Solve backwards
How big a lawn will my pallets of sod lay?
- 2 palletsThe example worked below
- Sod CalculatorEvery figure is its own
You have
How much sod?
Worked by the Sod Calculator at the settings below.
The settings it uses
- Coverage per pallet
- 450 sq ft
- Waste Factor (%)
- 5
What it will do
857 sq ft of lawn
79.6 m²
One lawn. Enough for a lawn 33 × 26 ft.
Or several. Less than one lawn of the size the Sod Calculator opens on (a lawn 33 × 26 ft).
Check it forwards
- Lawn Length
- 33 ft
- Lawn Width
- 26 ft
- It asks for
- 2 pallets
- You have
- 2 pallets
The Sod Calculator asks for 2 pallets at that size, and 3 pallets one step larger.
If you had more, or less
Around your amount
Each worked by the Sod Calculator at the same settings.
Half
1 pallet
429 sq ft
a lawn 23.3 × 18.4 ft
Yours
2 pallets
857 sq ft
a lawn 33 × 26 ft
Half as much again
3 pallets
1,286 sq ft
a lawn 40 × 32 ft
Double
4 pallets
1,714 sq ft
a lawn 47 × 37 ft
Common amounts
What each amount of sod covers
The sizes it is usually sold in, each worked by the Sod Calculator at the settings above.
| You have | It covers | As one lawn | Average lawns |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 pallet | 429 sq ft(39.8 m²) | a lawn 23.3 × 18.4 ft | under 1 |
| 2 pallets | 857 sq ft(79.6 m²) | a lawn 33 × 26 ft | under 1 |
| 3 pallets | 1,286 sq ft(119 m²) | a lawn 40 × 32 ft | 1 |
| 5 pallets | 2,143 sq ft(199 m²) | a lawn 52 × 41 ft | 1 |
Four to five hundred square feet a pallet
Pallet coverage is printed on the supplier's delivery ticket and commonly runs 400 to 500 square feet, 37 to 46 m²; the calculator opens at 450. It varies with grass type and how the sod is cut and rolled, and it sits in the denominator — a pallet that really covers 400 rather than 500 lays a fifth less lawn.
Curves cost more than five per cent
Five per cent is standard for trimming a simple rectangular lawn, and read backwards it comes off the pallets. The trimming happens at the boundary, though, so a small plot with a serpentine edge loses a far larger share to offcuts than a big square one — the answer here is for a plain rectangle.
Living turf does not wait
Sod has to be laid within a day or two of delivery, and the calculator rounds up to whole pallets without showing what it rounded away — on a 10 by 8 metre lawn nearly a whole pallet arrives spare. Reading the pallets backwards shows how much lawn a delivery really makes before it starts to yellow on the drive.
How the answer is worked
Nothing here is a second formula. The Sod Calculator runs forwards — a size in, a quantity out — and this page grows its own starting lawn in proportion until the quantity it asks for is what you have. Where it rounds up to whole containers, the answer is the largest size before the next one would be needed.
Where the calculator adds an allowance for cuts or breakage when you order, the same allowance comes off here, because it is the same calculator: a stack you already own finishes less than its face value. Where it adds none, neither does this page — the settings beside the answer say which.
Sod Calculator
runs it forwardsEstimate how many pieces or pallets of sod you need for a lawn area.
Work out what to buy insteadSolve backwards
Other things you might already have
How big a bed will my bags of mulch cover?
Bagged mulch, worked by the Mulch Calculator.
How much bed will a yard of mulch cover?
Bulk mulch, worked by the Mulch & Gravel Calculator.
How much ground will my gravel cover?
Gravel, worked by the Mulch & Gravel Calculator.
How big a bed will my topsoil fill?
Topsoil, worked by the Topsoil Calculator.
How big a raised bed will my soil fill?
Raised bed soil, worked by the Garden Soil Calculator.
How much ground will my compost dress?
Compost, worked by the Compost Blend Calculator.
Solve backwards
Start from what is already in the yard
Paint, sheets, rolls, bags and pieces, each read the other way by the calculator that orders it.
The calculator's own figures
Nothing is estimated twice: the page runs the same calculator you would order with.
The largest size that fits
Where a calculator rounds up to whole containers, the answer stops before the next one.
Both unit systems
Gallons and litres, square feet and square metres, side by side.
Frequently asked questions
- How much lawn does 2 pallets of sod cover?
- At the Sod Calculator's own settings, 857 sq ft (79.6 m²) — a lawn 33 × 26 ft. Every figure follows the settings, which you can change in the calculator.
- How many square feet are in a pallet of sod?
- Commonly 400 to 500 square feet (37 to 46 m²), printed on the delivery ticket; individual pieces cover 9 to 10 square feet each. With five per cent for trimming the edges, a 450 square foot pallet lays about 430 square feet (40 m²) of plain rectangular lawn.
- How soon does sod have to be laid?
- Within a day or two of delivery, and the same day in hot weather — the rolls heat up and yellow on the pallet. Have the ground graded, levelled and raked before it arrives, and lay from a straight edge with the joints staggered like brickwork.
- Should I buy extra sod?
- Five per cent is usual for a simple rectangular lawn; a curved or irregular edge loses much more to trimming. Because sod is sold in whole pallets, the rounding up usually provides the margin — the table above shows how much lawn each pallet count actually makes.