QuoteIron › Lawn & Landscaping price book › Install Sod
The book prices sod per 500 square feet: 3 labor hours and $175 for sod and fasteners. Because sod is a per-area price, you quote by the footprint, and the thing that kills margin is the prep that sits outside this row: removing the old lawn and grading.
Price breakdown: labor, parts, markup
Here is sod install, per 500 sq ft as a contractor would build it at the book’s sample rate of $95 an hour and a 30% parts markup.
| Labor hours | 3 h |
| Labor at $95/hr | $285.00 |
| Parts at your cost | $175.00 |
| Parts markup (30%) | $52.50 |
| Subtotal before rounding | $512.50 |
| Typical flat rate (rounded up to $5) | $515 |
| Effective rate per labor hour | $172/h |
| Markup as a share of the price | 10% |
The range: the same job at three labor rates
Same hours, same parts, three hourly rates. All at a 30% parts markup, rounded up to $5:
| Job | Hours / parts | At $75/hr | At $95/hr | At $125/hr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sod install, per 500 sq ft | 3h / $175 | $455 | $515 | $605 |
Quoting more than one
The book row is per 500 sq ft. Straight multiplication at the $95 sample rate, with no volume discount applied; decide your own break for bigger jobs.
| Quantity | At $75/hr | At $95/hr | At $125/hr |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 sq ft | $455 | $515 | $605 |
| 1,000 sq ft | $910 | $1,030 | $1,210 |
| 2,500 sq ft | $2,275 | $2,575 | $3,025 |
| 5,000 sq ft | $4,550 | $5,150 | $6,050 |
What the flat rate covers
- Sod install, per 500 sq ft. Grade, lay, and roll fresh sod with seams tight, priced per five hundred square feet.
What moves the price
- Prep. Old turf removal and grading are their own book row (per 500 sq ft). If the ground is not ready, you are doing the hardest part for free.
- Delivery and timing. Sod is perishable and laid the day it arrives. A delay costs you the product, not just time. Put a delivery window and a watering instruction on the quote.
- Slopes and cuts. Beds, curves and slopes slow the rate. A plain rectangle and a cut-up yard are not the same job.
Add-ons to put on the quote
These are separate rows in the same book, priced at the $95 sample rate. Put the ones that apply on the quote so they are lines, not arguments.
| Add-on | Hours / parts | Price at $95/hr |
|---|---|---|
| Remove old turf, grade & prep for sod, per 500 sq ft | 2h / $15 | $210 |
| Topsoil fill & regrade low spots, per cubic yard spread | 0.75h / $40 | $125 |
| Lawn seeding with starter fertilizer, per 1,000 sq ft | 1h / $30 | $135 |
| Low-voltage landscape light, per fixture installed | 0.6h / $70 | $150 |
| Bury downspout drain line to pop-up emitter, per run up to 20 ft | 2h / $55 | $265 |
How to present it: Good, Better, Best
Offer three options on one quote and let the customer choose. Each is a sum of real book rows at the $95 sample rate. Better includes removing the old turf and prepping the ground; Best also fills and regrades low spots so the new lawn drains properly.
- Sod install, per 500 sq ft
- Remove old turf, grade & prep for sod, per 500 sq ft
- Sod install, per 500 sq ft
- Remove old turf, grade & prep for sod, per 500 sq ft
- Topsoil fill & regrade low spots, per cubic yard spread
- Sod install, per 500 sq ft
How these numbers are built
QuoteIron’s price book stores structure: typical labor hours and a mid-grade parts cost for each job (book priced 2026-09). Your rates do the pricing: hours × your hourly rate, plus parts at cost with your markup, rounded up to the next $5. The low, typical and high figures use $75, $95 and $125 an hour at the book’s default 30% markup. They are formula outputs, not a survey of what your market pays, so replace them with your own rate and markup before you send anything. Prices checked October 8, 2026.
Related job pages
Hours and parts are typical starting points for a straightforward site; your market, supplier and the specific conditions decide the real number. Licensing, permits and local rules stay yours to handle. General information, not tax or legal advice.