Sand Calculator: Tons, Cubic Yards and Bags of Sand
Sand Calculator
Work out how much sand you need in tons, cubic yards and 50 lb bags for a sandbox, a paver base, an above ground pool pad or any other area, from its size and depth. Pick the kind of sand and whether the depth is loose or tamped, and the page uses the right weight for it, including damp sand, which bulks up and weighs less per yard than you would expect. It also converts tons of sand to cubic yards and back.
Tons and cubic yards, for the material above
The same area at other depths
Tons per cubic yard, by kind of sand
Volumes are exact geometry: area times depth, with a US ton of 2,000 pounds and a cubic yard of 27 cubic feet. Weights depend on the density of the sand and above all on how wet it is. The figures built in are typical: dry sand about 100 lb per cubic foot loose, 1,600 kg per cubic metre, and about 110 once tamped; damp sand bulked by moisture about 87; saturated sand about 125. The same quartz grains can weigh 1,400 kg a cubic metre loose and dry and 2,100 with every void flooded, so ask the supplier for the tons per cubic yard of the exact product and use that. The CSV, image and printed report contain the values you entered, nothing preloaded.
How to use this tool
Pick the shape, type the size and the unit you measured in, then the depth and the kind of sand. The answer appears as you type, in tons and cubic yards at the top and in every other unit further down, including 50 lb bags and truckloads. A circle covers round pools and play areas; a triangle covers corners.
Set the depth box to loose for anything you spread and leave, such as a sandbox or paver bedding, and to compacted for anything you dampen and tamp, such as the pad under an above ground pool. If your supplier quotes a weight per cubic yard, type it into the density boxes; that one number matters more than anything else on the page.
What the calculation is doing
Volume is area times depth. A 10 by 10 foot area at 2 inches is 100 square feet times a sixth of a foot, 16.67 cubic feet, or 0.617 cubic yards. Weight is volume times density: dry sand weighs about 100 pounds per cubic foot loose, so that area takes 1,667 pounds, 0.833 tons. With 10 percent extra, the order is 0.917 tons, which is 37 bags of 50 lb.
When the depth is compacted, the page works backwards: the finished layer is weighed at the tamped density, about 110 pounds per cubic foot, and the delivered volume is that weight divided by the loose density. Sand only settles by about a tenth, much less than crushed stone with fines, but it is enough to leave a pool pad short if it is ignored.
How deep should sand be
| Job | Usual sand | Depth, inches | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paver or flagstone bedding | concrete sand | 1 | screeded loose, settles when the pavers are vibrated |
| Above ground pool pad | masonry sand | 2 to 3 | dampened, tamped and screeded level |
| Sandbox | play sand | 6 to 12 | deeper is better for digging |
| Lawn topdressing and levelling | washed sand | 1/4 to 1/2 | several thin passes rather than one thick one |
| Pipe bedding | concrete sand | 4 to 6 | under and around the pipe |
Common practice, not a specification. For a pool, follow the manufacturer’s installation guide.
Tons and cubic yards, by kind of sand
Dry sand of every common kind weighs much the same, because it is mostly quartz whatever the grading. The differences that matter come from moisture and from packing.
| Sand | Tons per cu yd | Tamped | Cu yd per ton | Sq ft per ton at 1 in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masonry sand | 1.35 | 1.49 | 0.741 | 240 |
| Play sand, washed | 1.35 | 1.49 | 0.741 | 240 |
| Concrete sand, coarse | 1.35 | 1.49 | 0.741 | 240 |
| Fill sand | 1.35 | 1.49 | 0.741 | 240 |
| Damp sand, as delivered | 1.17 | 1.49 | 0.851 | 276 |
| Wet sand, saturated | 1.69 | 1.69 | 0.593 | 192 |
Typical values. Every row opens the tons and yards converter for that sand.
Bags of play sand for a sandbox
| Sandbox | 6 in deep | 8 in deep | 12 in deep |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 x 3 ft | 9 bags | 12 bags | 18 bags |
| 4 x 4 ft | 16 bags | 22 bags | 32 bags |
| 4 x 6 ft | 24 bags | 32 bags | 48 bags |
| 5 x 5 ft | 25 bags | 34 bags | 50 bags |
| 6 x 6 ft | 36 bags | 48 bags | 72 bags |
| 8 x 8 ft | 64 bags | 86 bags | 128 bags |
Bags of 50 lb of dry play sand, no extra added. Each cell opens the calculator, which adds 10 percent by default.
