Patio Paving Materials Calculator

Who this is for

Everything a patio needs, ordered in one go. Measure each area, enter the units per square metre and your layer depths, then cost what to buy.

Homeowners laying a patio, a path or a circle of paving themselves, and anyone checking a landscaper's or merchant's quantities for one.

What this helps you track

• The area and edge length of each rectangle or circle of paving
• Paving units from the units per square metre your supplier gives
• Sub-base and bedding volumes at the depths you have chosen
• Jointing, edging and membrane added to the same order
• Packs, bags or loads to buy and what the whole order costs

How to use it

1. Write the project, the units per square metre from your supplier and the sub-base and bedding depths in millimetres you are working to.
2. Give each area a row: pick rectangle or circle, then enter length and width, or the diameter, in metres.
3. Area, edge length, units and layer volumes are worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, multiply across each row and add down.
4. Copy the totals into the order table, with what one pack, bag or load covers and your wastage percentage.
5. Enter the prices to see what to buy and the total; take off any edge that runs against a wall before ordering edging.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Where does units per square metre come from?

Paving suppliers usually state it for each product or pack. You can also work it out: one divided by the unit's length plus joint times its width plus joint, all in metres. Laying patterns with mixed sizes are best taken from the supplier.

What depths should I use for the sub-base and bedding?

The sheet does not suggest any. They depend on the ground, the paving and what the area will carry, so use the figures from your paving maker's laying guide or your landscaper.

How do I turn cubic metres into bags or tonnes?

Ask your merchant how much one bulk bag or tonne of their material covers in cubic metres, and enter that as per pack in the order table. The sheet supplies no conversion, because it differs between materials.

Why is the edge length more than I need?

It is the full perimeter of each area. Edges that run against the house or a wall usually need no edging, so take those off before you copy the figure into the order table.