- The lot size comes from the county property roll for the parcel at the address, in the counties and states Koira reads.
- The yard estimate takes the house footprint and a tenth for paving off the lot. It still counts beds, pools and trees as lawn.
- For the turf you will actually mow, treat or seed, draw it: trace the lawn, then cut out what is not grass.
- 1 acre is 43,560 sq ft. 1 square yard is 9 sq ft. A quarter acre is 10,890 sq ft.
Two ways to measure a lawn
By address (Lawn and lot tab). Type the address and tap Measure the lot. Koira reads the county roll for the parcel at that spot: the lot size, the living area and the number of stories. From those it gives the lot in square feet and acres, and a yard estimate. This is quick and good for a first phone quote.
By drawing (Draw area tab). Open the satellite map, find the property and tap around the lawn. Tap New shape to add the side yard or the strip by the street. Switch to Cut out and trace the house, the beds, the pool and the patio, and they come off the total. This is the number for a fertilizer program, a seed order or a sod quote.
Both give square feet, square yards and acres, and drawing gives the distance around the lawn too, which is handy for edging.
How the yard estimate is worked out
From the county roll:
- Lot size. If the roll keeps it in acres, it is multiplied by 43,560 to get square feet.
- House footprint: the living area divided by the number of stories. A 2,400 sq ft two-story house sits on about 1,200 sq ft.
- Yard: the lot less the footprint, then less a tenth for the drive, walks and patio.
| Lot | House | Footprint | Yard estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.15 acre (6,534 sq ft) | 1,500 sq ft, 1 story | 1,500 sq ft | 4,531 sq ft |
| 0.25 acre (10,890 sq ft) | 2,400 sq ft, 2 stories | 1,200 sq ft | 8,721 sq ft |
| 0.5 acre (21,780 sq ft) | 1,800 sq ft, 1 story | 1,800 sq ft | 17,982 sq ft |
| 1 acre (43,560 sq ft) | 3,000 sq ft, 2 stories | 1,500 sq ft | 37,854 sq ft |
The answer tells you how sure it is. When the roll has the lot, the living area and the stories, it says medium: the lot is the county's own figure, the footprint and the tenth are estimates. When the roll has no stories, the footprint may be off. When it has the lot only, the house is still inside the number, and the tool says so.
Drawing a lawn that measures right
- Zoom in. Tap on the edge of the grass, not the middle of the bed line. At full zoom, a tap is within a few inches on the picture.
- One shape per piece of lawn. Front, back and side yards can each be their own area. The total adds them.
- Cut out, do not dodge. It is quicker to trace the whole lot and cut out the house, drive and pool than to walk the lawn edge around every one.
- Trees. The picture shows the canopy, not the ground. Grass under a tree you mow around still counts; a wooded corner you never touch should be cut out.
- Undo. A wrong tap comes off with Undo. Clear starts again.
The math is done in your browser: each shape's area is worked out on the ground from the corners you tapped, the cut-outs are taken away, and the result is shown in square feet, square yards (÷ 9) and acres (÷ 43,560).
Where the address measure works
Koira reads about 40 county and statewide property records. Statewide rolls cover Florida, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Connecticut, Vermont, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Montana, Mississippi and Arkansas. County rolls cover places such as Harris and Bexar in Texas, Cook and DuPage in Illinois, Franklin and Cuyahoga in Ohio, Sacramento and Santa Barbara in California, Salt Lake, Wake, Davidson, Tulsa and more.
Outside those, the tool says the county's roll is not in Koira yet and opens the drawing map. It never fills the gap with an average lot size.
Which number each lawn job needs
Different jobs need different parts of the yard. Measure once, then take the part each job uses.
| Job | Measure | How, on the map |
|---|---|---|
| Mowing | All the turf you cut | Draw area: each piece of lawn, cut out beds, house, drive |
| Fertilizer and weed control | All the turf you treat | The same shapes as mowing |
| Aeration | The turf, less areas you skip (over sprinkler heads, steep banks) | Cut out what you skip |
| Overseeding | Usually the whole lawn; spot seeding only the thin patches | Draw the patches as their own areas |
| Sod | The area being laid, plus a little extra for cuts | Draw the new area; round up when you order |
| Edging | Length along beds, walks and the curb | Draw line along each edge, or use the perimeter on Draw area |
| Fence or border | Length | Draw line |
Keep the shapes on screen while you quote. Each one is listed in "How we got this" with its own square feet and the distance around it, so a customer who asks "why is the back yard more than the front" can see it.
For a recurring customer, measure once and keep the number on their record. In Koira, the measurement sits on the estimate and carries into the job, so next season's quote starts from the same yard.
Price the lawn
"Use in a calculator" opens the lawn care cost calculator with the square feet filled in, so mowing, fertilizer and cleanups are priced off this lawn, not a typical one.
Product labels are written per 1,000 sq ft. Divide the lawn by 1,000 to see how many bags or gallons a round takes: an 8,721 sq ft yard is 8.7 thousand, so a product rated for 5,000 sq ft a bag needs two bags.
"Save to a Koira estimate" opens a free Koira office, where the lawn goes on an estimate you send from your phone. See how lawn and landscape crews run on Koira.
Last checked October 8, 2026. More for your trade: how lawn and landscape crews run on Koira.