Why damp sand weighs less per yard
At around 4 to 6 percent moisture, thin films of water cling to each grain and hold its neighbours apart. The pile grows by up to a quarter in volume, so a cubic yard of damp sand holds noticeably less sand than a cubic yard of dry, and weighs less even with the water included. Add more water until every gap is full and the effect reverses: the grains slump together, the water fills the voids, and the weight per yard climbs to about 1.7 tons.
That is why concrete batched by volume with damp sand comes out lean, and why ordering sand by the ton is safer than ordering by the yard. The weight on the ticket includes the water, but the amount of sand behind it does not change with how the pile is heaped.
A worked check you can repeat on paper
Take a 15 foot round above ground pool with a 2 inch tamped base. The area is pi times 7.5 squared, 176.7 square feet, and 2 inches is a sixth of a foot, so the pad is 29.45 cubic feet. At 110 pounds per cubic foot tamped that is 3,240 pounds, 1.62 tons. Delivered loose at 100 pounds per cubic foot, the same weight fills 32.4 cubic feet, 1.2 cubic yards. Add 10 percent and the order is 1.78 tons.
Mistakes that catch people out
Ordering a pool pad by its finished volume. Tamped sand holds about a tenth more than it looks. Set the depth to compacted.
Forgetting the pad extends past the pool. Most installation guides want the base wider than the wall. Add that to the diameter before you calculate.
Using play sand where concrete sand is needed. Fine, rounded play sand does not lock together under pavers the way coarse, angular concrete sand does, and it washes out of joints.
Comparing a per ton price with a per yard price. Enter either price and the page shows the cost of the order, so two quotes can be compared.
Buying bags for a big job. Above about half a ton, bulk delivery usually costs less than bags, even with the delivery charge.
Popular calculations
Each opens the calculator on that size, depth and sand with its own address, and every value can be changed once it is open.
Sandboxes, play sand
Paver bedding, concrete sand
Above ground pool pads, tamped
Lawn topdressing
Tons and yards of sand
By kind of sand
Metric
How this was checked
The engine is the one behind the gravel calculator on this site, tested in Node against hand calculations for every shape and unit before it went near the page. For sand it gave exactly 1,667 lb for 10 by 10 feet at 2 inches, 800 lb for a 4 by 4 foot sandbox at 6 inches, and 3,240 lb for the tamped 15 foot pool pad, each matching the arithmetic above. The densities match the site’s unit weight of sand reference: dry and loose about 1,600 kg per cubic metre, tamped about 1,760, damp and bulked about 1,400 and saturated about 2,000.
Every address in the lists above was then opened and checked for a distinct title, the right answer, charts that render, and clean CSV, image and print output containing only that calculation, at desktop, tablet and phone widths.
Common questions
How much does a cubic yard of sand weigh?
About 2,700 pounds, 1.35 tons, for dry sand tipped loose. Tamped into place it packs to about 1.5 tons a yard, and fully saturated sand can reach 1.7. Damp sand from an outdoor pile often weighs less per yard than dry, around 1.2 tons, because moisture bulks it up.
How many bags of sand do I need for a sandbox?
A 4 by 4 foot sandbox filled 6 inches deep holds 8 cubic feet, about 800 pounds of play sand, which is 16 bags of 50 lb. Filling it a foot deep doubles that. The table on this page gives the bag count for the common sizes.
How much sand do I need under an above ground pool?
For a 2 inch tamped base, about 1.62 tons for a 15 foot round pool and 4.15 tons for a 24 foot, before any allowance. Check the manufacturer’s guide for the base depth and how far past the wall the pad should extend, and add that to the diameter.
How much sand do I need for pavers?
About an inch of bedding sand under the whole area. For 100 square feet that is 8.3 cubic feet, 833 pounds, or 0.309 cubic yards, before the joint sand, which is a much smaller amount swept in afterwards.
How many cubic yards are in a ton of sand?
About 0.741 of a cubic yard for dry sand at 100 pounds per cubic foot. Damp, bulked sand is closer to 0.851.
How much area does a ton of sand cover?
About 240 square feet at 1 inch deep, 120 at 2 inches and 40 at 6 inches, for dry sand. Halve the depth and the coverage doubles.
Related Calculators and Reference
- Gravel Calculator: for the stone base that often goes under the sand.
- Pool Volume Calculator: gallons of water for the pool the pad is for.
- Paver Patio Takeoff Calculator: the pavers, base and sand for a patio in one go.
- Unit Weight of Sand: the density figures behind this page in more detail.
- Cubic Yard Calculator: plain volume for any other material.
- Brick Calculator: bricks and mortar for a wall, with openings taken off.
- USGS construction sand and gravel: production and use of sand across the United States.