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Roofing Calculator – How to Measure a Roof

How to Calculate Total Square Footage of Your Roof. To find your roof’s total square footage: Measure the length and width of each plane on the roof (including dormers) then multiply length times width. Add the square footage of each of the planes together.

How do you calculate the roof area?

  1. Begin with calculating the area of your house in a plane parallel to the ground. If your house is rectangular, all you need to do is multiply the length and width of the building. If the shape of your house is more complex, simply enter the total area (after measuring the exterior dimensions) into the appropriate box.

  2. Determine the roof pitch of your house. Roof pitch is the slope created by the rafters. If you don’t know how to calculate it, head to our roof pitch calculator. You can input it either in degrees, as a percentage or as a ratio of x:12.

  3. Once you know these values, you will be able to calculate the roof area. Begin by converting the roof pitch to an angle expressed in degrees, using the following formulas:

    pitch(%) = x / 12 * 100%

    pitch(deg) = arctan[pitch(%)]

  4. Then, use the following equation to find the total area of the roof:

    roof area = base area / cos[pitch(deg)]

Tips on measuring for roofing

Measuring your roof’s dimensions is one of the most important aspects of any roofing job, so make sure your tools are up to par. An accurate ruler, tape measure, and a sturdy ladder are all required.

The problem is that not everyone is comfortable with climbing a ladder to do this. What’s more, there is no guarantee that the measurements will be correct. That error can cost you more money, time, and effort.

That’s why it’s best just to hire or consult a professional roofing contractor. They will have the tools, knowledge, and experience to help you accurately measure your roof and figure out how much materials you need with minimal waste.

How to Measure a Roof for Shingles

Don’t worry too much if you don’t know how to measure a roof for shingles. Your roofer will measure the surface of your roof to determine the total square footage, which will dictate how many shingles must be purchased to fully cover the roof’s planes.

But if you’re curious how the measuring process works, think back to your geometry classes in school. To calculate a rough estimate, follow these steps:

  1. First, you must measure the length and width of each plane of the roof, including dormers. If the planes aren’t rectangles, this may be complicated.
  2. Next, to calculate the square footage of each rectangular plane, multiply the length by the width. For example, if a plane is 130 feet long and 100 feet wide, it’s 13,000 square feet.
  3. Finally, add together the square footage of each plane to calculate the total square footage of the roof. So if there are two planes that both measure 13,000 square feet, the total square footage of the roof is 26,000 square feet.
Roof Area Calculation

Indiana Roofing Company

Indiana’s Top-Rated Roofing & Siding Company

When you are looking for repairs on your home, you want people you can trust. When you use Kittle Roofing, you can rest assured that our commitment to quality and passion for customer service is of the highest importance. We are an education-based company, with no sales team or door knockers. We will not sell to our clients, but rather educate them and help them decide what products work best for them. We pride ourselves on consistently providing our customers with the highest quality of service and professionalism, while staying true to our core values, or our VOWS.

How to make sure your home is protected

Don’t let roof damage go unnoticed.

Within 24 hours of submitting your request to Kittle Roofing Company, we’ll arrive to inspect your roof and provide you with a full photo report showing any problems that may have occurred.

If there is no damage, you’ll be able to rest assured that your home and your family are protected. If we do find damage, we’ll work with you to make sure that things are made right.

Metal Roof Install

Our experienced team of experts has the knowledge and skills necessary to provide you with a new roof that offers durability and protection for your home or business for many years to come.

Natural Slate Roof Install

Our experienced roof installers are dedicated to making your interests our highest priority with every project we complete for your commercial or residential roof.

Traditional Tile Roof Install

All of our installation services are designed with safety and security in mind at every step of the process, beginning with the removal and proper disposal of your existing roof.

By offering all of these services we can save you all of the difficulty of trying to schedule this by yourself. We have people on staff with years of experience dealing with insurance companies so we can get you the most for your insurance dollar. Let us simplify your Roofing. Schedule your free estimate with Kittle Roofing and Restoration today! Call Us +1 219-816-2205

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Roofing Square area

Roof surfaces are measured in “squares”. A roofing square is equal to 100 square feet of the roof. To determine the number of squares on the gable roof example in this post, divide its total of 2400 square feet by 100 (2400 ÷ 100 = 24). This means you would need 24 squares of shingles to cover that roof.

square of shingles is the quantity needed to cover 100 sq. ft. of roof. Shingles are packaged in paper- or plastic-wrapped bundles designed to be light enough for a person to carry, so heavier shingles require more bundles per square.

Roofing square (or per square) is a common roofing terminology. It means “100 square feet.” It is used by contractors, suppliers, wholesalers, and manufacturers so that they have a common way to refer to 100 square feet of roofing material.

Steps to Measuring Roof Square Footage

  1. Prepare: For your safety, use a sturdy, reliable ladder and secure to your roof. Wear shoes (boots) with proper traction to avoid slipping.
  2. Measure: Use a tape measure to note the length and width of your roof, including dormers. Be careful walking around, so you don’t damage your roof.
  3. Calculate: Multiply the length by the width of each plane to determine square footage. Then add the results together for the total square footage of your roof.

How many bundles of shingles do I need for 1000 square feet?

A package of shingles is called a bundle. 3 bundles = 1 roofing square (98.4 sq. ft.)
 
