What you need
- A 100 ft tape measure (or a 25 ft tape and patience), or a measuring wheel
- Stakes or screwdrivers to hold the end of the tape
- Paper to sketch the yard and write each measurement on it
- The sod calculator above, or a phone calculator
Step 1: sketch the lawn
Walk the yard and draw a rough outline of the area you’re sodding: house, driveway, walks, beds, trees, patio. It doesn’t need to be to scale. Mark where you’ll measure.
Step 2: split it into simple shapes
| Shape | Measure | Area |
|---|---|---|
| Rectangle or square | length and width | length × width |
| Circle | diameter (across the widest point) | 3.1416 × (diameter ÷ 2)² |
| Half circle | diameter | circle area ÷ 2 |
| Right triangle (corner wedge) | the two sides meeting at the square corner | side × side ÷ 2 |
| Any triangle | base and height (straight out from the base to the far point) | base × height ÷ 2 |
Overlap is the most common mistake. Draw the lines so every part of the lawn belongs to exactly one shape.
Step 3: measure and round up
Measure each shape in feet. Round each number up to the next half foot: 23 ft 4 in becomes 23.5 ft. Measuring a little long is cheaper than running short.
Step 4: subtract what isn’t lawn
Beds, patios, a shed, a pool or a tree ring inside your rectangles come off the total. In the calculator, add them as sections and set “Count it as” to cut-out.
Step 5: add extra for cutting
| Lawn | Extra |
|---|---|
| Straight edges, few obstacles | 5% |
| Some curves, beds and trees | 7–10% |
| Lots of narrow strips and curves | 10–15% |
A worked example: a typical backyard
The sketch shows a main lawn behind the house, a strip down the side, a corner wedge by the fence, a round bed and a patio.
| Section | Measurements | Math | Sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main lawn | 45 × 30 ft | 45 × 30 | 1,350 |
| Side strip | 40 × 6 ft | 40 × 6 | 240 |
| Corner wedge (right triangle) | 12 ft and 9 ft sides | 12 × 9 ÷ 2 | 54 |
| Round bed (cut-out) | 8 ft across | 3.1416 × 4 × 4 | − 50.3 |
| Patio inside the lawn (cut-out) | 14 × 12 ft | 14 × 12 | − 168 |
| Lawn area | 1,425.7 | ||
| Plus 7% | 1,425.7 × 1.07 | 1,525.5 |
That’s 153 rolls of 2 × 5 ft sod, or 573 slabs of 16 × 24 in, or 3.39 pallets of 450 sq ft: three full pallets plus 18 rolls.
Measuring curves
For a curved edge, lay a straight baseline along the long side. Every 5 ft along it, measure straight out to the curve. Average those widths and multiply by the baseline length. A bed edge that wanders between 8 and 12 ft from the baseline over 30 ft, averaging 10 ft, gives 30 × 10 = 300 sq ft.
Measuring a big or very irregular yard
- Measuring wheel. Walk the perimeter of each section; faster and more accurate than a tape over long distances.
- Satellite map tools. Online map measuring tools give a quick estimate of large areas. Check one or two dimensions with a tape, because tree cover and image angle can throw them off.
- Grid method. For a very odd shape, mark a grid of 10 × 10 ft squares with stakes and count the squares that are mostly lawn.
Turning square feet into an order
Once you have the total with extra:
- Divide by the piece size for rolls or slabs (see sod roll sizes).
- Divide by the pallet size from your quote (see the pallet calculator).
- Ask the farm whether they sell loose pieces to top up a part pallet.
If you’d rather start from seed for some of the area, the grass seed calculator uses the same square footage.
These are estimates from your measurements. Confirm piece size and pallet size with the seller and measure twice before you order.
Questions people ask
- How do I measure my yard for sod?
- Break the lawn into rectangles, circles and triangles, measure each in feet, and work out the area of each one. Add them up, subtract beds, patios and paths inside the lawn, then add 5 to 10 percent for cutting.
- How much extra sod should I buy?
- About 5 percent for straight-edged lawns and 10 percent for lawns with curves, beds and trees. Very cut-up lawns with narrow strips can need 15 percent.
- How do I measure a curved or irregular lawn?
- Run a straight baseline down the middle, measure out to the edge every few feet, average those widths and multiply by the length. Or break the curve into a rectangle plus a half circle or triangles.
- Should I measure in feet or yards?
- Feet. Sod is sold by the square foot, and piece and pallet sizes are given in square feet. If you have square yards, multiply by 9.
- What if I measure wrong and run short?
- Getting a few more rolls is usually possible but costs a second trip or delivery, and the new pieces may come from a different harvest. That's why the 5 to 10 percent allowance is worth it.