Premium Driveway Gravel and More at Your Door | Gravel Monkey
USE COUPON “FIRSTTIMER50” FOR $50 OFF – QUESTIONS? CALL OR TEXT (646) 809-3983
Paver bed, sandbox or leveling job: get tons and cubic yards, then order the right sand delivered.
Material: Sand (mason, washed, playground) (1.35 tons per cubic yard) · calculating a different material?
Want a second pair of eyes on the math? Call or text (646) 809-3983. Takes five minutes and it’s free.
A 1-inch paver bed takes one ton of sand for every 240 square feet of patio. Thin layers are exactly where eyeball estimates fail, in both directions, and sand jobs are almost always thin layers. Enter real dimensions and let the math decide.
Match the sand to the job. Mason sand is the fine, screened pick for paver joints, beds and leveling. Washed sand covers general fill and bedding. Playground sand is screened for play areas. We deliver all three in bulk.
An 8 × 8 ft sandbox filled 8 inches deep: 42.7 cubic feet, or 1.6 cubic yards. Times 1.35 gives 2.2 tons. The recommended order is 3, and the extra covers top-ups after the first rain.
Dry sand at 1.35 tons per cubic yard (about 2,700 lb). The 1-inch row is the one paver installers use:
| Depth | 1 cubic yard covers | 1 ton covers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 inch (paver bed) | 324 sq ft | 240 sq ft |
| 2 inches | 162 sq ft | 120 sq ft |
| 3 inches | 108 sq ft | 80 sq ft |
| 4 inches | 81 sq ft | 60 sq ft |
| 6 inches | 54 sq ft | 40 sq ft |
| Project | Depth | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Paver bedding layer | 1 inch | Screeded flat over a compacted base. Never thicker. |
| Sandbox | 6–12 inches | 8 inches suits most box heights |
| Lawn leveling | 1/4–1/2 inch per pass | Mix with topsoil for deeper corrections |
| Under an above-ground pool | 2 inches | Mason sand, raked level |
| Volleyball court | 12 inches | Washed sand. A full court runs 35–40 tons. |
A cubic yard of dry sand weighs about 2,700 pounds, or 1.35 tons. Saturated it can push 3,200. One ton spreads about 240 square feet at 1 inch, which is why a single delivered ton handles most paver projects with margin.
Length times width in feet, times fill depth in inches, divided by 12. An 8 × 8 ft box filled 8 inches deep needs about 43 cubic feet, which is 1.6 cubic yards or roughly 2.2 tons.
About 240 square feet at 1 inch deep, 120 at 2 inches, 80 at 3. A standard 1-inch paver bed gets about 240 square feet of patio per ton.
Mason sand is finely screened washed sand made for mortar, joints and smooth beds. Playground sand is screened and washed for children’s play areas. They look alike. The screening and certification differ, so for kids, buy play sand.
About 2,700 pounds dry, up to 3,200 saturated. We sell by the ton, so a wet delivery day never shorts your volume.
Mason or concrete sand is the standard bedding: it screeds flat and lets pavers seat. Stone dust compacts harder but can hold water, and some installers still prefer it under irregular flagstone. For standard pavers: 4 inches of compacted stone, then 1 inch of sand.
Mason, washed or playground sand, delivered to your door. Code FIRSTTIMER50 takes $50 off a first order, or call/text (646) 809-3983.