We construct a nonsparse transfer matrix (T-matrix) for a lattice gas model of monomers adsorbed on planar and nanotube surfaces of arbitrary geometry. The model can accommodate any number of higher-order pairwise adsorbate-adsorbate interactions. The technique is sufficiently general for application to nonequivalent adsorption sites and coadsorption of two or more monomer species. The T-matrices for monomer adsorption on a finite width terrace and for monomer adsorption on a nanotube, both of the same lattice geometry, share a basic G-matrix. First, the G-matrix is diagrammatically and recursively constructed. Then, its elements are modified to provide the T-matrix elements for either the terrace or the nanotube. The T-matrices for several particular lattice geometries previously studied as special cases are easily recovered with the generalized technique presented here. This generalization also provides a vectorized algorithm for efficient use on multi-parallel processors and supercomputers.