Install guide

How to measure a yard or site for sod

General guidance for commercial landscapers, not a site-specific recommendation and not professional advice. Soil, irrigation, slope, and weather change the job. When a detail matters, check the sources below, your county extension office, and the grower supplying the sod.

Order from a measured area, not a guess from a truck window. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension says to know the square feet, square yards, or pallets before you call, and to allow a small percentage for waste. Sod is sold by the square foot or the square yard. One square yard is 9 square feet. AgriLife's figure is about 111 square yards per 1,000 square feet (1,000 ÷ 9). An acre is 43,560 square feet, or 4,840 square yards.

Break the site into shapes

Walk the site and sketch it. Ignore the curves at first. Split the area into pieces you can measure with a tape or a measuring wheel:

• Rectangle: length × width, in feet.
• Triangle: base × height ÷ 2. Use this for corners cut on a diagonal.
• Circle: use the diameter. Area is π × (diameter ÷ 2)². A half-circle is half of that.
• Known square feet: a takeoff from a plan. Still walk it if the plan is old.

Add the pieces. Do not subtract a shape twice, and do not count a sidewalk you are not sodding. Beds, drives, and building pads come out of the total.

Example, using AgriLife's conversion: a 50 ft × 20 ft rectangle is 1,000 square feet, about 111 square yards. The sod calculator does the same arithmetic and lets you add more than one shape.

Waste

AgriLife says to allow a small percentage of waste and does not publish a single percent. Straight runs with few curves waste less than tight curves, valve boxes, and skinny strips. The calculator defaults to 5% as a starting point for a simple shape, not as an extension recommendation. Raise it for irregular edges. The grower's quote is what confirms the amount. AgriLife also says not to assume the grower will grade, fertilize, or install. Those are separate.

Pallets and rolls

Pallet size changes by grower and by how the sod is cut. AgriLife gives about 450 square feet as a general pallet figure; real pallets run larger or smaller. The calculator starts with our partner grower's Tifway 419 sizes: a pallet covers 603 square feet, and a big roll (the large highway or commercial roll) covers 450 square feet. Both numbers are editable, so use your grower's sizes if they differ. The grower's quote confirms the count.

What to write down besides the area

• Access: gate width, overhead lines, whether a truck or forklift can get in, and where it can unload.
• Slope and anything that will be pinned.
• Irrigation: on, partial, or none. New sod that cannot be watered will fail.
• The date you can install. Sod is perishable. AgriLife says it performs best when installed within 36 hours of harvest, and sooner in hot weather.

The job form asks for area in square feet or square yards, the address, the date, and site access notes. The form also asks whether you want pallets or big rolls. The calculator can pre-fill the square yards, including the waste percentage you chose, and the format.

Sources

• Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, How to Select and Install Sod (SCSC-PU-125) — square yard = 9 sq ft; about 111 sq yd per 1,000 sq ft; a pallet is about 450 sq ft; allow a small percentage for waste; an acre is 43,560 sq ft or 4,840 sq yd.
• The Lawn Institute, Proper Planting — measure the site before you order so the quantity, equipment access, and irrigation plan are known.