Calculating Areas

LANDSCAPE MEASUREMENTS:

Many landscaping projects begin with determining the area to be improved. This is usually calculated as square footage.  Once the size of the area is known, the quantitites needed of many landscape materials can be calculated.

 

AREA CALCULATION:

Here are easy ways to calculate your square footage:

Area = Length x Width

A = LW
Example
A = 90 x 60
A = 5400 square feet

 

Circle

Area = Π x Radius x Radius

A = Π x R² Π = 22/7
Example
A = 22/7 x 20 ' x 20'
A = 1256 square feet

 

 

Triangle

Area = 1/2 x Base x Height

A = 1/2 BH
A = 1/2 x 60 x 120
A = 3600 square feet

Irregular Shapes

1. Measure the longest axis of the area (length line)
2. At every 10 feet on the length line measure the width at right angeles to the length line
3. Total all widths and multiply by 10

A = (AA + BB + CC) x 10
Example
A = (40 + 60 + 32) x 10
A = 132 x 10
A = 1320 square feet

 

Unusual Shaped Areas

Calculations can be made for various sections. For this example:

Calculate and add together:
Area of triangle
Area of rectangle
1/2 Area of circle
__________________
Total = Total square feet of area

 

Helpful conversions:
9 square feet = 1 square yard
1 acre = 43,560 square feet = 4840 square yards