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How much turf do I need?

Work out the lawn area, add a sensible bit for trimming to curves and edges, and get the number of turf rolls to buy — plus the topsoil to lay first. Turf is perishable, so order what you can lay within a day or two. Free, no sign-up.

The longer side of the lawn.
The shorter side.
A standard UK turf roll covers about 1 m² (roughly 1.6 m × 0.61 m).
For trimming to edges. 5% for a square lawn; 10% for curves, borders or an awkward shape.
Add a side strip or a curved bit the rectangle misses.
If you're laying or topping up soil first. 10–15 cm is a good bed. Leave blank to skip.
Leave blank to skip the cost estimate.
Turf is also sold by the m² roll-out or by the pallet (often ~50 m²) — the rolls figure converts easily.

A guide, not a guarantee. Measure the widest points and use the extra-area box for side strips and curves. Turf is alive — order it to arrive the day you lay it, water it in straight away, and don't let rolls sit stacked in the sun. A bag of lawn seed is the cheaper route for a flat, square lawn you're in no hurry with. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

How it works

Area, wastage, and whole rolls.

Start with the area. Length times width gives the lawn area in square metres. For an L-shaped or curved garden, split it into rectangles or use the extra-area box, rounding generously around curves — it's easier to trim off than to patch a gap.

Add a little wastage. Turf trims cleanly, so 5% suits a square lawn. Go to 10% for curved edges, borders and beds to cut around, or a lawn made of several odd shapes where the offcuts don't reuse well.

Round up to whole rolls. A standard UK roll covers about 1 m², so the roll count is close to the area in square metres. We divide the area-plus-wastage by your roll size and round up. Turf is also sold by the pallet — often around 50 m² — so divide the rolls by 50 for pallets.

Don't forget the topsoil. Turf needs a firm, raked bed of good soil. If you're laying or topping up, enter a depth and we'll show the soil volume in cubic metres — 10 to 15 cm is a sensible bed on poor ground. Soil is sold by the bulk bag (about 0.7–0.8 m³) or loose by the tonne (roughly 1 m³ ≈ 1.5 tonnes).

What this leaves out. Bed preparation, a pre-turf fertiliser, sand for levelling, and hire of a rotavator or turf cutter are all separate. Lay turf within a day or two of delivery and water it well for the first few weeks.

Keep every job and its details in one place.

Stead remembers your garden and outdoor jobs, what you laid and when, and what's due next — so the next project starts with the numbers already to hand.

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