Sat Feb 28 2015 | installation | sod
Welcome to the measuring guide! This guide will walk you through the process of measuring the area of your yard. Measuring for a common yard shape (e.g. rectangular, circular, triangular) can be easy, however, things get a bit trickier when measuring irregular shapes. We'll show you the best and most intuitive way to closely approximate area without using any tricky math.
One thing to keep in mind is, while sod is sold by the square foot, it's harvested as 5 square foot pieces (1.25ft wide x 4ft long). We recommend rounding to the nearest multiple of 5 (e.g. 623ft rounds up to 625ft).
Is your yard rectangular?
Measuring a rectangular yard is as easy as measuring the width, then the length and multiplying them together to get the area. If your yard is comprised of two or more rectangular shapes, just find the area of each then add together to get your total area.
Is your yard circular or elliptical?
This technique will work for circular or elliptical yard shapes. Start by measuring from the center of the ellipse to the farthest point on the perimeter of the ellipse. That will be your 'width'. Remember not to measure the complete distance across the entire ellipse -- just from the center.
Next, return to the center and measure from the center to the shortest point on the perimeter. This will be your 'height'. If your yard is a circle, width and height will be equal. Now, multiply the length, width, and pi together to get your total area. You can approximate the constant 'pi' as 3.14 on your calculator.
Is your yard triangular?
To measure the height of the triangle, start at the base and measure to the farthest point. For the base, measure the complete distance from point to point, perpendicular to the height. Multiply 1/2, base, and height together to get your total area.
Is your yard an irregular shape?
There are too many possibilities to cover, however we can give you some tips that may prove useful. One trick is to break up your yard into smaller manageable parts that you can calculate individually, then add them together.
You can also try using rectangular approximations. If your yard loosely resembles a rectangular yard but is curved in some areas, try to approximate by measuring for a rectangle that has as much empty space as it does extra space. Take a look at the graphic to the left to get an idea.
If you're still stumped, don't fret! You're certainly not the first. We're always happy to help you. Head on over to the contact page to get in touch with us and we'll walk you through the process.