The short answer
- Doing it yourself: you pay for materials and tool rental. For most patios the pavers are the biggest single cost, followed by the base gravel.
- Hiring a pro: Angi’s cost guide puts installed paver patios at roughly $8 to $25 per square foot, of which labor is about $4 to $11 per square foot (Angi). HomeServe’s March 2026 guide lists concrete paver patios at $8 to $16 per square foot installed (HomeServe).
- For a 12 × 16 ft (192 sq ft) patio, those published rates come to about $1,536 to $4,800 installed, with roughly $768 to $2,112 of it labor, which is the part DIY saves.
These are national estimates from cost-guide publishers, not quotes. Local rates can be well outside them; get two or three written quotes if you are deciding.
Everything you need for a 12 × 16 ft patio
These quantities come from our paver calculator using 12 × 12 in pavers, 5% extra, a 4 in compacted base and a 1 in sand bed. The 4 in base is the minimum one paver maker lists for patios; yours may need more (see base vs bedding).
| Item | Quantity | How it is sold |
|---|---|---|
| Pavers, 12 × 12 in | 202 pavers (192 sq ft + 5%) | Singly, or by the pallet |
| Base gravel, 4 in compacted | 64 cu ft (2.37 cu yd) | 128 bags of 0.5 cu ft, or bulk by the yard |
| Bedding sand, 1 in | 16 cu ft | 32 bags of 0.5 cu ft, or bulk |
| Joint sand (often polymeric) | Covers 192 sq ft of joints | Bags; coverage is on the label and varies with joint width |
| Edge restraint | Only the open edges, e.g. 40 ft if one 16 ft side is against the house | Lengths; check the piece length |
| Landscape fabric (optional) | About 192 sq ft plus overlaps | Rolls |
Get the list for your own patio, then price it in Store Mode
One real price, to show the scale
On October 18, 2026, Home Depot’s website listed a pallet of 100 Nantucket Pavers 12 × 12 in concrete pavers (100 sq ft) at $699.00 for the store it defaulted to (Austin, Texas) (listing). That is $6.99 per paver, so the 202 pavers above would be about $1,412 at that price, before base, sand, edging or tools.
Prices change often, go on sale, and differ by store. Cheaper basic concrete pavers exist; natural stone costs more. Use this only to understand the scale, and price your own list at your store.
We couldn’t verify current bag prices for base and sand, because retailers show those per store. That is exactly why Store Mode asks for the price on the shelf in front of you.
What you will lift
Weights from the product listings: each of those pavers weighs 16 lb, and a 0.5 cu ft bag of Pavestone paver base weighs 52.86 lb. For this patio that is:
- 202 pavers × 16 lb = 3,232 lb
- 128 bags of base × 52.86 lb = 6,766 lb
- About 5 tons, before the bedding sand, moved at least twice: into the car or yard, then into place.
Plan delivery. A bulk load of base from a landscape supplier is dropped in one place and avoids handling 128 bags; ask for a delivered price and compare.
Tools
- Usually rented: a plate compactor (to compact the base in layers). A masonry saw, or an angle grinder with a masonry blade, if you need cuts.
- Usually owned or bought: shovels, a wheelbarrow, rake, tape, string line and stakes, a 4 ft level, two lengths of pipe or rail for screeding the sand, a straight board, a rubber mallet, a stiff broom, eye and hearing protection, gloves.
Rental rates vary by store and by the day; call your local rental counter.
Where DIY saves money, and where it costs you
- You save the labor: roughly $768 to $2,112 on this patio at the published rates above.
- You spend time: digging out about 6½ in of soil over the whole area (4 in base + 1 in sand + the 1½ in pavers above; thicker pavers mean a deeper dig), compacting, screeding, laying and cutting.
- You take on the risk: a poorly compacted base settles, and that is expensive to redo.
- Hire a pro when: water already pools where the patio will go, the site slopes noticeably, it’s a driveway, or the patio connects to a structure.
Before you buy
Contact 811 before you dig (811 Before You Dig), check HOA rules, and read the paver maker’s installation instructions; they set the base depth that keeps your warranty valid.