How much sand do I need for 500 square feet?
A 1 inch layer over 500 square feet, the standard paver bedding depth, takes 1.62 cubic yards of sand, about 2.27 tons or 88 bags of 50 lb. At 2 inches, for under a pool or play set, it is 3.24 cubic yards (175 bags), and a 6 inch sandbox fill is 9.72 cubic yards.
Sand for 500 square feet by depth
| Depth | Cubic yards (5% extra) | Tons | 50 lb bags | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 in | 1.62 | 2.27 | 88 | paver bedding layer |
| 2 in | 3.24 | 4.54 | 175 | under a pool or play set |
| 3 in | 4.86 | 6.81 | 263 | leveling, fill under a slab |
| 4 in | 6.48 | 9.07 | 350 | sand pit, volleyball base |
| 6 in | 9.72 | 13.61 | 525 | sandbox, horseshoe pit |
Coarse concrete sand at 1.4 tons per cubic yard. Play sand is a little lighter; wet sand is heavier.
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Bags or bulk for 500 square feet?
At 1 inch deep this is 88 bags, which costs about $440 at $5 a bag and is a lot of lifting. Bulk sand costs $30 to $50 a ton from a landscape yard, so 2.27 tons is $68 to $113 before delivery. Order bulk; it arrives in a pile and you save hours of bag handling. For a sandbox at 6 inches, the 525 bags of play sand needed cost about $3,150, and bulk play sand is often not available, so plan on bags for that.
Using sand on 500 square feet
- Paver bedding: exactly 1 inch of coarse concrete sand, screeded with a straightedge over pipes, never compacted. The paver calculator adds the base and joint sand.
- Under a pool: 2 inches of masonry sand, leveled and tamped, with the ground dead level first; sand does not fix a slope.
- Lawn leveling: a 50/50 mix of sand and compost no more than 1/2 inch at a time; pure sand over clay makes a hardpan.
- Sandbox: washed play sand 6 to 8 inches deep over landscape fabric with drainage underneath. 500 square feet at 6 inches weighs about 12.6 tons.
- Fill: use fill sand or crushed stone, compacted in 4 inch lifts, and see the gravel calculator for the stone layer.
Common questions
How many bags of sand for 500 square feet?
88 bags of 50 lb at 1 inch deep, 175 at 2 inches, or 525 at 6 inches. A 50 lb bag is about half a cubic foot and covers 6 square feet at 1 inch.
How many tons of sand for 500 square feet?
2.27 tons at 1 inch, 4.54 at 2 inches, 9.07 at 4 inches, or 13.61 tons at 6 inches, using 1.4 tons per cubic yard with 5 percent extra.
How many yards of sand for 500 square feet?
1.62 cubic yards at 1 inch deep. Multiply 500 square feet by the depth in feet (1 inch is 0.083 ft), divide by 27, and add 5 percent for settling. At 3 inches it is 4.86 yards.