How to Calculate Patio Bedding Material Needs

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

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Figuring the price of a patio project requires a homeowner to know the amount of materials needed to create a good patio base. Use the following standards, adapted for your patio design, to figure the amount of patio bedding materials you need to complete your patio project.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Step1

Measure the total square footage of your patio area. Multiply the length by the width of the patio area. Purchase 1 ton of gravel to cover 100 square feet of patio area 2 inches deep. Calculate your total patio area and purchase enough gravel to equal your calculations.

Step2

Purchase landscape material, sold in rolls of varying width, to prevent weeds from growing through your patio base. Measure the square footage of your patio area and purchase the same square footage of landscape material.

Step3

Create a sand bed that measures 1 inch deep. Use 920 pounds of sand per 100 square feet of patio. Purchase 1,380 pounds of sand if you want a 1 1/2 inch base of sand per 100 square feet of patio space.

Step4

Remember to purchase sand to fill in the joints between your pavers. Purchase 50 pounds of sand to fill the joints in 100 square feet of patio area.

Step5

Call a ready-mix concrete retailer in your area to get an estimate of how much ready-mix concrete is necessary for your patio. Purchase bagged concrete mix. You need approximately 57 80-pound bags of concrete mix to build a 100 square foot, 4-inch slab. If you build a 6-inch slab, you need approximately 84 80-pound bags of concrete. Confirm these estimates with the specific purchasing instructions for the brand of concrete mix you use.