The 45-degree herringbone is one of the strongest laying patterns for rectangular pavers. Every pair of stones meets at a right angle, and because the whole pattern runs at an angle to traffic, there is no continuous joint for stones to creep along. This template uses a standard 200 × 100 mm paver (about 8 × 4 in). In the preview, the rotate button switches between 45° and 0°, and the slider changes the joint width.
When does 45° herringbone make sense?
On driveways and parking pads, pulling away, braking and steering push sideways on the pavers. In running bond the joints run straight in one direction, and that is where ruts and shifted rows start. In herringbone every stone locks into two neighbours, which is why concrete paver manufacturers recommend it for vehicle traffic.
On a patio it is more a question of style. The diagonal makes narrow areas look wider and leads the eye away from the house.
It is a weaker fit for small or oddly shaped areas. Every edge gets triangular fill pieces, and on a couple of square metres the share of cut stones gets high.
Pavers per square metre
One repeat tile measures 400 × 400 mm and holds eight pavers. That works out to 50 pavers per m² (about 4.6 per sq ft), without joints or waste. Turning the pattern 45° does not change that number.
Waste is a different story. Straight herringbone needs half stones at the edges, which you can often buy ready-made. Laid on the diagonal, almost every edge piece is an angled cut. Plan for a higher waste allowance than with running bond and check the figure against the planner’s shopping list.
Recreate the template in PatioPlanner
The “Open template in planner” button starts the planner with the standard rectangular paver, the herringbone pattern and the Drivable load class. From there:
- Under “Create your patio area”, create a rectangle with your dimensions. If the driveway is not rectangular, use “Draw polygon” and trace the real outline point by point. You can switch the measurement unit to feet or inches if that is how you measured.
- In the pattern section, set the rotation angle to 45° and click “Apply pattern”.
- Pick the start corner. Full pavers begin at this corner. On a driveway that is usually the visible edge at the street, so the cuts end up against the house.
- Open the optimization panel. “Optimize joint width” tries joints from 2 to 20 mm, and “Adjust area (±5%)” checks whether a slightly larger or smaller area saves cuts. Click any bar to apply that value.
- Read the shopping list. It separates full stones, purchasable sub-stones and stones that need cutting on site. Below that you get crushed stone and grit for the chosen load class and the excavation depth.
When it is time to lay, start the laying guide on your phone. It shows the next stone one at a time and lists the upcoming cuts, so you can do several in one trip to the saw.
Tips for laying
- Start at the corner you picked in the planner and run a string line at 45°. Small angle errors add up across the area.
- On driveways, set the curbstones in concrete before you pave. Without a solid edge, the pattern slowly spreads outward. The shopping list includes curbstones and mortar for the full perimeter.
- Do not cut edge pieces too small. A common rule for vehicle areas is no piece smaller than a third of a full paver. If the planner shows lots of slivers along one edge, move the start corner or use the area adjustment.
FAQ
How many pavers per m² for herringbone?
With 200 × 100 mm pavers, 50 per m² in theory, without joints. Joints bring the number down slightly, waste brings it back up, and diagonal herringbone has more waste than straight patterns. The shopping list in the planner gives you the exact count for your surface.
45° or straight herringbone?
Both interlock equally well. Straight herringbone (0° in the planner, often sold as 90° herringbone) needs fewer angled cuts because the paver edges run parallel to the border. The 45° version looks more dynamic. Switch between them with the rotation angle and watch how the cut count changes.
Can I use a different paver size?
Yes, as long as the paver is twice as long as it is wide. Under “Choose the brick type”, pick “Custom dimensions”, enter something like 240 × 120 mm, and apply the pattern again. The pattern scales with it.