area measurements in square feet

[ant]

i have and back lawn that is 165'across and 154'down by 88'across and 160'.
i come up with 19,780 sq. feet
what do you guys come up with
ant

[LAWNGODFATHER]

ant why don't you just call it 20,000 sq ft and call it even.

btw I got 19,745

LGF:blob1:

[HBFOXJr]

Without a diagram this doesn't make sense. I'm only guessing you measured the 4 sides of an area that is not a rectangle and are trying to average the length and width.

Weather I average it or try to make a rectangle and a triangle out of it it appears you are close enough.

Gounds Maintenance magazine, Feb 1988 had a page of formulas for calculating area including diagrams of irregular areas and how to break them down do a recognizable shape trhat has a formula.

Good old fashioned geometry will do the trick.

[ant]

thanks for the replys
hay harold,why are you not working with this fine day aroung the garden state?(i am going to the shore with the kids)
ant

[Randy Scott]

If I'm correct, which I hope I am since it's what I learned in school and have been using for 30 years. You figure your area, square footage, by taking length x width correct. So what you're telling me is you have two areas you measured in the yard correct? One area is 165' x 154' and the other area is 88' x 160'. Is this what you are saying?
If it is, then 165' x 154' = 25,410
And then,88' x 160' = 14,080
That gives you a total of 39,490. Not quite an acre. An acre is 43,560.
If I am missing something here let me know, I don't know how you guys got those numbers?

[HBFOXJr]

I'm heading to the shore after I pick up some UPS shipment at Lesco at 10:30

[Randy Scott]

I see what you mean now ant. Something like that I would get it as close as you can and leave it at that. I would say like LGF and put it at 20,000. Nice easy numbers.

[CODYHEATHER]

My computer tells me that it is a total of 18,869 ft2. Of course my computer has never lied to me! Yea right.

[hubb]

Add all sides and divide by 4. Then take that number times itself. This will give you the area squared. Or square footage.

Example: 165 + 154 + 88 + 160 = 567

567 divided by 4 = 141.75

141.75 x 141.75 = 20093.0625 sq.ft.
Of course you would just round to the nearest hundreth, ie; 20100. Hope this helps.

[hubb]

I forgot to add; You can measure the total peremeter and divide by four and multiply the product by itself also.
I use a measurement wheel and do the math. I've had customers try to tell me that they had "a little over an acre", (quote-unquote) and by doing it this way it was over 2 acres. I could have cheated myself out of a sizable amount of money if I hadn't done the proper math before mowing.
Hope this helps.

[lawnboy82]

Proper way to do it is, go and make shapes. You have a square, rectangle, triagle, etc. If you are just trying to get the sq. footage of the backyard do it like that. However if you want to do the whole property, take the area of the property as a whole. Then subtract for the house, driveway, pool, etc.

[hubb]

The shape method is only nessecary if the shape is L-shaped sort of. As long as the outside peremeter does not go back towards itself, then peremeter divided and squared works...... I think. I just got out of a college algebra class. But thats another story. Anyway thats one of the shortcuts our instructor showed us. It works as long as the peremeter never goes back towards itself. If that makes sense? Whoa..... I may be too confusing here so I'm gonna stop. I know it works for me.

[yardboyltd]

I don't completely understand your measurements or what you have. Two rectangles(front and back yard), but I think your giving perimeter measurements. Actually with the given in a geomtry class the problem would be IMPOSSIBLE to figure out. If you could give me the measure of one angle, I could get it precisely.

Without good geomtry your going to use the average methods like above, but they are inaccurate depending on method and shape of the yards.

Picture a 4 sided figure(about the size of a picture frame) made of 2 by 4 lumber hinged together. They could fold flat to make an area of 0 or fold out all the way to maximum area, but the perimeter total remains the same; that's why everyone is getting different #'s.

I think the shape method is good if you don't know the exact formula. For example Trapezoid is A=.5h(b1 +b2) but many don't know that or can't remeber, so, they can divide it into a right triangles and a rectangle and it's easy

If you want exact figures for spreading your going to need the geomtry, but if it's just a mowing estimate just you your judgement. I have a math teacher that uses real world math problems like this for warm-ups.

[ant]

thanks for all your replys.
it is only one area with 4 corners almost a trapezoid.