The turf calculator works out how much artificial turf or natural sod a rectangular lawn takes. Artificial Turf Supply’s standard rolls are 15 feet wide, so it lays strips that wide whichever way buys less turf and gives the seams, the offcut and the infill; sod is ordered by the square foot or the pallet, so it adds a margin and counts pallets.
It is a takeoff for one rectangle. Curves, beds and paths change the cutting, and an installer's own layout may differ.
How to use it
- 01
Measure the lawn
Length and width in feet with a tape or a measuring wheel, leaving out the house, beds and anything else that will not be turf, as Mississippi State University Extension advises. An L-shaped lawn is two rectangles: for sod, run each one and add them; for artificial turf, keep the strips running the same way in both, since the calculator picks each rectangle's direction on its own, and expect a seam where the two meet.
- 02
Pick artificial turf or sod
Artificial turf asks one more thing: its weight. Artificial Turf Supply's guide puts infill at 3 pounds a square foot for turf under 60 ounces and 2 pounds for turf over 60, with no rate at exactly 60; the weight is on the product's listing. Other makers' rates may differ, so use theirs if they give one.
- 03
Price it at your supplier's rates
Enter the price a square foot of turf and a pound of infill, or of sod by the square foot or the pallet. No price is filled in.
How the math works
Artificial turf strips
Artificial Turf Supply sells its turf in rolls 15 feet wide and up to 100 feet long, and says to lay every piece with its fibers the same way and keep seams few. Laid along one side, the lawn takes the other side ÷ 15, rounded up, strips, each as long as the first side; the calculator tries both directions and keeps the one that buys less turf, which can mean more seams: a 40 × 16 ft lawn takes three 16 ft strips, 720 sq ft with two seams, where two 40 ft strips would buy 1,200 sq ft with one. A 30 × 20 ft lawn takes two strips 20 ft long, 600 sq ft with one 20 ft seam; a 25 × 20 ft lawn buys the same 600 sq ft and cuts 100 sq ft off the second strip.
Seams, offcut and long runs
Seams = strips − 1, each as long as a strip. The offcut is the turf bought minus the lawn's area. A strip longer than 100 feet is longer than a roll and needs an end seam every 100 feet, which the calculator counts separately. The guide says to allow extra turf for trimming and seaming but gives no figure, so none is added: ask the seller how much.
Infill and weight
Infill = the lawn's area × 3 or 2 pounds, for turf under or over 60 ounces, Artificial Turf Supply's rates; at exactly 60 ounces the guide gives none, so ask the seller: 1,800 pounds for 600 sq ft of turf under 60 ounces. Artificial Turf Supply puts its turf at about half a pound a square foot, so 600 sq ft is about 300 pounds to carry.
Sod
Order = the area × 1.05, rounded up, the extension's about 5 percent more. A pallet typically holds 450 to 500 sq ft, so the pallets run from the order ÷ 500 to the order ÷ 450, each rounded up: a 1,000 sq ft lawn orders 1,050 sq ft, 3 pallets either way. Ask the farm how much its pallet holds.
Where the number goes wrong
- Laying artificial turf strips with their fibers running different ways; Artificial Turf Supply's planning page says the seams then show.
- Counting only the lawn's area for artificial turf. Rolls come in fixed widths, so the turf bought is the strips, offcut included.
- Leaving no margin for sod. The extension suggests about 5 percent more than the area.
- Mixing inches and feet. Every input is in feet: 6 inches is 0.5 ft.
Questions people ask
How much artificial turf do I need for a 30 × 20 yard?
Two 15-foot strips 20 feet long, 600 square feet with one seam, and 1,800 pounds of infill for turf under 60 ounces at Artificial Turf Supply's rate. Add whatever the seller advises for trimming.
How wide do artificial turf rolls come?
Artificial Turf Supply's turf is 15 feet wide and up to 100 feet long. Other brands may differ; check the product's listing.
How many square feet are in a pallet of sod?
Mississippi State University Extension says a pallet typically holds 450 to 500 square feet; ask the farm what its pallets hold.