To size a sod order you need three numbers: the lawn's area, the size of the pieces your farm cuts, and how much ground one of its pallets covers. The calculator above turns those into an order with the right allowance for trimming, then into pieces, pallets and weight. A plain 1,000 square foot lawn, for example, needs 1,050 square feet of sod with 5% extra, which rounds up to 3 pallets of 450 square feet.
What to measure and what the calculator reports
Measure only the ground that will be turfed, section by section, and let the calculator add the sections and take out anything that stays unplanted.
The calculator works in three steps:
- Measure the lawn. Enter each section as a rectangle (length and width), a circle (its diameter, the width straight across), a triangle (all three sides) or a known area you already have from a site plan. Use "Add another area" for each extra section, and switch to meters if your tape reads metric.
- Leave out what is not lawn. Add a shape for every bed, patio, path or mulched tree ring inside the lawn and tick "leave this out". If you measured the whole lot, add the house footprint the same way.
- Describe how your sod is sold. Pick the piece size and the pallet size from your farm's price list, choose the extra for cuts and curves, and add a price per square foot or per pallet if you want a cost.
The result shows the square feet to order, the pallets and pieces to buy (both rounded up), the order as full pallets plus the leftover square feet, square yards (in feet mode), and an approximate weight. If your farm sells partial pallets or loose pieces, buy the leftover that way; otherwise round up to the next full pallet. Square yards matter because many sod farms and public-works contracts order and measure sod that way; one square yard is 9 square feet.
Measuring an odd-shaped lawn
Break a curved or angled lawn into the fewest simple shapes that cover it. Use a rectangle for the main body, a triangle for a tapered corner and a circle for a round end.
Measure triangles by their three sides rather than a base and height. Measuring three edges on the ground is easier than finding a true right angle across a yard, and the calculator works the area out from the sides. For a long sweeping edge, lay two or three slim triangles or rectangles along it, then choose the 10% allowance to absorb the trimming.
How the math works, with a worked example
The calculator adds every lawn shape, subtracts every left-out shape, multiplies by your extra, then divides by the piece size and the pallet size and rounds both up.
- Order area = (lawn shapes − left-out shapes) × (1 + extra %).
- Pieces = order area ÷ area of one piece, rounded up.
- Pallets = order area ÷ pallet coverage, rounded up.
- Weight = order area × 2,000 lb ÷ 450 sq ft (907 kg per 41.8 m²).
The calculator scales weight by square feet, using about a ton per 450 square feet, so a bigger pallet counts as heavier. Treat the figure as a rough guide: a 700 square foot large-roll pallet comes out at about 3,100 lb (1,400 kg), above the usual 3,000 lb (1,361 kg) ceiling.
Here is a back lawn measured as a 50 by 32 foot (15.24 by 9.75 m) rectangle. A triangular side strip adds sides of 12, 16 and 20 feet (3.66, 4.88 and 6.1 m). Inside it sit a round bed 8 feet (2.44 m) across and a 12 by 10 foot (3.66 by 3.05 m) patio. The curved bed calls for 10% extra, and the farm sells slabs on 450 square foot pallets.
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Main lawn | 50 × 32 | 1,600 sq ft |
| Side strip | Three sides 12, 16, 20 | 96 sq ft |
| Round bed (leave out) | 3.1416 × 4 × 4 | 50.3 sq ft |
| Patio (leave out) | 12 × 10 | 120 sq ft |
| Lawn to cover | 1,600 + 96 − 50.3 − 120 | 1,525.7 sq ft (141.7 m²) |
| Order with 10% extra | 1,525.7 × 1.10 | 1,678.3 sq ft (155.9 m²) |
| Slabs | 1,678.3 × 144 ÷ 384 | 629.4, so 630 slabs |
| Pallets of 450 sq ft | 1,678.3 ÷ 450 | 3.73, so 4 pallets (3 full + 328 sq ft) |
| Square yards | 1,678.3 ÷ 9 | 186.5 sq yd |
| Weight | 1,678.3 × 2,000 ÷ 450 | about 7,500 lb (3,400 kg); wetter sod can push it well past that |
Worked example for a 1,526 sq ft lawn with one bed and one patio.
A slab's area is its 384 square inches divided by 144, which is why the slab line multiplies by 144 and divides by 384. Rounding happens once, at the end: rounding every shape up on its own adds sod you will never lay.
Piece and pallet sizes: why farms differ
Piece and pallet sizes vary from farm to farm, so check your farm's price list before ordering: southern warm-season grasses usually ship as flat slabs, and northern cool-season grasses as rolls.
| Format | Covers each | Per 450 sq ft pallet |
|---|---|---|
| Slab, 16 × 24 in | 2.67 sq ft (0.25 m²) | 169 pieces |
| Roll, 2 × 5 ft | 10 sq ft (0.93 m²) | 45 pieces |
| Mini roll, 18 × 40 in | 5 sq ft (0.46 m²) | 90 pieces |
| Rolled square, 18 in × 6 ft | 9 sq ft (0.84 m²) | 50 pieces |
Pieces per pallet rounded up; some farms add a slab to make up the stated area.
