How Do I Measure My Lawn? Easy Formulas for Square Footage [Infographic]

If you have an outdoor project and need figure out how many square feet you have, we can help! Here's an easy reference guide for any shape, whether your space is a square, circle, triangle, or an irregular shape.

How to Measure for Mulch

Aside from making your lawn look good, mulch prevents soil erosion, conserves moisture, protects roots, and discourages weed growth. The most commonly used mulching materials include:

• wood

• compost

• leaves

• straw

• stones

• bark

• rubber

• cocoa hull (WARNING: this contains "theobromine" which is lethal to cats and dogs)

Once you figure out which material you want to use, measure the target area using the formulas above. Plug the total square feet into this formula to get the cubic yards:

Square footage x desired depth (in inches)/ 324

For example, if you have a 300 sq ft flower bed that needs mulch 2 inches deep, you will need 1.85 cubic yards of mulch.

In general, mulch should be 2–4 inches deep depending on which material you are using.

How to Measure for Sod

Sod is perfect if you need a beautiful lawn in a hurry. Measuring for sod may require you to break down your lawn into different shapes and adding them together to get the total. The following breaks a yard down into a triangle, rectangle, and half-circle. Each is calculated for their respective square footage and then added together.

There is no standard size for a roll of sod and it will vary depending on which company you are using. For the sake of this example, let's say the roll of sod is 9 square feet (4.5 ft length, 2 ft width, and 1 inch thick). We will round up our square footage total to 1016 sq ft and divide that number by 9 (for the 9 sq ft roll of sod). This gives us approximately 113 rolls of sod needed for our project.

How to Measure Lawn Size for Other Lawn Care Needs

Do you need figure out how much fertilizer of grass seed you need? Or maybe you're calling around for lawn mowing quotes from landscapers. Learning how to quickly and easily measure your property based on shapes is a good skill to acquire.

As seen in the sod example, breaking down your yard into simple shapes is the easiest way to figure out the square footage of your lawn. Common measuring tools include:

• tape measures (for moderately sized areas)

• measuring wheels

• open reel tape measures

• phone apps (both iPhones and Androids have measuring apps)

With your preferred measuring tool and our Measuring Mini Guide in hand, you’ll be able to tackle any property, no matter what it’s shaped like. If you’re in the Philadelphia area and need help with your next lawn or landscaping project, Green Leaf Outdoor Services delivers excellent results.