Paver calculator with a pricing tool
If you are one of the many people who want to build their own paver, one of the best things you can do is to use a good paver calculator. The truth is that this will allow you to build your paver with confidence since you will be in charge of all the costs associated.
The truth is that over the last 30 years, pavers popularity has been increasing across the United States. One of the main reasons why this is happening is that both clay and concrete pavers now feature a wide range of styles, shapes, tints, and colors. So, you can be sure that you will be able to build your own paver with a unique custom design.
One of the best things about pavers is that you have multiple options that will allow you to build the best walkways, patios, and even driveways. This will surely add a lot of value to your property.
#1: The Basics Of A Paver Calculator:
When you want to estimate the raw material requirements for your building project, one of the best things that you can do is to use a paver calculator.
Here are some of the materials that you need to buy and for which a good paver calculator can help you:
- Recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) or quarry process (QP) for the exterior floor base
- Clay or concrete paver stones for your patio or driveway surface
- Plastic edging for the perimeter trim
- Concrete stand for stabilizing the foundational base of your building project.
While all these materials are important, the one that you should pay more attention to is the clay or concrete paver stones. The truth is that this is the most expensive material on the list. So, it’s important to use a good paver with pricing calculator to ensure that you order the number of paver stones you need.
#2: How To Use A Paver Calculator:
When you are looking to build a paver with pricing calculator, you need to know that there are some values that you need to enter in the calculator. These include the size of the pavers that you will be using as well as the size of your building construction project no matter if it is a patio, a walkway or a driveway. By the end, the paver calculator will tell you how many pavers you need to order.
Some of the best paver calculators also allow you to know the estimated price that you will need to pay for the raw materials. So, when you are looking to determine the costs of the paver with pricing calculator, you will need to add more values such as the price per paver.
#3: How Many Pavers Do You Need For Your Building Construction Project?
In order to discover how many pavers you need to order for the construction of your project, there are some steps that you need to take first.
- Determine The Area Of The Project:
Lt’s say that you want to build your own patio. So, to determine the number of pavers that you need to order will depend on the area that you want your patio to have.
To determine the area of your patio, all you need to do is to measure the length and the width. So, let’s say that you want your patio to be a square and it has 12 inches by 12 inches. So, in order to determine the square footage of your patio, you will need to multiply the length by the width. According to the example we are using for the patio, you will need to 12”*12” which gives you a result of 144.
- Determine The Square Foot Of The Paver:
In order to determine the square foot of the paver, you will need to divide 144 by the length*width. The result, in this case, is 1. So, for this patio project, you will need 1 paver per square foot.
- Finally Determine The Number Of Pavers That You Need:
Now that you already have the square footage of your project which is a patio in this example, and the square footage of the paver, it’s time to finally determine the number of pavers that you need for your building project.
According to the example that we have been using, in order to determine the number of pavers that you need for your new patio, you will need to divide the square footage of the patio by the square footage of the paver.
Just like it happens with other construction materials that you need to order, you should make sure that you order 5 to 15% more of the pavers that you actually need. The truth is that you may need to cut some pavers and others may come broken.
#4: Estimating The Price Of A Paver Patio:
One of the things that you should take into consideration when you want to build a patio is that having a professional to install the patio for you can cost between $8 and $20 per square foot. It is important to have an idea to know how much you can save in case you decide to install the patio by yourself.
One of the best ways to determine how much will it cost for you to build your own patio, you should use a paver with pricing calculator. However, it’s important to know exactly how much you will spend as well as on what.
In order to get an estimate about how much your pavers will cost you, you will need to multiply the cost of each paver by the number of pavers that you need to build your patio.
However, you can’t forget about other materials that you like such as the sand and gravel, any tool rentals that you may need, as well as the material delivery.
#5: Estimating The Number Of Pavers You Need When You Want To Use A Pattern:
One of the things that you might have already noticed on patios, driveways, and walkways is that there are some different sized tiles being used. The truth is that this will make your patio more beautiful but it may also difficult your calculations about knowing how many pavers of each size you need to form the pattern that you want for your patio.
The best thing you can do is to try to replicate the pattern and then estimating the square footage of the pattern itself. Then, you will only need to figure out how many times the pattern will be repeated.
