 = 12 cu ft = 0.44 cu yd
Bags: 12 ÷ 0.5 = 24 bags of 0.5 cu ft, or 12 ÷ 0.6 = 20 bags of 0.6 cu ft
In bulk: 0.44 × 1.40–1.55 = 0.62–0.69 tons of damp sand

Oregon State University Extension spreads 1 to 1½ inches and screeds it down to 1 inch.^[1] Spread at 1½ inches, the same patio takes 18 cu ft, or 36 bags of 0.5 cu ft. SAKRETE’s own tables agree with this math: 17 bags of its Leveling Sand for 100 sq ft at 1 inch, and 34 bags of its Paver Base (a bedding sand) at 2 inches.^[2][3] With Extra for waste set to 0, the calculator gives 17 and 34 (18 and 35 at the default 5%).

Example: an 8 × 8 ft play area

Volume at the 12 in install depth: 8 × 8 × 12 ÷ 12 = 64 cu ft = 2.37 cu yd
Weight: 2.37 × 1.40–1.55 = 3.3–3.7 tons of damp sand
Bags: 64 ÷ 0.5 = 128 bags, so a bulk delivery is worth pricing

How deep to spread sand

Use	Depth	Source
Bedding sand under pavers	1 in, screeded, not compacted	ICPI Tech Spec 2^[4]; OSU Extension^[1]
Paver sand, QUIKRETE’s DIY instructions	1–2 in	QUIKRETE^[5]
Play area under equipment	9 in after settling (install 12 in)	CPSC Public Playground Safety Handbook^[6]
Sandbox for digging	the depth you want	No standard; use the box’s inside size

For pavers, ICPI specifies concrete sand meeting ASTM C33 as bedding. It says not to use stone dust or screenings, and not to use the bedding sand to fill low spots in the base.^[4]

In the CPSC handbook, 9 inches of sand protects to a fall height of 4 ft, a foot less than the same depth of pea gravel, and “loose-fill materials will compress at least 25% over time.” CPSC’s own example is to install 12 inches so that 9 inches remain.^[6]

Play areas. Sand at 9 inches covers falls from up to 4 ft only. CPSC says: “Never use less than 9 inches of loose-fill material.” For taller equipment, check the handbook’s surfacing table. This calculator gives quantities only.

How much sand weighs

Water adds weight. Caterpillar’s handbook lists loose sand at 2,400 lb per cubic yard dry, 2,850 lb damp and 3,100 lb wet.^[7] Most bulk sand arrives damp, so the calculator starts with damp sand; switch to dry if yours is dry.

Sand	Tons per cu yd	Pounds per cu ft	Cu yd per ton	Sources
Sand, damp (typical as delivered)	1.40–1.55	104–115	0.68	^[7][8][9]
Sand, dry	1.20–1.45	89–107	0.75	^[7][9][10]

“Cu yd per ton” uses the middle of the range. As a check, Kokosing, an Ohio aggregate producer, multiplies cubic yards by 1.5 to get tons for all its sands.^[11]

Bag sizes

Most 50 lb bags of sand hold 0.5 cu ft, but not all. SAKRETE Multi-Purpose Sand yields 0.6 cu ft per 60 lb bag, and SAKRETE says its 50 lb bag of mason sand yields 0.6 cu ft where QUIKRETE’s 50 lb mason sand yields 0.5. Go by the yield printed on your bag.

Product	Bag	Yield	Bags per cu yd	Covers at 1 in	Sources
QUIKRETE All-Purpose Sand (also sold in 60 and 70 lb bags)	50 lb	0.5 cu ft	54	6.0 sq ft	^[12][13]
QUIKRETE Play Sand	50 lb	0.5 cu ft	54	6.0 sq ft	^[12][14]
QUIKRETE Mason Sand	50 lb	0.5 cu ft	54	6.0 sq ft	^[15]
SAKRETE Natural Play Sand	50 lb	0.5 cu ft	54	6.0 sq ft	^[16]
SAKRETE Leveling Sand	50 lb	0.5 cu ft	54	6.0 sq ft	^[2]
Kolor Scape All-Purpose Sand	44 lb	0.5 cu ft	54	6.0 sq ft	^[17]
SAKRETE Multi-Purpose Sand	60 lb	0.6 cu ft	45	7.2 sq ft	^[18]
SAKRETE Mason Sand	50 lb	0.6 cu ft	45	7.2 sq ft	^[19]
SAKRETE Mason Sand	80 lb	0.8 cu ft	34	9.6 sq ft	^[19]

The calculator counts both 0.5 and 0.6 cu ft bags.

Polymeric sand for paver joints

Polymeric (jointing) sand goes in the joints after the pavers are laid, so its coverage is in square feet of paving, not in volume. Coverage depends on joint width, paver thickness and paver shape, and the makers publish ranges, not single numbers:

Product	Joints	Covers per bag	Package	Source
Alliance Gator SuperSand G2	Narrow, ⅛–⅜ in	65–85 sq ft	50 lb bag, 2⅜ in pavers	^[20]
Alliance Gator SuperSand G2	Wide, ¾–1¼ in	22–42 sq ft	50 lb bag, 2⅜ in pavers	^[20]
Techniseal HP NextGel	Narrow (not defined)	60–120 sq ft	50 lb bag	^[21]
Techniseal HP NextGel	Wide (not defined)	25–40 sq ft	50 lb bag	^[21]
SAKRETE PermaSand	¼ in, 2 in pavers	30–45 sq ft	40 lb pail	^[22]
QUIKRETE jointing sand (2011)	Regular pavers	85–95 sq ft	50 lb bag	^[23]
QUIKRETE jointing sand (2011)	Tumbled pavers	50–55 sq ft	50 lb bag	^[23]

For the 144 sq ft patio above, Gator’s ranges work out to 2–3 bags with narrow joints and 4–7 bags with wide joints. Both Gator and Techniseal call for joints at least 1½ inches deep.^[20][21]

Hauling sand

An 8 ft pickup bed holds about 2 cubic yards level, but Ford’s half-ton F-150 tops out at 2,440 lb of payload in its best configuration.^[24][25] At 1.40–1.55 tons per cubic yard, 2,000 lb of damp sand is only 0.65–0.71 cubic yards, so the calculator counts pickup trips by weight. Single-axle dump trucks usually carry about 6 cubic yards and tandem trucks 12–14.^[26]

Questions people ask

How can I calculate sand needed for an area?

