Hardscaping Calculator
Measure your patios, wall runs and pools once. Pavers, retaining-wall block and pool materials all read the same measurements — and the whole back yard comes out on one order sheet.
Measure it once
Patios and pool decks, wall runs and pools. Every module below reads these.
Driveways, patios, paths, pads — any straight-sided area.
What are you building?
Pick one or several. Each reads the measurements above.
Pavers
ICPI minimum after compaction on well-drained soil. Manufacturers typically build 4–6″. ICPI Tech Spec 2: in colder climates, continually wet or weak soils will require bases at least 2 to 4 in. thicker than these minimums.
Finished, compacted.
ICPI: nominal 1″, not over 1½″.
ICPI bases are dense-graded aggregate. Crusher run is the default dense-graded material in the Gravel data — change it to the base your supplier sells.
Typical practice — not a published figure. ICPI documents the cutting at every edge but publishes no percentage.
Override when some edges sit against a house or slab.
Paver sizes, pallet coverage and joint-sand coverage vary by product, so none is assumed. Enter them for piece, pallet and bag counts.
Three modules, one set of measurements
A back-yard project is rarely one material. A pool comes with coping and a deck; a patio often sits behind a low wall. Here each place is measured once — an area, a wall run or a pool — and each module reads only the kind it understands. Pavers read areas, the wall module reads wall runs, the pool module reads pools.
Paver base depth
| Use | ICPI minimum base | Manufacturer typical |
|---|---|---|
| Patio, walkway or pool deck ICPI: pedestrian areas and residential driveways use units 2⅜ in. (60 mm) thick. | 4″ | 4–6″ |
| Residential driveway ICPI: 2⅜ in. (60 mm) units for residential driveways; at least 3⅛ in. (80 mm) where vehicular traffic is heavier. | 6″ | 8–12″ |
ICPI Tech Spec 2: in colder climates, continually wet or weak soils will require bases at least 2 to 4 in. thicker than these minimums. ICPI construction specification: bedding sand screeded to a nominal 1 in. (25 mm), not exceeding 1½ in. (40 mm).
More detail on cut allowances, joint sand and edging is on the Paver Calculator.
Retaining walls: where this calculator stops
IRC R404.4: Retaining walls that are not laterally supported at the top and that retain in excess of 48 inches of unbalanced fill, or retaining walls exceeding 24 inches in height that resist lateral loads in addition to soil, shall be designed in accordance with accepted engineering practice.
Below that threshold the calculator gives block, cap, base-pad and drainage-stone quantities, following one manufacturer's published installation guide and labelled as such. Above it, you still get block and cap counts — they are geometry — but no base or drainage quantity, because those must come from the wall's design. The IRC is a model code. Your jurisdiction may adopt it with changes, and many require a permit — or an engineer — at lower heights. Check locally before building any retaining wall.
See the Retaining Wall Block Calculator for the full method.
Pools: quantities from your design
MaterialQuant calculates material quantities from the dimensions and shell thicknesses you enter. Shell thickness, reinforcement, concrete strength and every other structural requirement must come from your pool's plans, its engineer and the code that applies where you build. A quantity here says nothing about whether a design is adequate.
Enter the pool's shape and depths and the calculator works out floor, wall and interior areas, perimeter and water volume. Add the shell thicknesses from your plans for shell concrete; pick a finish for bag counts from the manufacturer's coverage; enter your coping piece length for a piece count. The deck around the pool is an area — measure it and turn on Pavers. The Pool Calculator explains each step.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Hardscaping Calculator cover?
Three things: paver surfaces (patios, walkways, pool decks and driveways — pavers, compacted base, bedding sand, joint sand and edge restraint), segmental retaining walls (block, caps, base pad and drainage stone for walls below the engineering threshold), and pools (shell concrete from the thicknesses you enter, interior finish bags and coping pieces). Wood and composite decks are a structural assembly and belong to the future Structural category.
Why are areas, walls and pools measured separately from the materials?
Because the same measurement feeds several quantities. A pool measured once gives its interior area for finish, its floor and wall areas for shell concrete, and its perimeter for coping. A patio measured once gives its square footage for pavers and base and its perimeter for edge restraint. Correct a dimension once and every quantity that depends on it follows.
Does this calculator design retaining walls or pools?
No, and it never will. The wall module counts blocks and caps from the wall face you enter; above 48 inches of retained soil, or 24 inches with load above, the model code requires an engineered design and the calculator stops giving base and drainage quantities. The pool module needs you to enter the shell thicknesses from your plans — there is no default, because shell thickness is part of the pool engineer's design.
Where do the base depths for pavers come from?
From ICPI Tech Spec 2, the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute's construction guidance: at least 4 inches of compacted dense-graded base for pedestrian areas and 6 inches for residential driveways, over well-drained soil. Manufacturers often build thicker, and wet or weak soils need more; both are shown beside the default.
Is the stone and sand from different modules combined?
Yes. Paver base, bedding sand, wall base pad and drainage stone all run through the same Gravel engine, and when more than one module is on the order sheet adds them into one order per material — so a patio base and a wall pad that both use the same stone come off one truck.
Can I share or save a project?
The whole project lives in the address bar, so copying the share link reopens it exactly, and your browser keeps your most recent project as a draft. Nothing is sent to a server and there is no account.
Sources
Paver base and bedding figures come from ICPI (now the Concrete Masonry & Hardscapes Association). The retaining-wall engineering threshold is the International Residential Code; base, buried-course and drainage figures are Allan Block's installation guide, labelled as that manufacturer's. Finish coverage is SGM's product data, and the decision not to default a shell thickness follows the American Shotcrete Association. Other calculator websites are never cited. Full citations are on the methodology page.
Last reviewed September 16, 2026.
Related
- Paver Calculator — the same workspace, opening on pavers.
- Retaining Wall Block Calculator — opening on a wall run.
- Pool Calculator — opening on a pool.
- Concrete Calculator — poured slabs, footings and structural walls.
- Gravel Calculator — base and decorative stone on its own.