Sod Calculator
Find the amount of sod your lawn area needs, in square feet, rolls and pallets. Use your tape in feet or metres.
Measure your lawn
Grass: Kentucky bluegrass blend. Pallet size changes by farm. Check with your seller.
Your answer
For 1,000 sq ft of lawn, with 10% extra.
A full pallet weighs about 1,032 kg. That uses one BC grower's roll weights, which give 790–1,270 kg.
What it costs
Our default is $0.55 a sq ft: the middle farm or yard price of 11 Canadian sellers (Oct 2026). Pickup, before tax. Delivered sod costs more.
Quick answers
- How much sod
- Your lawn's square feet, plus 5–10% for trimming. That extra comes from Western Turf Farms, a BC grower.
- 1,200 sq ft lawn
- Order about 1,320 sq ft. That is 132 rolls of 10 sq ft, or 2 pallets.
- Sod price
- About $0.55 a sq ft at the farm or yard, from 11 Canadian sellers. Before tax.
- Water on day one
- ¾ in of water in the first hour, says Ontario's sod growers' group.
- Laid by a landscaper
- Ontario, Alberta and Manitoba middle: $2.60 a sq ft, from 7 landscapers. BC: about $4.75 (only 3). Not all landscapers say if tax is in.
How to work it out
- Get the square footage of the lawn. Split an odd shape into boxes, and add up length × width for each one.
- Add 5–10% for trimming around beds and paths. We start you at 10%.
- Divide by 10 to count 2 × 5 ft rolls. Divide by 700 to count pallets. Round up.
- Multiply the square feet by your seller's price per square foot.
40 × 25 = 1,000 sq ft of lawn
1,000 + 10% = 1,100 sq ft to order
1,100 ÷ 10 = 110 rolls
1,100 ÷ 700 = 1.57, so 2 pallets
1,100 × $0.55 = $605 at the farm, before tax
Sod for common lawn sizes
Look down the first column for your lawn size. Each row already has 10% added for trimming.
| Lawn | Order | Rolls of 10 sq ft | Pallets of 700 sq ft | Sod at $0.55 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 400 sq ft (37 m²) | 440 sq ft | 44 | 1 | $242 |
| 500 sq ft (46 m²) | 550 sq ft | 55 | 1 | $303 |
| 800 sq ft (74 m²) | 880 sq ft | 88 | 2 | $484 |
| 1,000 sq ft (93 m²) | 1,100 sq ft | 110 | 2 | $605 |
| 1,200 sq ft (111 m²) | 1,320 sq ft | 132 | 2 | $726 |
| 1,500 sq ft (139 m²) | 1,650 sq ft | 165 | 3 | $908 |
| 2,000 sq ft (186 m²) | 2,200 sq ft | 220 | 4 | $1,210 |
| 3,000 sq ft (279 m²) | 3,300 sq ft | 330 | 5 | $1,815 |
Rolls and pallets are rounded up. Sod price is pickup, before tax.
Measured in metres? Multiply the square metres by 10.76. A 100 m² lawn is about 1,076 sq ft.
Rolls and pallets in Canada
Of the Canadian farms and yards we checked, 9 cut 10 sq ft rolls (2 × 5 ft). 4 cut 9 sq ft rolls.
Pallets at the sellers we checked carry 500 to 800 sq ft, and we use 700. Farms load 50 to 80 rolls on one. Our sod roll calculator counts rolls and their weight.
What sod costs in Canada
Sod costs more at each step, from farm pickup to a lawn laid for you. Here are the middle prices.
| How you buy it | Middle price | Sellers |
|---|---|---|
| At the farm or yard, pickup | $0.55 ($0.39–$1.09) | 11 |
| Bundles delivered by big stores | $0.82 ($0.75–$1.10) | 3 prices, 2 stores (1 on sale), few |
| Home Depot Canada online, delivered | $0.90 ($0.80–$1.00) | 2 prices, 1 store |
| Laid by a landscaper: Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba | $2.60 | 7 |
| Laid by a landscaper: BC | $4.75 | 3, few |
| Laid by a landscaper: all Canada | $2.98 | 10 |
Farm and store prices are before tax. Laid prices are landscapers' own published ranges. Not all of them say if tax is in. They include getting the ground ready.
