Planning
Measurement Guide
Plan your work and work your plan, a guide to sod measurement.
Installing sod is one of the most convenient and efficient ways to create a beautiful, established lawn. Since sod is sold by the square foot, it’s essential to determine exactly how much sod is needed to cover your entire lawn. For standard-shaped areas, measure the length and width to get the total square footage required. For more irregular or curved areas, divide the space into squares or rectangles, then add up the totals to ensure accuracy.
Sod installation preparation requires a little extra planning. It's recommended to add 5-10% to your total to account for waste when cutting sod for irregular shapes or smaller areas.
Each piece of sod weighs approximately 5 to 6 pounds per square foot, and we harvest sod in 16" wide by 45" long pieces (which equals 5 square feet). Since sod is a perishable product, make sure your yard is ready for immediate installation after delivery. If you're wondering how much sod do I need, take time to carefully measure each area to be covered. For the best results, sketch out your lawn and write down the measurements to ensure you don’t miss any sections.
When calculating lawn size for sod, use the formulas below. Adding up to 5% extra will help account for small measurement errors or miscalculations.
Geometric Shapes
Many lawns can be measured by breaking them into geometric figures like rectangles, circles, or triangles. For more irregularly shaped lawns, you can divide them into these smaller shapes and combine their areas for the total size. If your lawn has curved or complex borders, take extra care to measure sod for curved areas by sketching them out and using basic geometry to get an accurate total.
Using a sod measurement tool can also help simplify the process, ensuring that your measurements are as precise as possible. The area of a lawn with an irregular shape can be difficult to measure. Refer to the following examples for possible geometric shape combinations.
By planning carefully and double-checking your figures, your sod installation will go smoothly from start to finish!
The area of a rectangle is found by multiplying the length (l) by the width (w).
Area = (l)(w)
Example 1:
Calculate the area of a rectangular lawn with a length of 50 ft and a width of 25 ft.
Area = (l)(w)
Area = (50 ft)(25 ft)
Area = 1,250 ft²
The area of a circle is the radius squared (r2) multiplied by π = 3.14. The radius is equal to one-half the diameter of the circle.
Area = πr²
Area = (3.14)r²
Example 2:
Calculate the area of a circle with a radius of 30 ft.
Area = (3.14)r2
Area = (3.14)(30 ft)2 remember, square the radius first then multiply by 3.14
Area = 2,826 ft²
The area of an oval is the length (l) multiplied by the width (w), multiplied by 0.8
Area = [(l)(w)](0.8)
Example 3:
Calculate the area of an oval with a length of 60 ft and a width of 30 ft.
Area = [(l)(w)](0.8)
Area = [(60ft)(30ft)](0.8)
Area = 1,440 ft²
The area of a triangle is one-half the base (b) multiplied by the height (h).
Area = [(b)(h)] / 2
Triangles
The area of a triangle is one-half the base (b) multiplied by the height (h).
Area = [(b)(h)] / 2
Do you need advice for your sod project? We are a family owned and operated farm and one of our sod experts would love to speak with you or reply to your online question. Call us at 951-654-7721 to speak with one of our sod experts during office hours.
This example shows a series of large rectangles and small triangles.
