Landscape Fabric Calculator
A 60 by 25 foot bed with a 3 by 100 foot roll and a 6 inch overlap needs 10 strips and 600 feet of fabric. That is 6 rolls if the 40 foot offcuts are joined end to end, and 10 rolls if each strip is cut whole. Staples on a 3 foot grid over the area are 189.
Last updated . The roll starts at 3 by 100 feet, a planning size. Overlap starts at 6 inches, inside a 6 to 12 inch range. Staples start on a 3 foot grid over the area. None of those is a product claim. No prices.
Enter the bed, the roll, the overlap, and the staple spacing. Strips run along the length and overlap across the width.
Mulch over the fabric is the mulch calculator. Soil in the bed is the topsoil calculator. The border around the bed is the edging calculator.
Landscape fabric
Strips run along the length. The width is the direction they overlap.
3 feet by 100 feet is a planning roll, not a product on a shelf.
Overlap starts at 6 inches. Twelve inches is the other end of the usual side lap. With end seams joins the offcuts. No end seams keeps each strip whole. Staples are a grid over the area: border, seams, and field. All of these are planning figures.
Results
How the rolls are counted
The first strip uses the full roll width. Each strip after that adds the roll width minus the overlap, and the count rounds up. Ten strips along a 60 foot bed are 600 feet of fabric. With end seams, a 100 foot roll covers that length in 6 rolls, and that is true only when the 40 foot offcuts are joined end to end with an overlap. No end seams, whole strips per roll, is 10, because floor(100 ÷ 60) is 1 and each 60 foot strip takes its own roll. A 120 foot strip on this 100 foot roll cannot be cut whole, so that line says end seams are required and the with-end-seams count is 12.
Staples are a grid of the spacing over the whole area, so the count covers the border, the seams, and the field. At 3 feet, 60 feet has 21 positions and 25 feet has 9, so the staple line is 189. Changing the overlap does not move the staples.
Six inch and twelve inch overlap
The bed stays 60 by 25 feet. The roll stays 3 by 100 feet. Staples stay on a 3 foot grid.
| Overlap | Strips | Fabric | With end seams | No end seams | Staples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 in | 10 | 600.00 ft | 6 | 10 | 189 |
| 12 in | 12 | 720.00 ft | 8 | 12 | 189 |
Worked example
Leave every field as it opens: area 60 ft by 25 ft, roll 100 ft by 3 ft, overlap 6 in, staple spacing 3 ft. Area reads 1,500.00 ft² · 139.35 m². Strips read 10. Fabric length reads 600.00 ft · 182.88 m. With end seams reads 6. No end seams reads 10. Staples read 189.
Frequently asked questions
How many rolls of landscape fabric do I need?
Leave the area at 60 ft by 25 ft, the roll at 100 ft by 3 ft, the overlap at 6 in, and the staple spacing at 3 ft. Area reads 1,500.00 ft² · 139.35 m², strips read 10, and fabric length reads 600.00 ft · 182.88 m. With end seams reads 6 and no end seams reads 10. Staples read 189.
How does the overlap change the strip count?
The first strip covers the full roll width. Each later strip adds the roll width minus the overlap. A 3 foot roll with a 6 inch lap gains 2.5 feet per extra strip. The 25 foot width needs 10 strips: 1 + the 22 feet past the first strip, divided by 2.5, rounded up. Those strips run the 60 foot length, so the fabric is 600 feet.
How many staples are on a 3 foot grid?
The staple count is a grid over the area: the border, the seams, and the field. Along 60 feet at 3 feet that is 21 positions, and across 25 feet it is 9. 21 × 9 = 189. The spacing is a planning grid, not a staple product, and a closer grid does not change either roll count.
What if the overlap is 12 inches?
Set the overlap to 12 in and leave the roll at 3 ft. Each extra strip then gains 2 feet, so strips read 12 and fabric length reads 720.00 ft · 219.46 m. With end seams reads 8, and no end seams reads 12 because each 60 ft strip still takes its own roll. Staples stay 189, because the staple grid does not use the overlap.
What if staples are 12 inches apart?
Put the overlap back to 6 in. Set the staple spacing to 12 and switch its unit from ft to in, which is 1 ft. With end seams stays 6 and no end seams stays 10. Staples read 1,586, which is 61 positions along 60 feet and 26 across 25 feet.
Is 3 by 100 feet a real roll?
It is a planning size so the arithmetic is easy to check. Type the width and length printed on the roll you are buying. The page does not look up a brand, and it does not add a price. With end seams, six 100 foot rolls cover 600 feet when the offcuts are joined, and no end seams is 10 rolls.
Why are there two roll counts?
With end seams, 600 feet divided by a 100 foot roll is 6, and that count joins the 40 foot offcuts end to end with an overlap. No end seams, whole strips per roll, is the strip count divided by floor(roll length ÷ strip length), rounded up. Floor(100 ÷ 60) is 1, so 10 strips are 10 rolls. Set the area length to 120 ft and the no-end-seams line reads: Strip is longer than one roll, so end seams are required; use the with-seams count, while with end seams reads 12.
Does this include mulch or the soil under the fabric?
No. This page is the fabric and the staples. Mulch on top of the bed is the mulch calculator. Soil in the bed is the topsoil calculator. A 1,500 square foot bed at a few inches of mulch is a volume, not 6 rolls with end seams or 10 rolls with no end seams.