A full pallet costs about $421 at the farm. That is from only 2 sellers, and 1 of the 2 is worked out from a price per sq ft.
Paying someone to install sod in BC costs about 1.8 times what it does in Ontario, Alberta and Manitoba. For laid sod next to artificial grass, see our artificial grass cost calculator.
Pickup is cheapest, but a pallet is heavy. One BC grower's roll weights put 700 sq ft at about 790–1,270 kg.
Get the ground ready
The Nursery Sod Growers Association of Ontario (NSGAO) has a guide to laying sod. These are its numbers for the soil.
- Till the soil 3–4 in deep.
- Add 3–4 in of topsoil.
- Fertilize: spread 10 kg of 5-20-20 fertilizer for each 1,076 sq ft. That is about 100 m².
So a 1,000 sq ft lawn takes about 9.3 kg of fertilizer.
For how much topsoil to buy, see our topsoil for lawn calculator.
Watering new sod: how much and how often
The NSGAO guide gives one clear number. Give fresh sod ¾ in (19 mm) of water in the first hour.
It says that does more good than 2 in of water given 3 hours later.
How much water is that? About 177 litres for each 100 sq ft of sod. A 1,000 sq ft lawn needs about 1,770 litres.
After the first day
Keep the sod and the soil under it moist until the roots take hold. Purdue Extension says to water every morning, for about 10 days. Penn State says it can take up to 4 weeks.
Some Ontario water rules give new sod extra days. Region of Waterloo needs a permit, from May 31 to September 30. It then allows daily watering on days 2 to 6, and odd or even days up to day 14. Guelph's permit allows any day for 30 days.
Keep people off new sod for 3 to 4 weeks, says Purdue.
Questions people ask
How much sod do I need?
The lawn's square feet, plus 5–10% for trimming. Find your lawn size in the table on this page for rolls and pallets.
Can I measure my lawn in metres?
Yes. Pick metres in step 1. A 100 m² lawn is about 1,076 sq ft, so order about 1,184 sq ft with 10% extra.
How much fertilizer does new sod need?
The Ontario sod growers' group says 10 kg of 5-20-20 fertilizer for each 1,076 sq ft (about 100 m²). For 1,000 sq ft, that is about 9.3 kg.
How much is a pallet of sod?
About $421 picked up, for a pallet of 700–800 sq ft. That is the middle of only 2 sellers, so ask yours. Before tax.
How often does new sod need to be watered?
Every day until it roots, usually about 10 days, says Purdue Extension. Penn State says rooting can take up to 4 weeks. After that, water less often but more each time.
How much should I water new sod?
Give it ¾ in of water in the first hour, says the Nursery Sod Growers Association of Ontario. That is about 177 litres for each 100 sq ft.
How much does it cost to sod a lawn?
For 1,000 sq ft, the sod alone is about $605 at the farm, with 10% extra, before tax. Laid, it is about $2,600 in Ontario, Alberta and Manitoba, or $4,750 in BC (only 3 landscapers).
How much is sod per square foot in Canada?
At the farm or yard, the middle price is $0.55, from 11 sellers. Laid, it is $2.60 in Ontario, Alberta and Manitoba (7 landscapers) and about $4.75 in BC (only 3). Across all 10, the middle is $2.98. Farm prices are before tax; not all landscapers say.
Where our numbers come from
- Sod roll and pallet sizes: 12 Canadian sellers
- Sod: Western Turf Farms (BC), 2026 cost article
- Sod roll weight: River Meadow Farms (Vancouver Island)
- Sod prices: 11 Canadian farms and yards (Oct 2026)
- Store prices: Ontario Home Depot, RONA, Home Hardware and Chamberlain Timber Mart (Oct 2026)
- Sod installed: 10 Canadian landscapers (Oct 2026)
- Sod prep: Nursery Sod Growers Association of Ontario
- Extra sod and watering: Purdue Extension (AY-28-W)
- New sod and topsoil depth: Penn State Extension
- New sod watering rules: Region of Waterloo
- New sod watering permit: City of Guelph
- Unit sizes: NIST Handbook 44, Appendix C (1 ft = 0.3048 m; 1 US gallon = 231 cubic inches)
Made by BuildersCount. Last checked 4 Oct 2026.
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