Pallets cover 400 to 700 square feet (37 to 65 m²), and 450 square feet is the most common size. Slab and small-roll pallets run 400 to 500 square feet, while northern farms cutting large rolls load 500, 600 or 700. One Florida grower ships slab pallets of 400 square feet, a Texas grower loads its St. Augustine grass at 450, and a New England bluegrass farm usually sends 500 or 600.
Four things set the number: the piece format, the grass and the soil it was grown in, how wet the sod was at harvest, and the weight and height a truck can carry. Heavier, wetter sod means fewer square feet fit under the same load limit.
Big rolls are a separate category. They run at least 24 inches (60 cm) wide and 40 feet (12 m) long and go down by machine, which makes them a contractor's format for large lawns and commercial jobs. The largest run to about 42 inches by 90 feet (1.07 by 27.4 m), or 315 square feet (29.3 m²), and some farms sell them only to contractors. Choose "Other size" and enter the width in inches and the length in feet to price them.
How much extra to order, and what it weighs
Order 5% extra for a lawn made of straight lines and 10% for one with curved beds, trees, walks or slopes.
The extra covers the strips you trim off at every edge and the occasional mis-cut. Coming up short means a second load, and a second delivery charge of $50 to $230. The table shows how orders of common sizes work out at the default allowance and pallet size.
| Lawn area | Order with 5% extra | Pallets of 450 sq ft | Approximate weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 250 sq ft (23 m²) | 263 sq ft | 0.58 (1 to buy) | 1,200 lb (500 kg) |
| 500 sq ft (46 m²) | 525 sq ft | 1.17 (2 to buy) | 2,300 lb (1,100 kg) |
| 1,000 sq ft (93 m²) | 1,050 sq ft | 2.33 (3 to buy) | 4,700 lb (2,100 kg) |
| 2,000 sq ft (186 m²) | 2,100 sq ft | 4.67 (5 to buy) | 9,300 lb (4,200 kg) |
| 5,000 sq ft (465 m²) | 5,250 sq ft | 11.67 (12 to buy) | 23,300 lb (10,600 kg) |
Weight scales from about a ton per 450 sq ft pallet; wet sod weighs more.
A pallet weighs roughly 1,500 to 3,000 pounds (680 to 1,361 kg), and wet sod can weigh up to 50% more than dry. That spread is why the calculator labels its weight as approximate.
What sod costs
Sod alone runs about $0.20 to $1.05 per square foot, and $0.85 to $2.85 installed. National cost surveys from 2025 and 2026 give these ranges:
| Item | Range |
|---|---|
| Sod only, by grass | $0.20 to $1.05 per sq ft |
| Professionally installed | $0.85 to $2.85 per sq ft |
| One pallet | $90 to $390 |
| Delivery | $50 to $230 per load; up to $350 from a distant farm |
Ranges from 2025–2026 national cost surveys; local prices vary.
Grass species, yard size, labor and delivery distance drive the price. Irregular shapes, slopes and ground that needs grading all push an installed price up, and stripping an old lawn costs more than sodding bare, graded soil. Some farms also charge a deposit on each pallet, so ask whether you get it back when the pallet is returned.
Soil preparation and finished grade
Sod roots only into loose, firm, well-graded soil, so finish all of this before the truck is booked.
- Test the soil early. Send a sample at least 3 to 4 weeks ahead, and 2 to 3 months ahead if you can, so there is time to act on the results before the sod goes down. Only a soil test can say how much lime and fertilizer a new lawn needs; in the Midsouth, lime is called for when pH falls below 6. Add starter fertilizer only where the test calls for it.
- Kill and remove the old lawn. Strip off dead grass and weeds. Sod laid over dead vegetation fails, and preemergence weed killers applied before or just after sodding injure the new roots.
- Loosen the ground. Till 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm) deep. Where the soil test calls for lime or fertilizer, till 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm) to work it in. The cubic yard calculator turns an area and depth into cubic yards and bags of compost or topsoil if you need to bring some in.
- Grade away from the house. Give the surface a fall of 1 to 4 feet per 100 feet (1 to 4%) away from foundations, and fill low spots where water would sit.
- Firm the bed. Roll it with a lawn roller partly filled with water until walking across it leaves no real footprint. Soft spots settle later and leave dips under the new turf.
- Set the finished grade. Leave the soil about 1 inch (2.5 cm) below sidewalks, driveways and patio edges, or 1/2 inch (13 mm) for thin-cut sod, and 1 inch below sprinkler heads. The sod then finishes flush. Soil left level with the paving lifts the sod edge above it, where it dries out and gets scalped by the mower.
- Moisten the soil the evening before. Dry soil pulls water out of the new roots, but never lay sod on wet, muddy ground that ruts under your feet.
