Sod Calculator
Sod rolls, pallets, and cost for lawns from area.
What it does
Sod arrives as rolls or slabs that tile the lawn like carpet, and the count is area plus cuts divided by roll size. US rolls run two by five feet for ten square feet each, stacked forty five to a pallet, while metric rolls commonly cover one square meter with fifty per pallet.
The tool above takes lawn area in either system with a cuts allowance. It returns rolls, pallets, and cost at your pallet price.
Freshness decides success more than math. Cut sod heats and dries within a day, so delivery timing, same day laying, and immediate soaking matter as much as the count.
Soil prep underperforms in most failed lawns. Level, amend, and roll the bare ground before a single piece lands, because sod roots into preparation, not wishes.
How to use
- Switch the unit system first: imperial for ft2, metric for m2.
- Measure the lawn in rectangles and add them.
- Set cuts allowance by curves and beds.
- Order pallets for one delivery day and lay at once.
Formula
- 10 ft2 / 1 m2
- Coverage per roll in each system.
- 45 / 50
- Rolls per pallet, US then metric.
- waste
- Cuts around beds, curves, and edges.
Odd shapes measure as bounding rectangles minus big beds. Small curves eat more than they look like from above.
Worked example
Example: 1000 ft2 lawn, 5% cuts, $160 pallets
Lawn 1000 ft2, five percent cuts, pallets of 45 at $160.
- With cuts: 1000 x 1.05 = 1050 ft2.
- Rolls: 1050 / 10 = 105 rolls.
- Pallets: 105 / 45 = 2.33, round up to 3.
- Cost: 3 x $160 = $480.00 before soil and delivery.
Reference table
| Lawn | Rolls | Pallets |
|---|---|---|
| 500 ft2 | 53 | 2 |
| 1000 ft2 | 105 | 3 |
| 2000 ft2 | 210 | 5 |
| 5000 ft2 | 525 | 12 |
Limits
- Rectangle math. Curves and beds estimated by waste share.
- Roll and pallet sizes vary by farm.
- Soil, delivery, and labor excluded.
- Freshness window ignored. Lay fast.
Common mistakes
- Ordering exact area with no cuts share.
- Letting pallets bake in the sun for days.
- Laying on unprepared lumpy ground.
- Skipping the first deep watering.
- Mowing too short in the first weeks.
Try it yourself
Quick checks. Answers sit tucked under each question.
750 ft2, no waste. Rolls and pallets?
75 rolls. Then 75 / 45 = 1.67, so 2 pallets.
93 m2 metric, 5% cuts. Rolls?
93 x 1.05 = 97.65, so 98 square meters.
Questions
How big is a sod roll?
Usually 2 by 5 ft in the US (10 ft2) or 1 m2 in metric markets.
How much does a pallet cover?
About 450 ft2 in the US or 50 m2 metric, varying by farm.
How fast must sod go down?
Within a day of cutting, ideally hours. Heat kills stacked rolls.
Seed or sod?
Sod gives instant lawn at higher cost. Seed costs little but needs weeks of care.
How much water at laying?
Soak through the sod into the soil below on day one, then daily while rooting.
When to mow new sod?
After roots grip, usually two to three weeks. Mow high first.