I usually estimate my square footage to the letter so I don ' t have left over pallets . More like using a sod cutter takes a fraction of the time that a homeowner might try to scrape it all up themselves . Or my skid steer can move a pallet easier than the company that dropped would drop it off for the homeowner to install it themselves . My team can prep the ground , aerate , and put down 3000 sq . Ft . in a day for $ 3000 . A home owner could do all this themselves but it would cost $ 2000 and take 4 ish days . So I tell people to not consider it a price for sod but a price for their leisure . They already know they need sod , I sell them on the idea that they won ' t have to do it and can sit on their couch drinking a bud .