How Much Is a Pallet of St. Augustine Sod, and How Much Yard Does It Cover

At TurnKey Lawn Care, sod installation is part of the landscaping work we do across the metro. If you’d rather have the ordering, delivery and installation handled together, request a free estimate and the price is agreed before any work starts.

This guide covers what a pallet of St. Augustine usually holds, typical pallet prices, how to work out how many you need, and what to plan for on delivery day.

How big is a pallet of St. Augustine

Pieces per pallet and slab size

St. Augustine is sold in rectangular slabs rather than rolls in most of the South. Sod Solutions gives the standard slab size as 16 by 24 inches, covering about 2.66 square feet each, and says a typical pallet carries roughly 150 to 188 slabs depending on its size. Houston Grass, a Texas sod supplier, defines its pallet as 450 square feet made up of 165 of those 16-by-24-inch blocks.

Pallet size	Approximate slabs at 2.66 sq ft each
400 sq ft	About 150
450 sq ft	About 165 to 170
500 sq ft	About 188

Slab counts are approximate because slab and pallet sizes vary slightly between farms. Your supplier can confirm the exact count for their pallets. The slab count is useful for more than the order. It tells you how many pieces have to be carried and laid, which helps you plan how many people you’ll need and how long the job will take. A backyard that needs five pallets means moving something like 800 slabs from the driveway to the lawn.

What a pallet of St. Augustine costs

National figures give a useful baseline. Bob Vila’s sod price guide, which uses HomeAdvisor data and was last updated in 2023, puts the typical pallet range at $150 to $450, with a national average around $300, before installation. The same guide lists St. Augustine at about $0.35 to $0.75 per square foot for the sod alone. On a 450-square-foot pallet, that works out to roughly $158 to $338 in material. Prices vary with the variety, the grade, the season and local supply. Treat national numbers as a starting point, then confirm current prices with suppliers near you before you budget.

Pallet size	Material cost at $0.35 per sq ft	Material cost at $0.75 per sq ft
400 sq ft	$140	$300
450 sq ft	$158	$338
500 sq ft	$175	$375

Delivery is usually extra, and some suppliers sell only full pallets of certain varieties. Houston Grass, for example, notes that it sells one St. Augustine variety by the piece or partial pallet, while other varieties require full-pallet purchases.

How many pallets does your yard need

Working out the order is simple math once the area is measured:

1. Measure the area. Break the space into rectangles, multiply length by width for each, and add the results.
2. Subtract non-lawn areas. Take out beds, patios, walks and tree bases that won’t be sodded.
3. Add for waste. Sod Solutions recommends ordering 5 to 10 percent extra to cover cuts and measurement errors.
4. Divide by pallet size. Use the supplier’s actual pallet square footage, not a generic figure.
5. Round up. Running short on installation day means a second delivery, and sod that waits a day dries out.

For example, a 1,800-square-foot backyard plus 10 percent for waste comes to about 1,980 square feet. On 450-square-foot pallets, that’s 4.4, so you’d order five. An LSU AgCenter article on sod repairs notes that some suppliers price sod by the square yard, and dividing square feet by 9 converts to square yards.

Pallet size quick reference

Here’s how many pallets common project sizes need, including 10 percent extra for waste:

Area to sod	With 10% extra	400 sq ft pallets	450 sq ft pallets	500 sq ft pallets
500 sq ft	550 sq ft	2	2	2
1,000 sq ft	1,100 sq ft	3	3	3
2,000 sq ft	2,200 sq ft	6	5	5
3,000 sq ft	3,300 sq ft	9	8	7

Planning for delivery day

Pallets of sod are heavy and perishable. Sod Solutions puts pallet weight at 1,500 to 3,000 pounds depending on moisture, noting that weight can rise by half when the sod is wet. Houston Grass says its pallets normally weigh about 2,500 to 3,000 pounds. That weight has practical consequences:

• Plan where the delivery truck can set pallets down without cracking a driveway or sinking into a soft lawn
• Have the soil fully prepared before delivery, so installation can start immediately
• Keep pallets in shade if there’s any delay, and lay the sod the same day if at all possible
• Line up enough help, since each slab has to be carried from the pallet to where it’s laid

Sod starts drying out from the moment it’s cut, and stacked sod heats up quickly in a New Orleans summer. Our post on preparing soil for sod in Louisiana covers what needs to be ready before the pallets arrive.

Laying the slabs

A pallet of 165 or so slabs goes down faster than most people expect when the soil is ready and there’s a system. The LSU AgCenter home lawn series recommends laying sod in an offset brick pattern so the seams are staggered, with pieces set tightly against one another without overlapping.

• Start along a straight edge, such as a driveway or walk, and work outward from it
• Stagger the joints row to row, like brickwork, so seams don’t line up
• Butt each slab tightly against its neighbors without stretching or overlapping them
• Cut pieces to fit around beds and curves with a sharp knife or flat spade
• Water sections as you go on hot days rather than waiting until the whole lawn is down

LSU also advises watering right after installation until both the sod and the soil beneath are moist. Our sod installation guide walks through the full process from preparation to the first watering.

Which St. Augustine to order

Pallets are sold by variety, so it helps to know what you’re asking for. St. Augustine comes in several cultivars that differ in shade tolerance, texture and resistance to pests. Chinch bugs are a good example of why the choice matters here. Clemson Extension lists Floratam and Floralawn as St. Augustine varieties resistant to chinch bug damage, while noting that some Florida populations have started to overcome that resistance. Availability varies by supplier and season. Our St. Augustine grass care guide covers how to look after whichever variety you choose once it’s down.

DIY pallets versus installed sod

Buying pallets yourself saves the installation labor, which Bob Vila’s guide puts at about $0.15 to $0.60 per square foot nationally. In return, you handle delivery logistics, soil preparation, laying hundreds of slabs and the watering that follows. Our published range for sod installation in New Orleans is roughly $1 to $2 per square foot installed, as set out on our page on landscaping costs in New Orleans. Our post on sod cost per square foot in New Orleans breaks down what that includes and what adds to it.

After the sod is down

Whether you lay it yourself or have it installed, the first few weeks decide whether the pallets you paid for turn into a lawn. Water right after installation until the sod and the soil beneath are moist, then keep watering frequently for the first 10 to 14 days, as LSU AgCenter recommends. Our posts on how often to water new sod and when to mow new sod cover the weeks after installation step by step.

Frequently asked questions