Frequently Asked Questions

USA Sod connects homeowners with reputable local sod farms and trusted independent installers across 40 markets. We focus on freshness (sod cut within 24 hours of delivery), regional fit (grass varieties matched to your climate), and clean handoffs (transparent pricing, on-time delivery windows, optional pro install). When something goes wrong, we make it right — because the goal is a beautiful lawn that takes root the first time, not just a transaction.

Yes. We have Spanish-speaking team members, and you can ask for one when you call. Sod is a real purchase with real money and real timing attached, and nobody should have to make that decision in their second language. Call 1-866-886-2763 and ask to speak with someone in Spanish.

Sí. Contamos con personal que habla español. Puede llamarnos al 1-866-886-2763 y pedir hablar con alguien en español. Le ayudamos con medidas, variedades de césped, precios, cobertura por palet y fechas de entrega, igual que en inglés.

Yes. Installation orders over $3,000 qualify for 50/50 split-pay: 50% down when you place your order, 0% APR, and the remaining balance due when your installation is complete. Call 1-866-886-2763 and our team will set it up with your quote.

We deliver to over 40 major metropolitan areas across the United States. Our network spans from Seattle to Miami, Phoenix to Philadelphia.

Some of our largest markets include Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, Phoenix, Atlanta, Charlotte, Denver, Las Vegas, Nashville, and Washington D.C. We also serve Northwest Arkansas, Birmingham, Charleston, Oklahoma City, Salt Lake City, and many more.

The fastest way to check? Enter your ZIP code on our homepage. You'll immediately see if we serve your area and which grass varieties are available for your specific climate. You can also view our complete list of delivery areas.

Our delivery zones keep expanding as we add farm partners, so even if we don't reach you today, we might next month.

We deliver six days a week in most areas, Monday through Saturday. When you place your order online, we'll work with you to schedule a delivery date.

We typically need at least 3 – 4 days of lead time to coordinate the harvest and delivery. Your sod is cut specifically for your order — which is why it arrives so fresh. That 24-hour harvest-to-delivery goal is the core of our business.

We deliver. Picking up your own sod isn't part of how we operate today, though it's something we continue to look at as our farm network grows.

There's a practical reason delivery works better for most homeowners. A full pallet is heavy freight, not something a standard pickup bed is rated to carry, and it needs equipment to unload at the other end. Because we cut your sod to order rather than keeping stock on hand, there also isn't a yard of pre-cut inventory sitting somewhere waiting to be collected.

Delivery brings it straight to your driveway on a scheduled date, harvested shortly before it reaches you. If you're working against a deadline, call 1-866-886-2763 and we'll tell you the soonest date we can deliver to your ZIP code.

Your sod is grown regionally, not shipped across the country. We work with reputable local sod farms across 40 markets, and your order is harvested from a farm serving your area. That's deliberate: grass grown in a climate like yours establishes faster than grass trucked in from a different one.

It also means the variety you're offered depends on where you live. What thrives in Houston isn't what thrives in Sacramento, so your available options are matched to your region rather than pulled from one national catalog.

The quickest way to see what reaches you is to enter your ZIP code on our homepage, or browse the full list of delivery areas. Our coverage keeps expanding as we add farm partners.

Delivery is $200 on any order that includes sod. It's a flat rate: the same whether you're taking one pallet or ten, and the same in every market we serve, so it isn't something that grows with the size of your order or the distance to your door.

Orders with no sod on them — a standalone installation, soil, or an on-site measurement — carry no delivery charge at all, because those services price their own travel.

You see it either way before you pay. Delivery appears as its own line once you've entered your ZIP code and built your order, so there's nothing added quietly at the end. If a free-delivery promotion applies to your order, that line drops to zero.

If your address sits near the edge of a service area, call 1-866-886-2763. We can often reach nearby addresses that fall just outside the map.

Very. Your sod is cut specifically for your order, and our goal is 24 hours from harvest to delivery. We don't hold pre-cut inventory in a yard waiting for a buyer, which is why we ask for 3 – 4 days of lead time to schedule the harvest around your delivery date.

Freshness matters more with sod than with almost anything else you'll buy for your yard. Cut sod is a living plant with its roots exposed, and it starts declining the moment it leaves the field. Sod that sat on a lot for several days before reaching you is working against you before it ever touches soil.

Plan to install it the day it arrives, and water it immediately after.

