Lawn
Sod Calculator
Enter your lawn area to get square feet, individual pieces, and pallets, plus the cut allowance you'll actually need. Sod is perishable, so ordering short means a second delivery fee.
Updated
Area to sod
Measure the turf area only. Curved edges and tree rings increase the cut allowance rather than the area.
Area = length × width
Sod details
The 16 × 24 in slab is the most common US retail cut.
Varies 400–500 sq ft by supplier. Confirm before ordering, it can be a whole extra pallet.
5% for a plain rectangle, 10% with curves, beds, or tree rings.
Pricing
Material only, delivery and installation are separate. Replace with your supplier's quote.
Enter your lawn size to see pallets and cost.
How this is calculated
The calculation
Sod is priced by the square foot and delivered by the pallet. Your area divided by the coverage of one pallet gives the pallet count, always rounded up, suppliers do not sell partial pallets.
Pallet coverage is not standardised. Anywhere from 400 to 500 square feet is normal, and it varies by region and by farm. Confirm the number with your supplier before ordering, because the difference between 400 and 500 across a large lawn is a whole extra pallet.
pallets = ⌈(area sq ft × waste factor) ÷ pallet coverage⌉
Waste allowance
Add 5% for a simple rectangular lawn, and 10% where there are curves, tree rings, beds, or a lot of edges to cut around. Every cut generates an offcut that is usually too small to use.
Order everything at once. Sod is a living product cut to order, a second delivery a week later means a second delivery fee and possibly a visible colour difference between batches from different fields.
| Cut | Dimensions | Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Slab | 16" × 24" | 2.67 sq ft |
| Small roll | 24" × 48" | 8 sq ft |
| Standard roll | 2 ft × 5 ft | 10 sq ft |
| Big roll (commercial) | 2 ft × 35 ft | 70 sq ft |
| Pallet | 150–190 slabs | 400–500 sq ft |
Before it arrives
Sod has a working life measured in hours, not days, especially in heat. Have the ground fully prepared, graded, raked, and moist, before the pallet is dropped, and plan to lay it the same day.
The most common sod failure is not the sod. It is laying fresh turf onto dry, compacted soil, where the roots never knit through. Water the prepared soil the day before, and roll the sod after laying to press the roots into contact.
Worked example
Sodding a back lawn
A 45 ft × 60 ft back lawn with a curved bed along one edge, so a 10% cut allowance.
- Area
- 45 ft × 60 ft = 2,700 sq ft
- With 10% waste
- 2,700 × 1.10 = 2,970 sq ft
- Pallets at 450 sq ft
- 2,970 ÷ 450 = 6.6 → 7 pallets
- Slabs at 2.67 sq ft
- 2,970 ÷ 2.67 = 1,113 slabs
Seven pallets. At $0.35–0.85 per sq ft for material that is roughly $1,040–2,520, before delivery and before installation labour if you are not laying it yourself.
Frequently asked questions
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