Sod Ordering & Laying Sheet
Measure, order, and have the ground READY before it arrives. The clock starts the moment it is cut.
BFCBrilliance · bfcbrilliance.com/tools/sod-calculator
The order
- Address
- Delivery date
- Supplier
- Grass type
- Pallet coverage
- LAWN AREA
- With waste
- PALLETS
- Price per pallet
- Total
Measure in rectangles and add
| Section | Length | Width | Area | Curved edges? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
The arithmetic
- Area
- length x width, added across sections
- With waste
- area x (1 + waste %)
- Pallets
- area with waste / pallet coverage, rounded UP
- Square yards
- square feet / 9
- Straight edges
- 10% waste
- Curves and tree rings
- 15-20%
- Pallet coverage
- commonly 400-500 sq ft — ASK
- ⚠ Lay within
- about 24 hours, less in heat
BEFORE the delivery arrives
- Ground cleared of old turf, weeds and debris
- Graded so water runs AWAY from buildings
- Tilled and any soil amendment worked in
- Surface raked level and lightly firmed
- Irrigation planned — sod needs heavy watering immediately
- Delivery access checked; a pallet is very heavy
- Help arranged — this is not a one-person afternoon
- Weather checked; laying in extreme heat is much harder on it
- A plan for any leftover, the same day
Laying it
- Start along the longest straight edge
- Stagger the joints like brickwork — never line them up
- Butt the edges tight; gaps dry out and never close
- Cut curves with a sharp knife against the finished edge
- Avoid stretching pieces to close a gap — they shrink back
- Roll or firm it to get root contact with the soil
- Water deeply the same day, and keep watering for weeks
- Stay off it as much as possible while it roots
Sod is the one material that is worse for waiting
Every other calculator on this site suggests buying a little extra. This one does not. Sod is harvested to order and starts dying immediately — a stacked pallet in warm weather will compost from its own heat within a day or two. Order what you can lay, prepare the ground first, and treat the delivery date as the start of a countdown rather than the start of the project.
The preparation is the job
The arithmetic on this sheet takes five minutes. Clearing, grading and tilling take far longer, and they decide whether the lawn lives. Sod laid on unprepared ground fails visibly and expensively, and no amount of watering afterwards rescues it.