How many block pavers do I need?
Lay a block-paved drive, patio or path — enter the area and block size and get the number of blocks to buy with wastage, plus the hardcore sub-base, the sharp-sand laying course and the kiln-dried sand for the joints. Free, no sign-up.
A guide, not a guarantee. Block counts come from the block size (50 per m² for standard 200 × 100 mm); add more wastage for a herringbone lay than a basketweave. The sub-base assumes compacted MOT Type 1 at about 2 tonnes per m³; we also size a 50 mm sharp-sand laying course and the kiln-dried sand brushed into the joints. Edge restraints (haunched in concrete), a weed membrane and a plate compactor are all needed too. Keep a fall away from the house and lay an edge course first. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
Blocks per m², the lay, and the base.
The block size sets the count. A standard 200 × 100 mm block gives 50 to the square metre; larger or driveway blocks fewer. We multiply by your area and add wastage for the edge cuts.
The lay changes the wastage. A basketweave or stretcher-bond pattern cuts cleanly at the edges, so about 5% covers it. A 45° herringbone — the strongest pattern for a driveway — needs a cut block at every edge, so allow about 10%.
The base does the work. Blocks sit on a compacted MOT Type 1 sub-base — 100 mm for a patio or path, 150 mm or more for a driveway — with a 50 mm sharp-sand laying course screeded level on top. We size both, plus the kiln-dried sand brushed into the joints at the end.
Edges first. Block paving relies on a restrained edge — usually an edge course of blocks haunched in concrete — to stop the whole field creeping and the joints opening. Set that out first, screed the sand, lay to your pattern, then run a plate compactor over the lot and brush in the jointing sand.
What this leaves out. The edge-restraint concrete, a weed-suppressing membrane, drainage and the fall away from the house, and the plate compactor hire. For a driveway, check whether your sub-base needs to drain to a permeable surface or a soakaway under SuDS rules.
Keep every outdoor job in one place.
Stead remembers your garden's measurements, the materials you chose and when each job was done — so the next project starts with the numbers already to hand.