Expand your L- or pie-slice-shaped lawn for sod could be time-consuming, but you also can simplify the job by using a series of simple geometric calculations. Underestimating a bit is no problem as you could always purchase more sod. Once delivered, sod is perishable, it has to be used immediately and surplus cannot be returned. Avoid waste and conserve the effort of reordering by dividing your lawn into regular shapes and adding their places. Begin with a scale drawing of your lawn, along with a copy of a plat of survey, and a scaled ruler.
Put all buildings on the drawing. Request a helper to hold one end of a tape measure as you examine the actual dimensions of the lawn and buildings prior to adding features to your drawing. Insert any existing boundaries, mulched areas and other spaces you do not plan on sodding.
Divide the remaining part to be sodded to as many squares and rectangles as you can. Mark the sides of each square or rectangle with its step in feet. Express ins in decimals: For instance, 6 ft, 6 inches could be expressed as “6.5 feet .”
Multiply the length times the width of every area and record the square foot of every section on a piece of paper or tally sheet. Insert the section areas to receive a total for regularly shaped sections.
Outline triangular spaces using square, or right-angle, corners. Multiply the base measurement on a single side of this square angle times the height measurement on the opposite side of this angle for every right-angle area and divide by 2 to obtain the area. Insert the regions of right-angle sections to the complete on the tally sheet.
Employ a circle area equation for remaining irregularities. Multiply the radius — the distance from the center to the border of a circle — times itself. Then multiply the subtotal by 3.14, the approximate value of this mathematical constant called “pi.” Divide the resulting place by 2 for half-circles, by 4 for quarter-circles and so forth, adding the square footage to every section into the running total on your tally sheet.
Check your improvement. Your final total is how many square foot of sod you’ll need.