When to lay sod for cool- and warm-season grasses
Lay cool-season sod in spring, late summer or fall, and warm-season sod from mid-spring to early summer once the soil warms. Sod can go down whenever the ground is not frozen, but these windows root fastest.
| Grass group | Best window | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Cool-season (Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue) | Spring, late summer, fall | Midsummer heat (roughly mid-June to mid-August in the upper Midwest) |
| Tall fescue in the Midsouth | Fall or winter | Summer |
| Warm-season (bermuda grass, zoysia, St. Augustine, centipede), transition zone and upper South | About April to July 1; fall also works in South Carolina | Cold soil before green-up |
| Warm-season, Zones 8b to 11 | Year-round, including dormant winter sod | Areas where winter lows average below 20°F (−7°C) |
Zones are USDA plant hardiness zones.
Warm-season sod will not root until the soil stays above 55°F (13°C) for several weeks, which is why an early-spring install in the upper South sits without rooting. Dormant winter sod in the Deep South stays brown until spring but still needs watering whenever it dries.
Never lay frozen sod, lay sod on frozen soil, or lay it when a freeze is forecast within 24 hours. The month-by-month garden calendar lists the rest of the yard work for each month.
Choose a grass that suits your light
Settle on the grass before you settle on a date. Zoysia needs about 6 hours of direct sun, St. Augustine about 4 hours or a full day of dappled light, and bermuda grass and centipede grass close to 8. Sod laid in more shade than its grass tolerates thins out however carefully it was installed.
Laying day: the 24-hour window and the pattern
Lay every piece within 24 hours of delivery, so book the truck for a day when the soil is ready and you have the help.
Sod left stacked on a pallet heats up and declines within 24 to 48 hours in warm weather. If the job slips, move the pallets into shade and keep them moist.
- Start on the longest straight edge. Run the first row along a driveway, walk or string line on the far side of the lawn, and work back toward your exit so you never stand on fresh sod.
- Stagger the joints. Offset the joints in each row from those in the row before, like brickwork.
- Butt edges tight without stretching. Push each piece snug against its neighbor without overlapping. Stretched sod shrinks as it dries and opens gaps; fill any that appear with matching soil and seed or a cut plug.
- Plan the edges. Arrange the rows so the borders take full or half pieces. Thin slivers dry out and die before they root.
- Trim last. Cut around beds, trees and paving with a sharp knife once the field is down.
- Run rows across slopes. Lay pieces across the slope so no seam runs downhill and channels water. On slopes steeper than 4:1 (a 1-foot rise over 4 feet, about 25%), stake the sod every 2 feet (60 cm) so it cannot slide in heavy rain.
- Roll, then water, each section. Roll each section, at right angles to the rows, before you water it, to press the sod into the soil and remove air pockets. Then give it its first soak within 30 to 60 minutes rather than waiting until the whole lawn is down.
If you lay big rolls, pull the plastic netting out as each roll unwinds. Netting left in the turf works to the surface as the lawn wears and snags feet and mowers.
Watering, rooting and first mowing
Soak new sod the day it goes down and water daily in week one. Taper through week four, then settle at about 1 inch (2.5 cm) a week.
| Period | How often | How much, at least |
|---|---|---|
| Laying day | Each section as it is finished, then a deep soak | Soil moist 3 to 4 in (8 to 10 cm) down |
| Week 1 | Every day | 1/4 in (6 mm) |
| Week 2 | Every other day | 1/4 in (6 mm) |
| Week 3 | Every third day | 1/4 in (6 mm) |
| Week 4 | Every fourth day | 1/4 in (6 mm) |
| Once rooted | Weekly total | 1 in (2.5 cm); tall fescue up to 2 in (5 cm) |
A minimum schedule; water more often in hot or windy weather.
Each watering gets longer as the gaps between them grow, so by the time the sod has rooted, the fewer, deeper waterings add up to about 1 inch (2.5 cm) a week.
Judge by the soil rather than the calendar. Lift a corner or push a screwdriver into the turf: it should slide in easily and come out cool and damp. Grass that turns bluish gray or wilts needs water now, and edges, corners and sunny stretches dry out first. Too much water is the opposite mistake: soil kept soggy holds roots in the thin sod layer and invites disease and weeds, so aim for moist, never muddy.
Standard-cut sod roots in about 10 to 14 days in the growing season, though it can take up to 4 weeks, and the lawn is fully established in 4 to 6 weeks. You will know it has rooted when a corner no longer lifts and white roots show in the soil underneath. From then on, cut back watering gradually over several weeks.
Mow for the first time around day 14, once it has rooted, with the mower at its highest setting and never removing more than a third of the blade. Waiting much longer forces a bigger cut that stresses the young turf. Stay off the lawn entirely once watering starts and through the first week, and hold off ball games, parties and riding mowers until it has been mowed two or three times.
Sow's garden design studio lets you lay out the beds and borders around the new lawn before the sod arrives.