How Much Gravel and Sand a Paver Patio Base Really Needs

Paver patios that shift, sink, or sprout weeds usually trace back to a base that was too shallow or poorly compacted. For foot-traffic patios and walkways, the guidance is 4 to 6 inches of compacted crushed-stone base, while driveways need 8 to 12 inches. A roughly 1-inch layer of coarse concrete sand should be screeded on top of the base as a bedding layer. Crushed stone with fines locks together far better than round pea gravel, and because loose material shrinks under compaction, ordering 10 to 15 percent extra is advised. Worked through a 12 by 16 foot example, the base needs about 4.1 cubic yards and the sand about 0.6 cubic yards, roughly 6 tons of base in total.