https://todaysgardens.org/turf-calculator/Planning estimate — generated in your browser and not stored.
Measure the lawn, subtract the beds and paths that are not lawn, add an allowance for cuts, then divide by the area of one roll. The roll size is the number people get wrong, so it stays visible and editable here.
Your estimate
Worked example — not your result
A 50 m² lawn with a 5% waste allowance and rolls of 610 mm × 1640 mm.
53 rolls of turf
Net measured area
50.00 m²
Gross area after 5 % waste
52.50 m²
Area of one roll
1.00 m²
Assumptions in this example
Roll width
610 mm
Roll length
1640 mm
Waste allowance
5 %
Price per roll
not entered — no cost shown
Underlay depth
not entered — no underlay volume shown
This is an example, not your result. It matches golden vector T1 and T3 in the
calculation methodology. Enter your own measurements and select
Calculate.
How much turf do I need?
Measure the lawn, subtract everything inside it that is not lawn, add an allowance for cuts,
then divide by the area of one roll and round up. For a 50 m² lawn with a 5% allowance and
rolls covering 1 m², that is 53 rolls. The arithmetic is trivial; the inputs are where jobs
go wrong.
Subtracting matters more than people expect. A lawn with a 4 m × 0.9 m path and a round bed
1.2 m across is nearly 5 m² smaller than its outline suggests, which is five rolls you would
otherwise have paid for and had to dispose of.
Turf roll size
There is no standard roll. The starting point offered above is one supplier's product page,
which states rolls of 610 mm × 1,640 mm covering 1 m². Applying it fills both dimension
fields and records where the figure came from; the moment you edit either dimension, the
attribution is dropped and the assumption strip records it as your value instead. That is
deliberate — a source should only be credited for a number it actually gave.
Note the arithmetic detail: 0.61 m × 1.64 m is 1.0004 m², not exactly 1 m². This tool uses
the dimensions you entered rather than the rounded coverage figure, which is why the roll
area shows as 1.00 m² and the count still comes out at 53.
Before you order
The guidance this site cites is clear that preparation comes first and that turf is
perishable. Measure and check the supplier's piece dimensions before buying, complete the
ground preparation before the delivery arrives, and lay within 24 hours where you can.
The ground preparation planner turns that into an
ordered plan for your own site conditions, including how deep to cultivate and what to do
first.
How this figure is worked out
Every step is arithmetic you can repeat by hand. Full precision is kept through the
calculation and rounded once for display.
Formulae used on this page
Step
Formula
Net area
net area = sum of added areas − sum of subtracted areas
Gross turf area after waste
gross area = net area × (1 + waste % ÷ 100)
Area of one roll
roll area m² = roll width m × roll length m, or the m² per roll you enter
Roll count
rolls = ceiling(gross area ÷ roll area)
Turf cost
cost = rolls × price per roll
Topsoil underlay volume
underlay volume m³ = net area m² × underlay depth m
Complete the site preparation well before buying or having the turf delivered.
Get rid of perennial weeds such as couch grass and bindweed first, forking out the roots.
Dig or rotovate the soil to a depth of 20–25cm so there is no compaction.
Incorporate plenty of well-rotted manure or other organic matter, especially on sandy soil — and only well-rotted material, because undecomposed matter shrinks and makes the surface sink unevenly.
Measure the area and check the dimensions of the turf pieces carefully before buying.
Lay turf within 24 hours of delivery if possible; if laying is delayed more than a few days, unroll it flat and water it if dry.
Stand on boards to avoid making footprints, stagger the joints like bricks in a wall, and push the pieces together tightly.
Turf is best laid in mid-autumn and can be laid from mid-autumn to early spring whenever the soil is not too wet or frosty; laying from mid-spring to early autumn is best avoided.