Multiply length × width in feet by the depth in inches ÷ 12 to get cubic feet, and divide by 27 for cubic yards. Multiply cubic yards by 1.40–1.55 for tons of damp sand, or divide cubic feet by the bag’s yield (usually 0.5) for bags.

How much area will 50 lbs of sand cover?

Most 50 lb bags hold 0.5 cubic feet, which covers 6 sq ft at 1 inch deep or 3 sq ft at 2 inches. A bag that yields 0.6 cubic feet covers 7.2 sq ft at 1 inch.

How many 50 lb bags of sand make a cubic yard?

54 bags if each holds 0.5 cubic feet (27 ÷ 0.5), or 45 bags of 0.6 cubic feet.

How much area does 1 ton of sand cover?

One ton of damp sand is 17.4–19.3 cubic feet. That covers about 209–231 sq ft at 1 inch or 105–116 sq ft at 2 inches.

Related calculators

Sources

Oregon State University Extension, 10-Step Guide to Installing Pavers. Checked 2026-09-26.
SAKRETE, Leveling Sand (Step 2) technical data sheet (rev. 05/16). 0.5 cu ft per 50 lb bag; 17 bags for 100 sq ft at 1 in. Checked 2026-09-26.
SAKRETE, Paver Base technical data sheet (rev. 05/16). 0.5 cu ft per 50 lb bag; the sheet describes the product as a bedding sand. Checked 2026-09-26.
Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute (ICPI), Tech Spec 2: Construction of Interlocking Concrete Pavements (rev. 2020). Base 4 in for patios and walks, 6 in for driveways; 1 in bedding sand. Checked 2026-09-26.
QUIKRETE, Patio Paver Sands data sheet (1150-49/-59). Spread paver sand 1 to 2 in deep. Checked 2026-09-26.
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Public Playground Safety Handbook (Pub. 325). Loose-fill depths for pea gravel and sand. Checked 2026-09-26.
Caterpillar, Caterpillar Performance Handbook, Edition 50: Weight of Materials. Checked 2026-09-26.
Martin Marietta, Product Calculator (material density table). Checked 2026-09-26.
U.S. Army, FM 5-434 Earthmoving Operations, Table 1-2: Material weight and swell. Checked 2026-09-26.
Vulcan Materials, Aggregate Tonnage Estimator. Checked 2026-09-26.
Kokosing Materials (Ohio aggregate producer), Tonnage Calculator: Calculating by Material Size. Ordering factors: 1.65 tons per cu yd for coarse stone (#2, 4, 57, 67, 8, 9), 1.75 for base (304, 411, screenings), 1.5 for sand. Checked 2026-09-26.
QUIKRETE, Sand & Gravel Products data sheet (rev. 2020). Checked 2026-09-26.
Lowe’s (product listing), QUIKRETE 0.5 cu ft 50 lb all-purpose sand. Bag volume. Checked 2026-09-26.
Lowe’s (product listing), QUIKRETE 0.5 cu ft 50 lb play sand. Bag volume. Checked 2026-09-26.
QUIKRETE, Mason Sand data sheet (rev. Oct 2023). About 0.5 cu ft per 50 lb bag. Checked 2026-09-26.
SAKRETE, Natural Play Sand product page. 0.5 cu ft per 50 lb bag. Checked 2026-09-26.
Lowe’s (product listing), Kolor Scape 0.5 cu ft 44 lb all-purpose sand. Bag weight and volume. Checked 2026-09-26.
SAKRETE, Multi-Purpose Sand technical data sheet. About 0.6 cu ft per 60 lb bag. Checked 2026-09-26.
SAKRETE, Mason Sand product page. 0.6 cu ft per 50 lb bag, 0.8 cu ft per 80 lb bag. Checked 2026-09-26.
Alliance Gator, Gator SuperSand G2 product page. Coverage per 50 lb bag by joint width, for 2⅜ in pavers. Checked 2026-09-26.
Techniseal, HP NextGel Jointing Sand technical data sheet (2023). Coverage per 50 lb bag, narrow and wide joints. Checked 2026-09-26.
SAKRETE, PermaSand Polymeric Jointing Sand technical data sheet. Coverage per 40 lb pail at a ¼ in joint. Checked 2026-09-26.
QUIKRETE, News release: Lock pavers in place with jointing sands (2011). Coverage per 50 lb bag, tumbled and regular pavers. Checked 2026-09-26.
Landscape Recycling Center (Champaign–Urbana), Measurements. Pickup bed capacities. Checked 2026-09-26.
Ford Motor Company, 2026 F-150 specifications. Maximum payload 2,440 lb in the best configuration. Checked 2026-09-26.
Texas Department of Transportation, Seal Coat and Surface Treatment Manual: Haul Trucks, Size. Single-axle about 6 cu yd; tandem 12–14 cu yd. Checked 2026-09-26.

Prepared by the Yard & Build editors. The formulas behind this calculator are checked against hand-worked answers every time the site is built. Material values and bag yields checked September 26, 2026.