Turf Calculator UK · metric

Rolls of turf and cost to returf a lawn, by area. Metric units and £ costs, updated for 2026.

Last reviewed July 2026 · Free · Nothing you enter is stored

How this calculator works

A standard UK turf roll covers about 1 m². We add 5% for trimming around edges and curves, so rolls = area × 1.05 rounded up. Costs cover turf material and a supply-and-laid range per m².

The waste allowance

This calculator adds five percent to the measured area, which is the usual allowance for a lawn made up of straightforward rectangles. Where the lawn has curved edges, a tree ring, beds cut into it, a path down one side or a shape that steps round the corner of the house, ten percent is closer to what actually gets used, because every curve is cut from a straight-edged roll and the offcut is rarely big enough to use again. Both figures are rules of thumb rather than measured constants. Round up rather than down, and order everything for one delivery. Turf is a perishable product, a second delivery of six rolls a week later will not match the first for colour, and by the time the shortfall shows up you are laying tired turf onto ground that has already been trodden and dried out. Measure awkward areas separately as rectangles and add them together rather than trying to average a complicated shape.

The roll, and how much one actually covers

The standard British turf roll comes off the harvester at roughly 610 mm wide by 1,640 mm long, which is very close to one square metre, and it is cut about 12 to 25 mm deep. That is the format Rolawn, Turf Growers and most growers supply, and it is why turf here is quoted, ordered and priced by the square metre rather than by the piece. Roll count and square metre count end up being nearly the same number.

Retail rolls are not always the same size. B&Q's turf is cut 610 by 1,370 mm, which is 0.8 square metres, so a pack of ten covers eight square metres rather than ten. Smaller garden centre rolls in the region of 0.4 square metres are sometimes mentioned; we were not able to verify that size against a grower's own specification, so read the label on the pack rather than assuming. The safe habit is to buy by the square metre and let the supplier work out the rolls.

This is the point where American advice stops being useful. There are no slabs, no mini rolls and no 450 square foot pallets here, and none of the American piece sizes convert into anything you can buy in Britain.

Pallets, weight and getting it off the lorry

Bulk turf is palletised at up to 60 rolls, so a full pallet is roughly 50 to 60 square metres. A roll weighs about 18 kg whether it is wet or dry, which puts a full pallet somewhere around a tonne.

That weight decides how the delivery goes. Turf arrives on a pallet network lorry with a tail lift, and the driver lowers it to the kerb and moves it with a pallet truck. A pallet truck needs firm, level hard standing. It will not cross a lawn, it will not go up a step, and it will not travel down a gravel drive. Assume the pallet lands at the front of the property and that everything from there is barrow work, and have the barrow, a helper and a clear route sorted out before the lorry arrives.

Plan where the pallet sits before it is unloaded, because it is not moving again by hand. As close to the lawn as the hard standing allows, and off any surface you mind about, since a tonne of wet turf on a block-paved drive leaves a mark.

Preparing the ground, which is most of the job

The RHS advises digging or rotovating to 20 to 25 cm to break up compaction, working in plenty of well-rotted manure or other organic matter to help the soil hold moisture, and then leaving the ground five to six weeks to settle before laying. That settling period is the step that gets skipped, and it is the one that shows. Turf laid on soil that has not settled sinks unevenly over the following weeks, and the joints between rolls open into visible lines.

After settling, firm the surface by treading and rake it level. You want the soil stable underfoot but not compacted hard, and level enough that the roll sits flat with no air under it. Any dip you can see now will be a dip you can see for the life of the lawn, because turf follows the ground rather than bridging it.

The soil should be moist when the turf goes down. Bone dry soil pulls water out of the roots at exactly the moment they need it, and mud makes it impossible to lay a roll flat and butted tight to its neighbour. Watering the prepared ground the day before is usually the simplest way to get there.

When to lay it, and the British watering question

The RHS window is wider than most people expect. Turf can be laid at any point from mid-autumn through to early spring provided the ground is neither frozen nor waterlogged, and mid-spring to early autumn is the period to avoid, because turf laid into warm dry weather struggles to establish. Autumn is the easy season here: the soil is still warm, the rain generally arrives without being asked, and the lawn has months to root before it is walked on.

Lay within 24 hours of delivery. If something goes wrong and it has to wait, unroll the turf so the grass sees daylight and water it, because rolled turf heats and yellows from the inside within a day or two in warm weather.

Watering afterwards is where British and American advice genuinely part company. American guidance insists on water within thirty minutes of laying, which makes sense in a climate where a summer afternoon can dry a fresh lawn out before the job is finished. The RHS regime for a British lawn is water every five to ten days during dry summer spells and every fortnight otherwise, applied heavily enough to soak down through the turf and into the soil beneath so the roots follow the water downwards. Frequent light sprinkling produces shallow roots and a lawn that cannot cope with the first dry fortnight. Turf laid in November may need no watering at all. Leave the first cut until the turf has knitted down, about three weeks, and take that cut with the mower on its highest setting.

Turf roll sizes, weights and pallet quantities

Roll sizes vary a little between growers and vary more between growers and DIY sheds. Coverage is what you are buying, so confirm the roll size with the supplier before turning square metres into rolls.

Roll dimensions and weight from Rolawn via London Lawn Turf, Turf Growers and Carbutts Turf; the 610 by 1,370 mm retail roll from Turf Online. Pallet quantity of up to 60 rolls from Carbutts Turf and Lawn Gurus. Ground preparation, laying window, watering and first cut from the RHS guidance on lawns from turf. Smaller garden centre rolls of around 0.4 m² are sometimes quoted but we could not verify that size against a grower's specification.

What goes wrong when laying turf

Assuming every roll covers a square metre. The grower's roll does, at 610 by 1,640 mm. Retail rolls can be shorter: B&Q's is 610 by 1,370 mm, or 0.8 m², so a ten-pack is eight square metres and a lawn ordered by the roll comes up short.

Skipping the settlement period. The RHS allows five to six weeks between preparing the ground and laying. Turf laid on unsettled soil sinks unevenly and the joints open into visible lines within a couple of months.

Assuming the pallet can be put where you want it. A pallet weighs about a tonne and comes off a tail lift onto a pallet truck, which needs firm level hard standing. It will not cross a lawn or a gravel drive, so plan the barrow route first.

Laying between mid-spring and early autumn. The RHS window runs from mid-autumn to early spring. Summer turf can be made to work with enough watering, but it is the hardest version of the job and the one most likely to fail.

Watering little and often. Light daily sprinkling keeps roots at the surface. The RHS regime is a heavy soak every five to ten days in dry summer weather and every fortnight otherwise, so the water reaches the soil under the turf and the roots follow it down.

Frequently asked questions