How the turf calculator works
Turf is sold by the roll, and most UK rolls cover exactly 1m². The calculator works out your lawn area (length × width, or π × radius² for a circle), adds an allowance for cutting to shape, and divides by the roll size:
For an irregular lawn, split it into rectangles and circles, work out each area and add them up, then use "Area" mode.
How to lay turf
- Remove weeds and old grass, dig or rotavate to about 150mm and remove stones.
- Rake level, then firm by "heeling" (shuffling across on your heels) or with a roller. Rake again to a fine tilth.
- Spread pre-turf fertiliser and lightly rake in.
- Lay the first row along a straight edge, then stagger the joints like brickwork. Work from planks so you don't stand on the prepared soil.
- Butt the edges tightly, trim with a half-moon edger, and water thoroughly.
Worked example: an 8m × 5m back lawn
8m × 5m = 40m². With straight edges, add 5% for trimming: 42m², so order 42 rolls of standard 1m² turf. At £3.75 a roll that's about £158 before delivery. You'll also want about 1.4kg of pre-turf fertiliser and roughly 600 litres of water for the first soak, which takes a while from a hose, so start early. A circular lawn 6m across is 28.3m², and with 10% for the curved edge that's 32 rolls.
If the existing soil is poor, add a layer of new topsoil first. Enter its depth above, or open the topsoil calculator for bulk bags and tonnes.
When to lay turf
Turf can be laid for much of the year, but autumn and spring are easiest: the soil is warm and moist, so roots grow quickly and you need less watering. Avoid frozen or waterlogged ground, and be ready to water every day if you lay it in summer heat. Order for a day when you can lay it all. Turf stacked on a pallet starts to yellow within a day or two in warm weather.
Aftercare for the first month
- Water: lift a corner after watering to check the soil underneath is wet, not just the grass. Gaps opening between rolls means it needs more water.
- Stay off it: keep foot traffic off for about three weeks, until gently tugging a corner shows it has rooted.
- First cut: when the grass is around 5–7cm tall, mow with the blades on their highest setting, taking off no more than a third. Lower the height gradually over later cuts.
Common turfing mistakes
- Skipping the preparation. Turf laid on compacted, stony or uneven ground stays bumpy and patchy. Most of the work is in the soil, not the laying.
- Lining up the joints. Stagger rolls like brickwork so the seams knit together and don't show as lines.
- Tiny strips at the edges. Small offcuts dry out and die. Put full rolls on the edges and fill in with cut pieces nearer the middle.
- Under-watering at the start. This is the most common reason new turf shrinks, browns and fails to root.
Weighing up real grass against a fake lawn? The artificial grass calculator gives the rolls and sub-base for the same area. See all our garden and landscaping calculators.