Guide: How to Choose the Right Sand for Your Paver Project

Are you planning to install a paver to add to your home’s landscaping? To achieve long-lasting, aesthetically pleasing results, it’s crucial to choose the right sand and learn a few tricks of the trade! 

Why Is Choosing the Right Sand Important for Your Paver Project?

Indeed, the sand you select can have a significant impact on the stability, durability and aesthetic appeal of your pavers. Groupe Bellemare sandpits enable us to produce and sell high-quality sand for many types of projects, including pavers! 

Discover our sands available.

Sand serves two critical functions in a paver installation:

• Stabilizing agent: Sand plays a key role in the installation process by helping to stabilize the pavers. It supports the pavers, distributes loads evenly, and helps keep the blocks or slabs securely in place despite regular foot or vehicle traffic.
• Joint filling: Sand fills the gaps between pavers, helping to prevent lateral movement while promoting proper water drainage.

What Type of Sand Should You Choose for Your Paver Project?

Concrete Sand (The Most Durable Option): Concrete sand is ideal for installations that will be subjected to heavy loads and frequent use.

• Best for: Concrete pavers, driveways, and high-traffic areas.
• Benefits of concrete sand: Its coarse, angular particles interlock effectively, providing excellent stability and support. It also offers superior drainage, helping to keep pavers securely in place over time.

Masonry Sand (The Most Refined Finish): Known for its fine texture, masonry sand is an excellent choice when appearance and precision are top priorities.

• Best for: Brick pavers, natural stone installations, and decorative hardscaping projects.
• Benefits of masonry sand: Its finer consistency makes it easy to level and compact, creating a smooth, even surface with a clean, professional finish.

Class A Sand (The Most Versatile Choice): Class A sand is the industry standard for many residential landscaping and hardscaping projects.

• Best for: Patios, walkways, paving stones, slabs, and general landscape applications.
• Benefits of Class A sand: Screened to achieve a consistent particle size, it offers a reliable balance of stability, workability, and affordability. Its versatility makes it a dependable choice for a wide range of outdoor projects.

Comparison of Common Sand Types

Benefits of Using Quality Sand

By choosing quality sand from a trusted supplier like Groupe Bellemare, you benefit from the following advantages.

• Longevity: High-quality sand ensures the durability and longevity of your paving. It will withstand regular use (pedestrians and vehicles) and weather conditions (freeze-thaw cycles).
• Easy to install: Well-graded quality sand facilitates levelling and compaction during installation.
• Weed and insect resistance: Good sand helps prevent the growth of weeds by limiting their access to nutrients and sunlight. It also dissuades insects from burrowing under your paving.
• Aesthetic Appeal: The colour and texture of the sand can greatly enhance the visual appeal of your paver. We encourage you to create a design to match your home’s style.
• Stable basis: Well-compacted sand forms a stable base for your pavers, minimizing displacement over time.
• Water drainage: Quality sand promotes good water drainage. This prevents the formation of puddles that can damage your paving stone.

Challenges of paving sand

While sand is an excellent choice for paving, there are a few challenges to keep in mind.

• Sand movement: When a paver is located in a high-traffic area (pedestrians and/or vehicles) or exposed to the wind, sand particles can move or come loose over time. Regular maintenance, such as brushing the sand out of the joints, can reduce this problem.
• Dust and erosion: Fine sand particles can become airborne or erode during heavy rainfall. Choosing sand with the right particle size can minimize these effects.
• Sand quality: Not all suppliers produce high-quality sand. Make sure you buy sand from reliable sources.

What quantity and thickness of sand should you use for your pavers?

The quantity of sand required for your paving project depends on three main factors: the area to be paved, the type of sand and the desired thickness. Here’s how to do it. 

1. Calculate the area: Multiply the length by the width of the area to be paved to determine the total square footage.
2. Determine the required depth: As a general rule, a sand bedding layer between 1 and 1.5 inches is recommended.
3. Estimate the volume of sand needed: Multiply the total square footage by the desired depth to calculate the volume of sand required.
4. Confirm the quantity: Contact your sand supplier or refer to the specifications of the sand you have selected to determine the weight or quantity needed for your project.

You can also use our tonnage calculator on this page.

Why choose Groupe Bellemare for your paving sand?

Selecting a reputable and experienced sand supplier is crucial to receiving the best sand on the market for your pavers. Here’s why you can trust us!

• Customized delivery service: We offer a fast, reliable transport service so that you can collect your products from us or have them delivered directly to your worksite. What’s more, thanks to our fleet of high-performance spreading trucks, we also offer delivery and installation in a single step. Our trucks are capable of spreading material quickly and accurately, guaranteeing efficient installation.
• Several options: Groupe Bellemare offers a variety of sands (as well as gravel and specialty stones) specially designed for paving and many other residential and commercial projects. All products are available in bulk, for both residential and commercial volumes. Some sands and aggregates are also available in 30 kg bags. 
• Quality control: Groupe Bellemare’s engineers and technicians follow strict quality control measures to ensure that all sands always meet the same high standards of quality and reliability.

Contact us for more information or to find out how to order sand for your projects!