Sand calculator

How this is calculated

1. Shape areas are summed and multiplied by depth:volume = total area × depth (at depth d inches,cubic yards = square feet × d ÷ 324).
2. For compacted fill or backfill, the loose volume to order isfinished volume × (1 + 38–52 %) — the measured compacted-to-loose expansion for the coarse sand / sand-and-gravel class, shown as its own line. Paver bedding, sandboxes, and play surfacing are placed loose, so that mode skips it.
3. Tonnage = volume × 1.5–1.7 tons per cubic yard (compacted in place) — shown as a range because the conversion genuinely varies by pit and moisture; in loose mode the factor is discounted by the measured expansion instead.

Data used, with sources

WHRP-measured compacted→loose expansion for Backfill Granular (Grade 1 or 2) — the coarse sand / sand-and-gravel class — is 38–52 %: loose sand shrinks by that much when compacted as fill or backfill, so a compacted project needs the extra ordered loose. Skip it for paver bedding (which is deliberately left uncompacted), sandboxes, and play surfacing.

Which sand for which job

Sand is not one product. For paver bedding, Iowa State Extension is specific: concrete sand performs well because its gradation is not too fine, and limestone screenings or stone dust are not an acceptable substitute — fines hold water and pump out of the joints. Play sand is washed and screened finer for sandboxes and play surfacing. Fill and utility sand is the cheap, unwashed grade for compacted backfill, where gradation matters less than compaction. The tonnage figure on this page is the engineering class covering coarse construction sand; fine masonry and play sands convert differently — one more reason to order by volume when you can.

Choosing a depth

The two cited anchors: paver bedding at no more than 1½ inches, screeded and left uncompacted (Iowa State Extension), and playground surfacing at a 12-inch initial fill that settles toward the 9-inch minimum the CPSC handbook requires under equipment up to 5 feet (6 inches minimum under 4-foot equipment). Everything else — trench backfill, under a slab, leveling for a pool — is a measurement from your project plan, not a recommendation: enter the depth the plan calls for, and if a structure rides on it, that spec governs.

Common mistakes

• Compacting paver bedding sand. Iowa State Extension says plainly: do not. The sand must move up into the joints for the pavers to interlock and spread loads.
• Substituting stone dust for bedding sand.Screenings and stone dust trap water and migrate — the cited guidance rules them out.
• Making the bedding layer thicker to fix a wavy base.Beyond the 1½-inch maximum, pavers rut and settle unevenly. Fix the base, not the sand.
• Filling a play area to the minimum. A 12-inch initial fill compresses to about 9 inches; fill to the initial level and top up, or the surfacing quietly stops protecting.
• Ordering compacted-fill quantities by finished volume.Loose sand shrinks 38–52 % when compacted — that is what the allowance line is for.

Frequently asked

Sources

• Weight-Volume Relationships and Conversion Factors for Soils and Aggregates of Wisconsin (WHRP G22-05) — Wisconsin Department of Transportation / Wisconsin Highway Research Program, accessed 2026-08-02.
• Installing Concrete Pavers, Part Two (S. Rindels, June 30, 1995) — Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Horticulture and Home Pest News, accessed 2026-08-02.
• Outdoor Home Playground Safety Handbook (Publication #324, 2005) — U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, accessed 2026-08-02.