This guide supports a pedestrian patio or walkway material takeoff after the project layers and drainage approach have been selected. It does not choose base or bedding depth, slope, drainage, soil preparation, compaction, frost protection, paver thickness, or suitability for vehicles.
Measurement steps
- Draw a plan view with one horizontal and one vertical reference axis. Keep every supported edge parallel to one of those axes.
- Break the paved surface into labelled, non-overlapping rectangles. Record each rectangle's origin, width, and height from the same project origin.
- Draw planters, posts, drains, and other areas that receive no pavers as exclusion rectangles. Measure them from the same origin instead of subtracting their area by hand.
- Label each exposed boundary and each internal opening boundary on the field sketch. In the calculator, select only the stable boundary IDs that receive purchased manufactured edge restraint; retain wall, curb, and other treatments in project notes.
- Record the actual face dimensions and installed joint widths for a single-size paver. For a modular system, copy the documented installed coverage and exact package or pallet composition instead of inventing an average unit.
- Obtain the compacted base and bedding depths from the selected project design. Record each supplier's density, labeled yield, loose-order factor, and purchase format separately.
- Record the selected joint product's eligible coverage and package quantity under the actual paver and joint conditions.
- Record edge-restraint stock length, the user- or product-specified maximum spike interval, optional fabric roll width and length, and required overlaps.
Do not count every perimeter segment as purchased edging. A building face, curb, or other existing restraint may use a different treatment. Keep each contiguous edge segment identifiable because an offcut is not assumed to turn a corner.
Product coverage checklist
- Included rectangle IDs, origins, widths, and heights
- Exclusion rectangle IDs, origins, widths, and heights
- Boundary IDs selected for purchased restraint, with other edge treatments retained in project notes
- Actual paver face dimensions and installed joints
- Exact set coverage and composition for a modular product
- Units per package and packages or sets per pallet
- User-supplied compacted base and bedding depths
- Supplier density, bag yield, or other purchase conversion
- Loose-order factor supplied for that material and project
- Joint-product eligible coverage and package quantity
- Edge-restraint stock length and spike interval
- Fabric roll dimensions and side/end overlaps
- Separate paver, breakage, layer, and joint contingencies
Reading a coverage statement
A package coverage value is valid only for the named product and stated installation conditions. Record whether the value describes installed area, compacted volume, loose volume, or package yield. Do not add alternative purchasing representations such as bulk tons and bags together, and do not apply one aggregate density to a different material.
Common mistakes
- Choosing base or bedding depth inside a quantity calculator
- Adding rectangle areas and counting overlaps twice
- Subtracting an opening manually and also entering it as an exclusion
- Treating nominal paver dimensions as the installed module without the joint
- Turning a multi-size set into one imaginary average paver
- Marking the whole perimeter as purchased edge restraint
- Assuming edging offcuts can turn corners or move between segments
- Using a spike interval that does not come from the selected design or product
- Combining compacted volume, loose order volume, bags, and tons as extra material
- Treating geometric cut loss, broken-unit reserve, package surplus, and pallet surplus as the same quantity
The calculator is limited to orthogonal pedestrian surfaces and user-supplied product and layer data. Permeable products may be entered only through their documented material coverage; the calculator does not design reservoirs, underdrains, infiltration, storage, or overflow.
The CMHA interlocking pavement guide describes system components and explains why pavement design depends on application and site conditions. Its examples are not MaterialNest defaults. Contact 811 Before You Dig and follow the applicable utility-marking process before excavation.
Last reviewed: August 7, 2026. Corrections can be reported to feedback@materialnest.com.