How Much Turf Do I Need? Measure Your Lawn Right

Quick answer: To work out turf, measure your lawn’s area in square metres (length × width) and add about 5% extra for cutting and shaping around edges. Turf is usually sold by the roll (each covering about 1 m² in the UK) or by the square metre. So a 5m × 4m lawn (20 m²) needs about 21 m² of turf, or 21 rolls. For intricate shapes with lots of curves, allow 10%.

Turf is one of the easier materials to calculate — it covers a flat area, so it’s area rather than volume — but odd-shaped lawns and the offcuts around edges trip people up, and turf is perishable, so you don’t want to over-order by much. Order short and you’re left with a bare strip that needs a fresh delivery; order too much and the surplus can’t be stored. This guide covers measuring, the wastage allowance, handling awkward shapes, and why timing the delivery matters. Use the calculator above for your area.

The basic calculation

Turf covers a flat area, so you need two measurements: the length and width of the lawn, in metres. Length × width gives the area in square metres — and since turf is sold per m² or per roll (each about 1 m² in the UK), the area is very nearly your order. A 5m × 4m lawn is 20 m², so 20 rolls, plus a wastage allowance.

Because turf is measured by area rather than volume, there’s no depth to factor in — which makes it one of the simpler materials to estimate, once you’ve handled the shape and wastage.

Add a wastage allowance

You’ll trim turf to fit edges, curves, and around features like trees, paths, and borders, and those offcuts can’t always be reused elsewhere. Add about 5% to your area to cover cutting and shaping — more like 10% for a lawn with lots of curves, borders, or obstacles.

So a 20 m² lawn becomes about 21 m² ordered (5%), or 22 m² if it’s an intricate shape. It’s better to have a roll spare than to be one short with turf that needs laying the same day, since you can’t easily order a single extra roll and have it delivered fresh in time.

Handling awkward shapes

Few lawns are perfect rectangles, so break the shape down. For L-shapes and rectangles, split into rectangles, calculate each area, and add them up. For circles, area = π × radius² — so a 4m-wide circular lawn (radius 2m) is 3.14 × 2 × 2 = 12.6 m². For triangles, area = ½ × base × height. For irregular curves, break the shape into rough rectangles and triangles, or measure the longest length and an average width.

Add the sections together, then add your wastage allowance to the total. Rounding each section up slightly builds in a little margin, which suits turf since you’d rather have a spare roll than a gap.

Order turf close to laying day

Turf is alive and perishable — it should be laid within about 24 hours of delivery, especially in warm weather, or it yellows and deteriorates on the pallet. So unlike soil or gravel, don’t order turf weeks ahead. Prepare the ground first — level it, remove weeds, firm and rake it — then time the turf delivery for the day you’ll actually lay it.

This is also why the wastage allowance matters but shouldn’t be huge: leftover turf can’t be stored, so you want just enough to finish cleanly without a large surplus going to waste. Getting the ground ready in advance means you can lay straight from the pallet.

Prepare the ground before you order

Good turf on bad ground fails, so preparation is half the job. Before delivery, clear weeds, level the surface, firm it by treading, and rake to a fine tilth. Many people add a thin layer of topsoil to level low spots and give the roots something to knit into — which you can calculate the same way as any soil, by area × a shallow depth. Getting all this done before the turf arrives means you can lay it straight away while it’s fresh.

Common mistakes to avoid

The main mistakes are measuring a curved lawn as a simple rectangle, forgetting the wastage allowance and coming up short, ordering turf too far ahead so it deteriorates before laying, and not preparing the ground first. One more: over-ordering by a large margin. Because turf can’t be stored, a big surplus is wasted money — aim for 5–10% over, not more.