Calculating the size of your backyard helps with planning projects like landscaping, fencing, or adding features. Based on the provided reference, here is a straightforward method you can use, primarily focused on estimating the area of your lawn using pacing.
Estimating Backyard Lawn Area by Pacing
A practical way to estimate the size of your lawn involves walking and measuring your paces. This method provides a quick approximation of the square footage.
Steps for Calculating Lawn Area
Follow these steps to estimate the square footage of your main lawn area:
- Estimate Length: Walk the length of your lawn, figuring that one pace equals about 3 feet. Count the number of paces from one end to the other. Multiply the number of paces by 3 to get the estimated length in feet.
- Estimate Width: Do the same with the width of the lawn. Walk across the widest part of your lawn, counting your paces. Multiply the number of paces by 3 to get the estimated width in feet.
- Calculate Total Lawn Area: Then multiply the length by the width to arrive at the total. Multiply the estimated length (in feet) by the estimated width (in feet) to get the total estimated square footage of the lawn area.
- Subtract Non-Lawn Areas: Make sure you subtract the square footage of your home and driveway when calculating the total square footage of your lawn. Identify other areas within the backyard perimeter that are not lawn, such as:
- The footprint of your house that extends into the backyard.
- Driveways or paths.
- Patios, decks, sheds, or garden beds.
Estimate the square footage of these non-lawn areas separately (e.g., measure or pace their length and width if they are rectangular). Subtract the combined area of these non-lawn features from the total estimated area calculated in step 3. The remaining number is the approximate square footage of your backyard lawn.
Example Calculation
Let's say you pace the length of your lawn and count 30 paces. You pace the width and count 20 paces. Your house and a patio take up an estimated 800 sq ft within that area.
- Estimated Length: 30 paces * 3 ft/pace = 90 feet
- Estimated Width: 20 paces * 3 ft/pace = 60 feet
- Total Estimated Area (including non-lawn): 90 feet * 60 feet = 5400 sq ft
- Non-Lawn Area (House/Patio): 800 sq ft
- Estimated Backyard Lawn Area: 5400 sq ft - 800 sq ft = 4600 sq ft
This method provides a useful estimate for planning purposes, especially for tasks like buying grass seed or fertilizer which are often sold by square footage coverage. For more precise measurements, you would need to use a tape measure or consult property surveys.
