Measuring Your Lawn Area

The first thing to do when preparing to measure your yard is to determine the set of units you will be measuring in and stick to it. Measuring in millimetres and metres is usually the best and these are the units that most turf farms work in.

Remembering the golden rule ‘measure twice and cut once’, ensuring that you double check all your calculations and even get someone else to check them, just to be sure.

Draw a plan of the area you are going to turf. It doesn’t need to be perfect. Drawing your plan on graph paper will make the entire process that much easier.

For a square or a rectangular area – it’s easy. Measure the length and the width. Multiple the length by the width and once you have double checked your measurements you’re done.

Example:– 10m long by 5m wide = 10m x 5m = 50m2.

For an oval or odd-shaped area – it’s a little trickier. For the length, measure the longest section you have. Due to the odd shaped area you will then need to measure a few different points in order to determine the width. What you are looking for is the average width of the area. Measure the width at 5 different points and then divide the total number by 5.

Example:- 10m long by the average width of 5m + 5m + 4m + 3m + 3m /5 =
10m x 4m = 40m2.

For a circular area – you’ll need some extra tools to help you measure. Place a stake in the centre of the area. Attach a string to the stake and move to where you would like the outside of the circle to be. Walk around in a circle ensuring that the string remains tight and determine if the circle takes in the entire area you wish to cover. Measure the length of the string to work out the radius, which is denoted by r.
You then calculate the area using the following formula – r x r x 3.14.

Example:- Radius = 5m which then equates to 5m x 5m x 3.14 = 31.4 m2.

We suggest using the following online calculator for other shaped areas.

Now that you have the area of turf that you require add on another 3-5% for cutting in and 5-10% for contingencies and then place your order with your preferred supplier. If you are having any difficulties with the measuring or the calculations, perhaps it’s time to call in the experts. Professional turf layers can come to you, at a convenient time and do all the measuring for you. As an added bonus – this is usually a free service. The team at Daleys Turf are always happy to help out with lawn measurements of any size or shaped areas.

A tip from the Daleys Turf team – never use your feet to measure – always use a tape measure.