Let’s take a simple example. Just consider that you defined a pattern for your patio that requires 2 pavers with 4”*8” for every 1 8″*8″ unit. So, you will need to determine the square footage of the 3 pavers (which will be equal to .89 ft2 in this case). Then, you will still need to the patio area in ft2 by the 3 pavers total area in ft2 to finally know how many sets of pavers you need.
One of the best things about using pavers to build your patio is the fact that you can use different patterns but also pavers with different sizes. And, as you can imagine, this has a huge influence on the number of pavers that you need to order.
The truth is that in case you want a herringbone pattern, you need to know that it will cost more than a linear grid since it involves more cuts leading to a higher waste of material.
As a word of caution, and while you should always order more pavers that you need, when it comes to patterns that involve different angles, you should order 20% more of pavers since these will require more cuts.
Here are some of the most common patterns that you can use when you are building your patio:
1 – Running Bond Pattern:
With this pattern, you will need to install the tiles end to end. However, you will need to offset each one of the rows by half the length of the tile. So, with this in mind, the block or tile will need to have a 2:1 length to edge ratio or more. The most common places to find this pattern include the subway brickwork or tile.
In case you opt for this pattern, you should consider ordering more 10% of the pavers.
2- Running Bond Square:
This pattern is very similar to the previous one. The main difference is that with the running bond square, you will use square tiles and not rectangular ones.
Just like the previous pattern, you should consider ordering more 10% of the pavers.
3 – 3/4 Running Bond:
Again, this pattern is very similar to the first one. The difference is that with the 3/4 running bond pattern, you will have to offset each row by 3/4 the length of the tile instead of by 1/2.
In case you are considering using this pattern, you should also order more 10% of the pavers.
4 – Basket Weave:
With this pattern, you will need to use pavers with a 2:1 end to edge ratio. You will need to place two adjacent pavers next to each other to form a square.
You should consider ordering more 10% of the pavers in case you decide to use this pattern.
5 – 45° Herringbone:
In case you choose this pattern, you need to know that all pavers will be angled at 45º. In order to achieve this pattern, you will need to align the short edge of the paver to the long edge of the next paver, aligned to an end.
Since with this pattern you will need to do a lot of cuts, it is recommended that you order more 20% of pavers.
6 – 90° Herringbone:
In order to achieve this pattern, you will need to align the short edge of the paver to the long edge of the next one, aligned to the end. One of the best things about this pattern is that you can choose the ratio end to the edge that you prefer. The most common one ted to be the 2:1.
In case you opt for this pattern, you should order more 10% of pavers.
7 – Linear Square Grid:
When you want this pattern for your patio, you just need to use square pavers and lay them out in an even grid.
You should consider ordering more 5 to 10% of pavers.
8 – Diamond:
The diamond pattern is similar to the linear square grid pattern. You will also need to lay out the pavers in a grid. However, the main difference is that in the diamond pattern, you will need to angle the pavers at 45º.
Since this pattern will include more cuts than usual, you should consider ordering more 20% of the pavers.
9 – Linear Rectangular Grid:
This pattern is very similar to the linear square grid. However, the difference is that instead of using square pavers, you will need to use rectangular pavers and then lay them out in an even grid.
10 – Rectangular Angled Grid:
In case you want to opt for the rectangular angled grid, you will need to lay out rectangular pavers in a grid, just like you have to do in the linear square grid pattern. The difference is that with the rectangular angled grid, you will need to angle them at 45º.
Again, this is one of the patterns that include more cuts. So, you should definitely consider ordering more 20% of the pavers.
#6: How Much Sand And Gravel You Need For Your Paver Patio?
When you are taking care of the construction of your paver patio, you want to make sure that you create a solid base to support the weight of the patio to ensure that it can last for a very long time without settling over time.
So, one of the best things you can do is to start with a base of 4 inches of gravel that you should then top with a 1 inch of sand. However, you need to do some calculations to find how much gravel and sand you actually need to order.
So, the first thing that you need to do is to calculate the square footage of your patio and then simply discover the volume that you need so that you can have the 4 inches of gravel and the 1 inch of sand.
#7: The Most Common Paver Sizes:
The truth is that there are many different sizes when you are looking for pavers. So, and in order to know how many pavers you need to order, you need to know the dimensions of each paver. So, here are the most common paver sizes:
