Mason Sand: Size, Uses, and Cost Per Ton (2026)

Mason sand is fine, washed and screened sand made for mortar, and it is the sand most yards sell for sandboxes and play areas. It costs about $23 to $52 per ton, or $44 to $74 per cubic yard, at the yard in 2026, and weighs 1.3 to 1.45 tons per cubic yard dry.

What Makes It Mason Sand

Mortar has to spread smoothly off a trowel and fill thin joints, so the sand in it has to be fine and even. Mason sand is graded to the ASTM C144 spec for masonry mortar: it is washed to take out clay and silt and screened to take out pebbles. The result is a soft, uniform sand with no grit you can feel.

That same softness is why yards sell it as play sand and beach sand. Many yards stock one fine washed sand and sell it under all of those names.

What It Is Used For

• Mortar for brick, block and stone. Its original job. Mixed with masonry cement and water.
• Sandboxes and play areas. Soft and free of stones.
• Backyard beaches and fire pit areas.
• Volleyball and horseshoe courts. Courts that follow a strict spec use a dedicated court sand, but mason sand is the common budget choice.
• Top dressing lawns to level low spots, usually mixed with compost.
• Under above-ground pools, where a smooth base matters more than drainage.

Where It Does Not Belong

• Not in concrete. Concrete needs coarser sand that locks the mix together. Use concrete sand.
• Not as a paver bedding layer. Fine sand washes out from under pavers and holds water. Use concrete sand.
• Not as structural fill. It costs several times what fill sand does for a job that does not need clean sand.

Mason Sand vs Concrete Sand

This is the question yards hear most. Mason sand is fine and smooth. Concrete sand is coarser, with grains up to about 3/16 inch, and feels gritty. Mason sand makes better mortar, play sand and top dressing. Concrete sand makes better concrete and paver bedding, and it drains faster. If a yard only stocks one washed sand, ask which spec it meets.

Play Sand from a Yard vs Bagged Play Sand

Bagged play sand from a store is usually the same kind of fine washed sand, sold in 50 pound bags. A cubic yard is about 55 of those bags. For a sandbox bigger than a few feet across, bulk from a yard costs far less per pound. Ask whether the sand is washed; unwashed fine sand stains clothes and packs hard when wet.

How Much to Order

One cubic yard covers about 108 square feet at 3 inches or 81 square feet at 4 inches. An 8 by 8 foot sandbox filled 12 inches deep needs about 2.4 cubic yards, a little over 3 tons. Order about 10 percent extra, since sand settles once it gets wet.

What to Avoid

Do not buy mason sand for a concrete pour or a paver base. Do not assume "play sand" from a yard is washed until you ask.