How much sod for a lawn

Measure in sections

Break the lawn into rectangles: the front, each side strip, the back, the piece beyond the patio. Measure each and add the areas; a strip alongside the driveway is a rectangle even if it is only 3 ft wide. For a curved bed cutting into the lawn, measure as if the bed weren’t there and subtract it as a rough rectangle; sod is cut to the curve on site. If most sections are the same size, use the areas field; otherwise add them with the square footage calculator and type the total as one area. Measure twice: sod left over is compost, and sod short is a second delivery fee.

Waste, rolls and pallets

Add 5 % for a plain rectangle and 10 % for a lawn with curved beds, trees and a lot of edge, because every cut wastes a strip. Rolls are usually 2 × 5 ft, 10 sq ft, though some farms cut 16 × 24 in slabs (2.67 sq ft) or big rolls for machines; put the farm’s roll size in the coverage field.

Pallets hold 450–500 sq ft depending on the farm and the grass, and some stack 400 or 600, so ask before you order and set the pallet field to match. Farms sell whole pallets plus loose rolls. A pallet of fresh sod weighs around a ton, more when wet, so it comes by truck with a forklift or lift gate and needs a spot on the driveway near the lawn, out of the sun.

Measuring and ordering

1. Measure each section of lawn and add the areas, or count same-sized sections in the areas field.
2. Set the cutting allowance: 5 % for straight edges, 10 % for curves and obstacles.
3. Put the farm’s roll size and pallet coverage in the sheet, and the price per square foot they quote delivered.
4. Read the square feet, rolls and pallets; order whole pallets plus loose rolls for the remainder.
5. Prepare the soil first and book delivery for the morning you will lay it, on a cool day if you can choose.
6. Have the water on and the hoses out before the truck arrives.

Prepare the soil

Sod roots into what it lands on, so the soil matters more than the grass. Strip or kill the old lawn and rake it off, spread 4–6 in of screened topsoil if the ground is poor (the topsoil calculator counts it), grade it to fall away from the house, and rake it smooth. Roll it lightly so footprints don’t leave hollows, and set the finished grade about 1 in below sidewalks so the sod ends up flush. Water the soil the day before; sod laid on dry soil loses its bottom roots in an afternoon.

Lay it the day it arrives

Sod on a pallet heats up from the middle and can yellow within a day in summer. Start along the longest straight edge and lay the rolls end to end. Stagger the next row like brickwork so the seams don’t line up, and butt the edges tight without stretching or overlapping; gaps dry out and overlaps die. On a slope, lay across it and pin the rolls. Cut around beds and sprinkler heads with a sharp knife. Roll the finished lawn to press the roots to the soil, then water until the soil under the sod is wet, and daily for the first week or two.

Common mistakes

• Measuring once, by pacing. Use a tape and measure twice; sod is not returnable.
• Laying on unprepared ground. Sod over hard dirt or old thatch never roots properly.
• Leaving the pallet a day. It cooks from the center.
• Lining up the seams. Stagger every row.
• Watering the top and not the soil. Lift a corner on day two; the soil under it should be wet.