It is one thing to have a design for your pavers project in mind and quite another to make it work in an installation. Paver designs are far more complicated than one might think. In fact, many patio paver project designs are actually several designs all incorporated into one project.
An example of this would be in a project that has an unusual shape that includes rounded corners or areas where a BBQ grill will be located or an extended, rounded area in a corner designated for tables and chairs. If there are two rounded areas, the overall pattern will include two designs…one for the two circles and one for the square or rectangle body of the patio.
Making Designs Work in Patterns
In many cases, in order to get the unusual shape of a design to work, two designs must be incorporated into your overall pattern as in the example above where the original pattern called for two corners to be rounded. This actually adds to the beauty of the overall project by drawing the attention to the designs.
Here are a few other things to consider when deciding on the shape and features of your beautiful patio pavers project.
Note: Never start a paver project without a pattern in place. Having a pavers pattern allows for easier installation if for no other reason than they provide consistency and an overall goal.
Pavers Patterns and Paver Brick Size
Patio paver designs can be quite daunting for those who are new to pavers or have never really worked with designs before. If you are purchasing your pavers for a DIY project from hardware stores then you are in for an even more confusing project and the stores that sell these pavers will offer little or no help when it comes to understanding what size paver is needed for the designs you have in mind.
This is why professional installers do not work with patterns; rather, they work with paver brick sizes. They understand that certain patterns will not work with certain paver brick sizes when working within the confines of limited square footage. In order to achieve certain designs, the square footage must be taken into account in order to know the brick sizes that will be needed to achieve the desired pattern. Purchasing too large of a brick for a smaller square footage will not allow the space required for an expanding design to come to its full fruition within the pattern.
In order to overcome the problems presented in creating designs in your overall project pattern, one must calculate the size in which one has to work and the size of the brick needed to achieve a design within it.
A 400 Square Foot Patio
Take a pattern with a square footage area of 20 feet by 20 feet. You have a 400 square foot area within which to work. If you wanted to work with both rectangle and square pavers to achieve an offset pattern rather than all of the pavers being either square or rectangle, you would need to calculate your area in order to not over or under purchase your pavers and to know how many of each will be required.
The Muster K Pattern
Using two sizes of pavers, as in square and rectangle, you can create a natural pattern that draws attention and is pleasing to the eye. (The pattern called a Muster K can be created with square and rectangle pavers) Here is the equation for the Muster K pattern. Assuming you worked with rectangle pavers that measure 6” x 9” and squares that measure 6” x 6”, we know that two rectangle pavers laid end to end would cover the same distance as 3 squares.
3 squares = 6” + 6” + 6” = 18”
2 Rectangles 9” + 9” = 18” (Laid long-ways end to end)
Percentage of Square and Rectangle Pavers
This means that you will use 30% Squares to 70% rectangles within your 400 square foot area. Another way to look at this would be 280 square feet of rectangles (70%) and 120 square feet of squares. (30%)
400 total square feet multiplied by .3 (30%) equals 120 square feet (400SF x .3 = 120SF)
400 total square feet multiplied by .7 (70%) equals 280 square feet (400SF x .7 = 280SF)
Now you simply need to figure out how many square pavers and how many rectangle pavers you will need to complete your pattern in the 400 square foot allowed. You do this by first calculating the square feet of each size paver you are using.
Discovering How Many Pavers You Need
We know that one square foot = 144 square inches. (12 inches times 12 inches = 144 square inches)
Your square pavers are 36 square inches (6” x 6” = 36 square inches)
Your rectangle pavers are 54 square inches (6” x 9” = 54 square inches)
36 square inches divided by 144 square inches = .25 square feet
54 square inches divided by 144 square inches = .375 square feet
Remember that we figured out the square pavers cover 30% or 120 square feet? We also ascertained the rectangle pavers will cover 70% or 280 square feet. (In our 400 square foot area) Thus, the equation to ascertain how many of each we need for our 400 square foot pattern (20 foot by 20 foot patio) is as follows.
Square pavers: 120 SF divided by the paver’s .25 SF equals 480 individual square pavers.
Rectangle Pavers: 280 SF divided by the paver’s .375 SF = 747 individual rectangle pavers
In order to achieve the desired design called the Muster K, you will need 747 rectangle pavers that are 6 x 9 inches and 480 square pavers 6 x 6 inches. The smart DIY installer will order a bit more than this in order to cover damages in the future.
Seeking Help
This type of calculation can be used to help decide how many pavers you need for your pavers patio and driveway projects. If you are less of a hands on type of person, contact your local professionals for a quote and an idea of the materials that will be needed or go online at www.ipaversdesign.com. Remember that there are many designs from which to choose, or with a little imagination, creativity, and some math, you can create your very own.