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How much edging do you need?

Measure around the bed, take off any side you will not edge, and divide by the length of one piece less the overlap at each joint. A 4 × 8 ft bed has 24 feet of edge: 4 pieces of 7 ft steel edging with a 2.5-inch overlap.

Example measurements are filled in. Replace them with yours.

Shape to edge
The area you are measuring, drawn from your measurements in feet.8 ft4 ft

Measure the ground you will cover.

Example quantities

24feet of edging
4pieces
16stakes

Your order details
  • 24 ft measured around the outside
  • 0% extra
  • 24 ft of edging to buy
  • 4 pieces of 7 ft, overlapping 2.5 in at each joint
  • 16 stakes, 4 with each piece
How it is calculated
  1. Part 1 edge: 24 ft.
  2. Edging: (24 − 0) × (1 + 0 ÷ 100) = 24 ft.
  3. Pieces: round up (24 − 0.21) ÷ (7 − 0.21) = 4.
  4. Stakes: 4 × 4 = 16.

Shown in feet and inches. Results are rounded for reading; whole bags and pieces use the full calculation.

Joints and overlap

Pieces overlap at each joint, so each piece after the first adds less than its full length. Colmet’s 7 ft steel edging needs a 2.5-inch overlap. Westlake Dimex joins its 20 ft EasyFlex lengths by overlapping them and staking both ends, without a set overlap; enter the overlap you plan to use.

Stakes

Some edging comes with its stakes: Colmet includes 4 stakes with each 7 ft piece, and Permaloc 3 stakes with each 8 ft piece and 5 with each 16 ft piece. For edging sold without them, enter the stake spacing from the maker’s instructions.

Measuring a curved edge

For a curved border, lay a hose or string along the edge and measure its length, then choose “I know the length.” For a round bed, the calculator uses 3.1416 times the diameter.