How much sod do I need?

Order it for the day you can lay it

Sod is measured in area, so the calculation is straightforward: length times width, plus an allowance for the pieces you cut and cannot reuse. A standard slab is 16 by 24 inches, which covers 2.67 ft², and a pallet holds roughly 450 ft², though this varies by farm and by region — some sell 500 ft² pallets and some sell big rolls.

Waste on sod is lower than on tile or shingles because it cuts cleanly with a knife and small offcuts can be tucked into gaps. 5% is enough for a rectangular lawn. Go to 10% when the lawn curves, wraps around beds, or has tree rings and a path through it, because each curve means a piece cut to a shape that fits nowhere else.

The part that catches people out is timing, not quantity. Sod is a living crop harvested to order. It starts degrading the moment it is cut, and on a warm day a stacked pallet can heat up and yellow within 24 hours. Order it to arrive the morning you intend to lay it, have the ground already graded and watered, and lay it the same day.

Prepare before the delivery, not after. The soil should be loosened, levelled and moist, ideally with 2 to 4 inches of fresh topsoil worked in. Sod laid on hard, dry ground roots poorly no matter how good the turf was.

A worked example: a backyard with a patio

Say the backyard measures 40 × 30 feet and a 12 × 10 foot patio sits inside it. The lawn area is 1,200 − 120 = 1,080 ft², and with 5% waste you order for 1,134 ft². That is 426 pieces of 16 × 24 inches, or 2.5 pallets, which in practice means 3 pallets.

Notice the gap between 2.5 pallets and 3. Many sod farms sell partial pallets or extra pieces by the square foot. Ask before you order a full third pallet: if they sell by the piece, you can order exactly what the lawn needs.

Pallets for common lawn sizes

Watering after you lay it

Lift a corner after the second week. If the sod resists, roots are reaching into the soil and you can start stretching the time between waterings.

Mistakes that kill new sod

• Lining up the seams. Lay sod in a brick pattern, staggering the short ends, so no long seam runs across the lawn. Straight seams dry out and show for months.
• Leaving gaps. Push each piece tight against the last. Gaps dry at the edges and the sod shrinks back.
• Walking on it too soon. Keep foot traffic off for two to three weeks while the roots knit.
• Laying it in the heat of midsummer without a water plan. Sod can be laid most of the growing season, but in hot weather it needs water within an hour of going down.

What it costs

In the US, sod commonly costs about $0.35 to $0.90 per square foot from a farm or garden center, depending on the grass type, so a 450 ft² pallet runs roughly $160 to $400. Delivery is often extra. For the backyard above, three pallets put the sod alone at around $480 to $1,200. Prices vary a lot between regions and grass varieties.