Lawn Care: How to Subtract the House When Measuring a Lawn

Draw an aerial view of the house on a piece of paper. Draw the picture as accurately as possible and include cutouts, porches, decks and any garage.

Draw a line through each side of the house on the paper so you can see clearly one continuous line along each side of the house. The lines on the paper will be along the sides of the house and exclude any porches or extensions. It should form a rectangle or square, according to the basic shape of the house. Measure the length and width of the house according to the lines drawn on the paper with the measuring tape. Write down the total length and width of the house on the paper excluding porches, patios or other extensions.

Measure the length and width of all extensions and write them on the sheet of paper.

Calculate the total area of the house by first multiplying the length and width of the house to get the a basic square footage amount. Calculate the length and width of all extensions to get the square footage of these features. Add or subtract each of these figures as required to get the total square footage amount. For example, the square footage of a deck would be added to get the total square footage of the home.

Measure the length and width of the lawn and write down each figure. Multiply the figures to get the total square footage of the lawn.

Subtract the total square footage amount of the house from the square footage amount of the lawn to get the total square footage of the lawn.