Sand Calculator
Sand looks simple until you are standing in the store counting bags. This sand calculator converts the area and depth of your project into cubic yards, tons and 50 lb bags — whether you are bedding pavers, filling a sandbox, mixing mortar or leveling a pool base.
Sand weighs about 2,700 lb per cubic yard, so even a modest project is heavier than it looks. Add your measurements below and the calculator gives you the volume, the bag count, the weight and the cost in one pass.
Cubic Yard Calculator
Length × Width × Depth → cubic yards, tons, bags & cost. Free, no sign-up.
Most mulch and topsoil beds need 2–3 inches; gravel driveways 4–6 inches.
The material sets the weight and bag estimate — densities are typical averages.
Add your supplier’s price to see the estimated total cost.
Suggested order: 1.50 cubic yards (exact need 0.93 yd³ + 10% for waste & compaction).
(2,130 lb)
using 1.5 cu ft bags
add a price per yard to see the cost
Order tip: add 5–10% extra for waste, spillage and compaction — material settles once it is spread and rained on. The suggested order amount above already includes a 10% allowance, rounded up to the nearest half yard.
How to Calculate Sand in Cubic Yards
The calculator above runs the same steps instantly — here is the formula it uses, the core of any sand volume calculator:
Cubic yards = (length in feet × width in feet × depth in feet) ÷ 27
Convert a depth in inches to feet by dividing by 12. Worked example — filling a sandbox that is 8 ft by 8 ft, with sand 6 inches deep:
- Convert the depth: 6 in ÷ 12 = 0.5 ft
- Multiply the volume: 8 ft × 8 ft × 0.5 ft = 32 cubic feet
- Convert to yards: 32 ÷ 27 = 1.19 cubic yards
- In bags: 32 cu ft ÷ 0.5 cu ft per bag = 64 bags
- Weight: 1.19 yd³ × 2,700 lb = about 3,200 lb, or 1.6 tons
That weight is the surprise in most sandbox projects — 64 bags is a lot of trips through the store, which is why bulk delivery or a one-ton bulk bag often makes sense even for a “small” job like this.
Sand Bags per Cubic Yard
A standard 50 lb bag of sand holds 0.5 cubic feet. With 27 cubic feet in a yard, one cubic yard equals 54 bags:
| Cubic yards | Bags (0.5 cu ft / 50 lb) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 54 |
| 2 | 108 |
| 3 | 162 |
| 5 | 270 |
| 10 | 540 |
For a single sandbox or a small repair, bags are the practical choice. For a full paver patio, the calculator counts them for you from your exact measurements — but compare the total against one bulk bag or a loose delivery before you commit to hundreds of 50 lb trips.
How Much Does a Cubic Yard of Sand Weigh?
A cubic yard of dry sand weighs about 2,700 lb, or 1.35 tons. Wet sand is heavier — a yard that has been rained on can approach 3,000 lb — which is why loose sand is sold by the yard but hauled with an eye on the ton.
For pickup planning, treat one cubic yard as the practical limit for most half-ton trucks, and remember a single 50 lb bag covers just half a cubic foot: sand adds up faster than any other material on this site.
Sand Depths for Pavers, Sandboxes and Masonry
For paver patios and walkways, the bedding layer is 1 inch of coarse washed sand (sold as concrete sand), screeded level over 4–6 inches of compacted gravel base. That inch is for final leveling only — never use a thick sand layer to fix a bad base, because it will shift and the pavers will rock. Treat the tool above as a paver sand calculator for that bedding layer — the base gets its own, separate calculation. Joint sand is a different job: polymeric sand fills only the joints, so a polymeric sand calculator works from joint width and paver area rather than bed depth — most patios need a few bags, not yardage.
Sandboxes are happiest with 4–6 inches of washed play sand: deep enough to dig in, shallow enough to stay clean and dry out after rain. That is the fill a sandbox sand calculator counts — washed play sand, in 50 lb bags. For masonry and mortar work, sand is normally bought by the bag alongside cement, and a 1–2 inch layer of masonry sand is the standard base under above-ground pool floors.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much sand do I need under pavers?
A 1 inch bedding layer. For a 100 sq ft patio that is 8.33 cubic feet — about 0.31 cubic yards, or 17 bags. The heavy lifting is done by the 4–6 inch compacted gravel base underneath.
What kind of sand should I use in a sandbox?
Washed play sand. It is screened, rounded and low in dust, unlike sharp construction sand. It is sold in the same 50 lb (0.5 cu ft) bags the calculator counts.
How many bags of sand are in a cubic yard?
54 bags of 50 lb. Each bag holds half a cubic foot, and a cubic yard holds 27 cubic feet.
How deep should the sand in a sandbox be?
4–6 inches. Shallower than that and kids hit the bottom when they dig; deeper wastes material and stays damp. On an 8 × 8 ft box, 6 inches works out to about 1.19 cubic yards.
More calculators
Building the whole patio? Pair this with the concrete calculator for slabs and footings, the gravel calculator for the base layer under your pavers, or our main calculator for any other material.