Three things matter most: climate, sun exposure, and use. Warm-season grasses (Bermuda, Zoysia, St. Augustine, Centipede) thrive in the South. Cool-season grasses (Kentucky Bluegrass, Fescue) work in the North and transition zones. Inside your region, narrow further by sun (full sun vs. shade-tolerant varieties), foot traffic (Bermuda for high traffic, St. Augustine for light), and water budget. Our team can recommend the right variety for your zip code — just call us or use the selection tool.

Patchy bare spots that don't fill in after multiple growing seasons, large dead zones killed by pests or drought, weed coverage above ~40% of the lawn, or grass that's the wrong variety for your climate (e.g. cool-season grass struggling in a hot Southern yard). If you've reseeded twice and it still looks rough, fresh sod is usually the faster, cheaper long-term fix versus another year of patching.

Spring and early fall are ideal in most markets — soil temperatures are warm enough for roots to establish but not so hot that the sod dries out before it knits in. That said, sod can be installed nearly year-round in most climates. The key is consistent water for the first 2-3 weeks. Avoid scheduling installs during forecasted heatwaves or hard freezes when possible.

For square or rectangular areas, multiply length by width. A 20-foot by 50-foot yard is 1,000 square feet.

For irregular shapes, curved beds, or odd angles, break them into smaller rectangles or triangles, measure each section, then add them up. Or skip the math entirely and use our Online Sod Calculator.

One critical tip: always order 5 – 10% more than your exact measurement. You'll need extra for cuts around sprinklers, walkways, and curves. Running short halfway through installation is frustrating and expensive.

It depends on which farm cuts your order, and the honest answer is that it varies. Most of our farms cut 450 square foot pallets. Florida farms typically cut 400. Some farms elsewhere run 500 or 600.

That variation is exactly why your quote does the math for you instead of asking you to. Once you enter your ZIP code, we use the pallet size on file for the farms serving your market. Where a market has farms that disagree, we assume the smallest one, so your order can't come up short in the last strip of the yard.

If you're estimating before you have a quote, 450 square feet per pallet is a reasonable working number. Add 5 – 10% for cuts around walkways, sprinklers and curves, then confirm against your quote.

No. A full pallet is our minimum order.

The reason comes down to how sod reaches you. It's harvested and stacked at the farm in full pallets and cut fresh against your specific order, so there's no partial-pallet inventory sitting in a yard for us to draw from. Splitting a pallet would mean cutting sod that nobody takes, and cut sod doesn't keep.

If your yard needs less than one pallet covers, the extra is rarely wasted. Most homeowners use it to patch thin spots, rebuild an edge, or finish a side yard they weren't originally planning to touch.

Not sure how many pallets your measurements call for? Use the Online Sod Calculator, or call 1-866-886-2763 and we'll work it out with you.

If you'd rather not measure the yard yourself, we can send someone out. In most markets an on-site measurement is $99. A few markets are priced differently depending on local crew coverage — a small number run as high as $199, and one runs lower — so check the price shown for your ZIP code before you book.

The part worth knowing: that fee is credited toward your sod order. If you go ahead and buy, the measurement effectively costs you nothing.

It's most worth booking when your yard is an awkward shape, when you have curved beds, slopes or islands that make the math unreliable, or when you simply don't want to be the reason the order came up short. Call 1-866-886-2763 to book one, or start with the free Online Sod Calculator if your yard is a straightforward rectangle.

It depends on your existing soil. Healthy, loose topsoil gives new sod the best chance to establish strong roots quickly. If your soil is compacted, clay-heavy, or has been depleted, adding 1 – 2 inches of quality topsoil before installation can make a major difference.

If you're unsure, our team can walk you through it on a free quote call, or you can request an on-site measurement and we'll evaluate your soil while we're there.

Yes. We've built a network of trusted, independent landscapers in most of our service areas — crews we've worked with repeatedly and trust to do the job right.

When you order sod, you can request an installation quote. We'll connect you with a local pro who handles the job end to end: light removal and standard site preparation, laying the sod, cutting it to fit, and the initial watering.

For many homeowners, professional installation is the best investment. It removes the guesswork and backbreaking labor and protects the value of your new lawn.

Your installation rate covers light removal and standard site preparation, laying the sod, cutting it to fit, and the initial watering.

Some yards need more than standard preparation. Projects requiring extensive grading, heavy debris removal, root removal, drainage work, difficult access, or other significant site modifications fall outside the standard rate. We review those and quote them separately, on a case-by-case basis, so you see the cost before any of that work begins.

