Sod & Grass Seed Calculator
How much turf a lawn takes, in rolls and in pallets, and how much seed would cover the same ground. Sod gives you a lawn the same afternoon; seed costs a fraction as much and takes a season.
Sod needed
126rolls
- Lawn area
- 1,200.0 sq ft
- With waste
- 1,260.0 sq ft
- Pallets
- 3
- Seed instead
- 3.6 lb
- Square metres
- 117.1
- Includes a 5% waste allowance. The bare figure is 1,200.00 sq ft.
- Five per cent covers the offcuts round curved edges and beds. A rectangular lawn needs less; a lawn with several island beds in it needs more.
- Seed is the alternative to sod, not an addition to it. The figure here is for a new lawn — overseeding an existing one takes about half as much.
- Sod is perishable. It wants laying within a day of delivery, so order it for the day the ground is ready rather than the day you start clearing.
About the sod calculator
The arithmetic is an area with a small allowance on top. What matters more is the unit you order in. Sod is cut into rolls or slabs of about ten square feet each and delivered stacked on pallets of roughly 450, so the sensible order is in whole pallets — part pallets usually cost more per square foot and sometimes are not sold at all.
Five per cent is the right allowance for a rectangular lawn. It covers the pieces cut off against curved edges and beds, which mostly cannot be used elsewhere because the offcut is the wrong shape rather than the wrong size. A lawn with several island beds or a winding edge wants ten.
Seed is the alternative rather than an addition. Three pounds per thousand square feet is a typical rate for a new lawn from bare soil, and about half that for overseeding one that already exists — but the rate varies a good deal by species, so the bag is the authority and the rate here is a field you can change.
The thing that catches people out with sod is that it is perishable. It is a living plant cut off its roots, and stacked on a pallet in summer it starts to heat within a day. Order it for the day the ground is ready, not the day you start clearing.
What it works out
- Rolls and pallets of sod
- Grass seed for the same area, at your own rate
- An allowance for cutting round curved edges
- Area in square feet and square metres
The formula
Rolls = (Area × (1 + Waste)) ÷ Roll coverage Seed = Area ÷ 1,000 × Rate
The sod side is an area divided by what one roll covers, with a small allowance added first. A forty by thirty lawn is 1,200 square feet; at five per cent that is 1,260, which is 126 rolls of ten square feet, or three pallets.
Pallets are the number that matters when ordering. Sod is delivered stacked and part pallets usually carry a premium, so three whole pallets is what to ask for even though the third is barely used.
Seed works from the bare area rather than the padded one, because seed is broadcast over the whole lawn and nothing is cut to fit. At three pounds per thousand square feet, 1,200 square feet takes 3.6 pounds.
The waste allowance is small because sod is a forgiving material to cut — a knife through it takes seconds. What the allowance really covers is that the offcut from a curved edge is the wrong shape to use anywhere else, not that cutting is difficult.
- Area
- The lawn — length times width.
- Roll coverage
- What one piece covers. A 2 by 5 foot roll is 10 square feet.
- Pallet coverage
- What a delivered pallet holds, usually 400 to 500 square feet.
- Rate
- Pounds of seed per thousand square feet, from the bag.
- Waste
- Extra for cutting round curves and beds.
A worked example
A forty by thirty foot back lawn, with five per cent for cutting round the edges.
That works out to 126 rolls.
- Lawn area
- 1,200.0 sq ft
- With waste
- 1,260.0 sq ft
- Pallets
- 3
- Seed instead
- 3.6 lb
- Square metres
- 117.1
Questions
How much sod do I need for 1,000 square feet?
105 rolls of ten square feet with a five per cent cutting allowance, which is three pallets. It comes to three because a pallet holds around 450 square feet and two would leave you 150 short.
How many square feet is a pallet of sod?
Usually 400 to 500, most often about 450. It varies by region and supplier because the roll size does, so confirm it when you order rather than working from the figure here.
How much does a pallet of sod weigh?
Between 1,500 and 3,000 pounds depending on how wet it is — freshly cut sod holds a lot of water. That is a real constraint on where it can be delivered and what can carry it across the garden.
Should I use sod or seed?
Sod gives you a lawn the same afternoon and costs several times as much. Seed costs a fraction and takes a growing season to look like anything, and needs watering consistently the whole time. Sod is also the answer on a slope, where seed washes off before it germinates.
How much grass seed do I need?
Around three pounds per thousand square feet for a new lawn from bare soil, so a 1,200 square foot lawn takes 3.6 pounds. Overseeding an existing lawn takes roughly half that. Rates vary by species — the bag is the authority.
How soon do I have to lay sod after it arrives?
Within a day, and sooner in hot weather. It is a living plant cut off its roots, and a pallet of it starts to heat in the middle within twenty-four hours. Order it for the day the ground is prepared, not the day you start clearing.
Do I need to add topsoil before laying sod?
Usually. Sod roots into whatever it is laid on, and if that is compacted subsoil it struggles. Two to four inches of decent topsoil, raked level and firmed, is the normal preparation.
How much extra should I order for an irregular lawn?
Ten per cent rather than five once there are curved edges, island beds or trees to cut round. The offcut from a curve is the wrong shape to use elsewhere, so it is genuinely lost rather than merely trimmed.