The first decision is not how many pallets. It is whether you are planting sod at all. Seed is a quarter of the price but takes a season to fill in and needs daily water. Sod is a finished lawn in one afternoon - but only if you have the prep and the delivery day lined up. Pick sod if you need green now, if the yard slopes, or if kids and dogs are already using it. Pick seed if you have a bare flat rectangle and a summer of patience. This page assumes you have already picked sod.
How sod is sold
Sod does not come in bags. It comes on pallets. One pallet covers about 500 square feet of lawn - enough for a small city yard. The rolls are stacked on a wooden skid and shrink-wrapped, dropped on your driveway by a flatbed truck.
For smaller jobs, some nurseries sell individual rolls. A standard roll is about 10 square feet - a piece roughly 2 ft wide by 5 ft long, rolled up like a carpet. Big rolls of 50 to 75 sq ft are available for larger layouts but need two people to unroll.
Measure once, add 5 percent
Measure the open lawn area in feet. For a rectangular yard, length times width. For an L-shape, split it into two rectangles and add. For curves around flower beds, eyeball the average - then add 5 percent waste.
Five percent is the standard on a rectangular lot. If the yard wraps around a patio, a driveway or a curved garden bed, bump it to 10 percent, because every cut around an edge wastes a strip. The tool rounds up to whole pallets for you - you cannot order half a skid.
Worked example - 20 by 15 ft
A small city yard that is 20 ft long and 15 ft wide is 300 square feet. Add 5 percent waste and you are laying 315 square feet. At 500 sq ft per pallet, that rounds up to 1 pallet. At 10 sq ft per roll, that is 32 rolls. Either way, you are not buying enough to fill a whole truck, so ask the nursery whether they will deliver a single pallet - many charge a trip fee under a minimum order.
Sod versus seed by the numbers
| Factor | Sod | Seed |
|---|---|---|
| Time to green | same day | one to two seasons |
| Cost per sq ft | higher | about a quarter |
| Erosion on slopes | excellent | washes out |
| Watering in week one | twice daily | keep seed wet |
| Summer install | risky | even riskier |
| Weeds at install | none | comes later |
Watering the first two weeks
The day the rolls go down, water thoroughly so the soil underneath is soaked. For the first week, water twice a day - morning and late afternoon - long enough to dampen the root zone, not drown it. In week two, back off to once a day. By week three you can drop to every two to three days.
Never let the rolls sit on the pallet overnight in summer. Sod generates heat as it sits, and the bottom layer cooks inside 24 hours. Plan the prep so the soil is raked and ready before the flatbed backs into the driveway.
Slopes are the sod giveaway
If your yard is sloped, seed is usually a mistake. Rain washes the seed downhill before it germinates, and what survives grows in streaks. Sod holds the slope the day you lay it. For steeper hills, ask the nursery about longer sod rolls or erosion-control netting, and stake the edges until the roots knit in.
Sod Calculator
Decide sod over seed, measure the lawn, and read out how many 500 sq ft pallets or 10 sq ft rolls to order with 5 percent waste.
How to use
- Measure the lawn length and width in feet
- Add 5 percent waste for cuts around curves and beds
- Type in your square footage and the waste factor
- Read pallet count - one pallet covers about 500 sq ft
- Read roll count if you are buying by the roll - one roll is about 10 sq ft
Supported formats and limits
- Estimate only - irregular shapes and slopes waste more than 5 percent
- One pallet covers roughly 500 square feet
- One standard roll is about 10 square feet
- Sod is perishable - lay it the day it arrives
Examples
A 20 by 15 ft lawn at 5 percent waste comes to about 315 square feet, which rounds up to 1 pallet or 32 rolls.Common errors
- Length and width must both be positive numbers
- Waste factor should sit between 0 and 20 percent
- Radius must be positive for circular lawns
- Price per pallet is optional - leave at zero for volume only
Privacy and browser support
No measurements leave your browser. The whole calc runs locally.
FAQ
How big is a pallet of sod?
One pallet covers about 500 square feet. It is shrink-wrapped on a wooden skid and delivered on a flatbed. A typical residential lawn needs one to three pallets.
How big is one roll of sod?
A standard small roll is about 10 square feet - usually a piece 2 ft wide by 5 ft long. Some nurseries sell big rolls of 50 to 75 sq ft for larger jobs.
Sod or seed - which should I pick?
Sod gives you a lawn in a day and is the only real option on a slope, where seed washes away. Seed is a quarter of the price but takes a season to fill in and needs constant water. Slopes, shady patches you want green now, and dogs or kids running outside push you toward sod.
How much waste do I add?
Five percent for a rectangular lawn. Bump it to 10 percent if the yard curves around beds, a patio or a driveway. The roll cuts do not always line up perfectly.
How do I water new sod?
Water twice a day for the first week, long enough to soak the soil under the rolls. Back off to once a day in week two, then once every few days by week three. Never let the rolls dry out - sod dies within hours in summer heat.
When is the best time to lay sod?
Early fall or early spring, when the soil is warm but the air is cool. Avoid midsummer - the sod cooks on the pallet before lunch. Lay it the day it arrives, never overnight.
Do I need to prep the soil first?
Yes. Kill off the old grass, till 2 to 3 inches, rake the grade smooth, and top with 1 to 2 inches of screened topsoil. Bad prep is the number one reason new sod fails.