Sand Calculator — cubic yards, tons and bags
Sand for a base, bedding or a sandbox: volume from area and depth, loose volume with compaction, tons at a stated density, and bags.
Sand for a base, a bedding layer or a sandbox: volume from area and depth, the loose volume to order with compaction, tons at a stated density, and bags.
| Volume in place | — |
|---|---|
| Loose volume to order | — |
| Weight | — |
| Bags | — |
Sand is sold by the ton and laid by the inch. Area times depth is the volume in place; the yard figure to order is that plus what compaction takes back, and the ton figure is the yards times a density. About 1.4 tons to the loose cubic yard is the usual estimating figure for dry sand — the same one the gravel page lists — and wet sand weighs more for the same volume. The density field is editable because the supplier’s figure for the sand you are buying beats the page’s.
One inch of bedding sand under pavers is a lot of sand. A 30 × 10 foot patio at 2 inches is 50 cubic feet, nearly two yards, close to three tons: a delivery, not bags. Bags are for the sandbox and the repair. The bag count assumes a half-cubic-foot bag; a 50 lb bag of play sand is about that.
Screeded sand does not compact much, but it does settle. The 15% default is the allowance the gravel page uses for a compacted layer; for a sandbox or a loose fill use 0, for a base under a slab that will be plate-compacted, 25.
Volume = length × width × depth ÷ 12; loose = volume × (1 + compaction); tons = loose yards × density; bags = ceil(loose ft³ ÷ bag size). The 1.40 t/yd³ density is a common estimating figure for dry sand, not a specification; the supplier’s number replaces it. 1 yd³ = 27 ft³ = 0.764554858 m³.
Worked example
Bedding sand 2 inches deep under a 30 × 10 ft patio: how many yards and tons?
- 30 × 10 × 2 ÷ 12 = 50 ft³ = 1.85 yd³ in place.
- With 15% for screeding and compaction: 2.13 yd³ loose.
- At 1.40 t/yd³: about 2.98 tons — a delivery, not the 115 half-cubic-foot bags it would take.
Just over two yards, about three tons. The density is an estimating figure; wet sand weighs more, and the supplier's number replaces it.
9 values on this page were driven in a browser and compared with independently derived figures on 2026-09-05 (474 values across 56 calculators site-wide).
Questions
How many tons of sand in a cubic yard?
About 1.4 US tons for dry loose sand, the usual estimating figure; wet sand is heavier. The supplier's density for the actual sand replaces it.
How much sand under pavers?
About 1 inch of bedding sand, screeded: area × 1/12 gives the cubic feet. A 30 × 10 ft patio at 2 in is 50 ft³, nearly two yards.