Every yard is different, which is why we price yours rather than quote you an average. If you want to know exactly where your yard lands, request an on-site measurement and we'll assess the site in person.

Generally, expect to pay between $1 and $2 per square foot for professional installation. That rate includes light removal and standard site preparation, laying the sod, cutting it to fit, and the initial watering.

Costs vary based on your location, project size, and accessibility. A flat front yard is easier (and cheaper) than a sloped backyard with narrow gates.

Yards that need extensive grading, heavy debris removal, root removal, drainage work, difficult access, or other significant site modifications fall outside the standard rate. We review and quote that work separately, case by case, so nothing is priced until you've seen it.

When you request a quote through us, you'll get a clear price for the work your yard actually needs.

Same day is best. Your sod is harvested within 24 hours of delivery. It arrives fresh and healthy, but it's perishable. Heat builds up inside the sod pallet — a process called pallet heating — and can damage or kill the grass surprisingly quickly.

Think of it like groceries. You wouldn't leave fresh produce in a hot car overnight. Have your site prepped and ready before the truck arrives: clear the old grass, grade the soil, and have your hoses ready. The faster you get that sod laid and watered, the better it will establish.

Yes. New sod has to make direct contact with soil in order to root. Laying it over an existing lawn traps the old grass underneath, holds moisture against the new roots and is one of the most reliable ways to lose a new lawn before it ever takes.

If you book professional installation with us, the quoted rate covers light removal and standard site preparation, laying the sod, cutting it to fit, and the initial watering. Yards that need extensive grading, heavy debris removal, root removal, drainage work, difficult access, or other significant site modifications fall outside that rate and are reviewed and quoted separately, case by case.

If you're installing it yourself, plan to strip the old turf, level the surface and clear debris before your delivery date rather than on it. Sod should go down the day it arrives, and prep is what makes that possible.

Water deep and consistently for the first 2 weeks (lift a corner and check the soil daily). Don't mow until the sod is firmly rooted — gently tug a corner, and if it holds, you're ready. First mow goes at the highest blade setting. Avoid fertilizer for the first 30 days. Stay off the new lawn except to water it. If you see any pieces curling or browning, water more — heat stress and dry soil are the most common killers in week 1.

A lot. Water is everything for the first two weeks.

Immediately after you lay the last piece, soak it thoroughly — at least an inch of water across the entire area. You should see puddles starting to form. This first watering establishes contact between the sod roots and your soil.

For the next 14 days, keep the sod consistently moist — not waterlogged, but never dry. In most climates, that means about half an inch of water in the morning and another half inch in the early afternoon.

Check it daily. Lift a corner of the sod and feel the soil underneath. If it's dry, you're not watering enough.

For the first 7 – 10 days, water 1 – 2 times per day. In extreme heat, you may need a third lighter watering in the afternoon.

After the first two weeks, taper off gradually as the roots take hold. By week 3 – 4 you should be on a normal watering schedule for your region (typically 2 – 3 times per week, deeper sessions).

Wait until it's rooted — usually about 14 – 21 days.

The test: gently tug on a corner of a sod piece. If it holds firm and doesn't lift up, it's ready. If it pulls up easily, give it another week.

For that first mow, set your blade to the highest setting. Never remove more than one-third of the blade height at a time. A light trim encourages the grass to thicken up and spread.

No, but you do need a reliable way to water on schedule, and that's the part people underestimate.

New sod needs consistent moisture during the first few weeks while its roots knit into the soil underneath. An in-ground irrigation system makes that easy because it runs whether you're home or not. Plenty of homeowners establish sod perfectly well with hose-end sprinklers and a timer, which is a far cheaper way to solve the same problem.

What won't work is hand-watering when you happen to remember. New sod that dries out once during establishment can be set back permanently, and drought stress in those first weeks is the single most common reason a new lawn fails.

If you're travelling in the two weeks after delivery, arrange for someone to water, or move your delivery date.

Yes. We guarantee that your sod will be healthy, fresh, and true to variety when it arrives at your home. 24-hour harvest-to-delivery is our goal.

Inspect the sod when it arrives. If you see any issues with its condition, contact us immediately. We'll make it right.

However, our guarantee doesn't cover issues that arise after delivery and installation. Success depends on proper site preparation, immediate installation, and consistent watering. A new lawn is a partnership: we provide the best possible product, you provide the best possible care. When we both do our part, the result is a beautiful, healthy lawn for years to come.