It typically requires 3 bundles to cover one square, or 100 square feet. If one is using 3-tab, there are 27 shingles to a bundle, therefore 81 shingles to a square, therefore 810 shingle per 1000 square feet.
Satellite roof measurements

How many squares is a 2000 square foot home?

If your house area is 2000 square feet, the number of roofing square for the roof will be 20. In metric system, the house area will be approximately 186 square meters, because 1 meter is equal to 10.76 feet.

How much does it cost to shingle a 1000 sq ft roof?

Average Cost to Replace a Roof by Sky Roof Measure
House (& Roof**) by Square FootRe-Roofing Cost*
1,000 (1,054)$4,000 – $5,500
1,100 (1,160)$4,200 – $6,000
1,200 (1,265)$4,500 – $6,500
1,500 (1,581)$5,500 – $8,000

 

Blueprint takeoff

Roofing Square Calculator

If you’re replacing a roof, the first consideration needs to be the roof’s size so accurate material estimates can be made.

In the U.S., roofs are measured in square footage, and roofing contractors typically quote projects based on the size of the roof in squares. Consequently, gathering the size of the roof in squares and square footage is the first step.

Getting accurate roof measurements can be difficult but with our roofing calculator, you’ll be well prepared to take measurements of any roof. Whether you’re a contractor looking to train a new employee or a homeowner looking to do some renovations, you’ll find this guide helpful for any roofing project. If you need assistance in determining how much roofing you will need, Please feel free to call Sky Roof Measure at –  (315) 926-1777

What’s your roof slope?

slope roof

You will also need to know the slope of your deck. In order to determine this, measure the vertical rise of your deck in inches over a 12″ horizontal distance. If this rise is 4″, then your roof slope is 4 in 12.

Roof slopes are always expressed with the vertical rise mentioned first and the horizontal run (12″) mentioned second.

Roofing Calculator

With that as background, you are now ready to estimate how many shingles you will purchase for your roof project. This roof shingle calculator requires four basic inputs:

  • Roof length (measured in feet)
  • Roof width (measured in feet)
  • Roof pitch
  • Roof type (either gable or hip)

Using these four inputs, you will get several basic outputs:

  • Roof area (measured in sq ft)
  • Number of squares
  • Number of bundles
  • Approximate price (in dollars)

The estimate of a final price will depend, to a large degree, on the overall size of your home (i.e. sq footage). This makes sense, right? The bigger your roof area, the more shingles will be used to cover the footage of this area completely.

In addition, you will need to take into account the materials being used. If you are using standard asphalt shingles, your price will be lower than if you are using more expensive slate, metal or tile shingles. For most residential homes, asphalt shingles are the standard, but there are plenty of reasons to avoid using asphalt shingles as your material, such as if you are concerned about the waterproof coverage of your home.

 

rooftop measurements

Roofing Square Cost

Roof surfaces are measured in “squares”. A roofing square is equal to 100 square feet of the roof. To determine the number of squares on the gable roof example in this post, divide its total of 20,000 square feet by 100 (20,000 ÷ 100 = 200). This means you would need 200 squares of shingles to cover that roof.

How to measure roof squares?

So you need a new roof, whether it’s to adorn your newly built home or to replace your existing roof. Like most North Americans, you’ve wisely decided to go with asphalt shingles due, in large part, to their vast range of styles and color blends. Like most of your neighbors, you plan to have the shingles installed by a professional roof contractor who will handle all the material calculations; however, the information below will help you understand how to estimate the amount of shingles and accessory materials you need for your roof.

Calculating how many shingles you need for your roof is very similar to calculating how much carpet you need for your floors or how much wallpaper you need for your walls; simply determine the area of the roof and divide by the area covered by each package of shingles.

Metal roofing is sold by the sheet/panel. To determine the number of sheet/panels you will need to cover your roof, you should divide the width of the roof by the sheet/panel coverage width.

Most other types of roofing are sold by the square foot. If you need assistance in determining how much roofing you will need, Please feel free to call Sky Roof Measure at –  (315) 926-1777

Calculating the Area of a Complex Roof

Areas of complex roofs with many hips and valleys take the most time to calculate. To get started, make a rough sketch of the roof. To simplify things, break down the sketch into rectangles and right triangles and then take as many measurements of the roof as you can to match the sides of the rectangles and triangles on the sketch.

Square lines off eaves edges or ridges can be determined by using visual cues from the existing roof. These will help you measure the lengths of the sides of the rectangles and triangles. For example, the cutout slots on shingled roofs run perpendicular to the eaves, and nail rows in sheathing are very close to square as well. While it can be challenging sometimes to get accurate measurements, don’t be too concerned and round lengths to the nearest 6 in.

When your sketch is filled in with measurements, determine the size of the roof area. The area of a rectangle is length multiplied by width, while the area of a right triangle is the length of the two sides that meet at the 90-degree corner multiplied together and divided by two.

That said, on average, most contractors will charge between $3.50 and $5.50 per square foot or $350 to $550 per square (100 sq. ft.) to install or replace an asphalt shingle roof on a typical house. Thus, at the mid point of the above price range, you can expect to pay about $4.50 per sq.

Satellite roof measurements

What Is A Roofing Square? Roofing Calculator

Roof surfaces are measured in “squares”. A roofing square is equal to 100 square feet of the roof. To determine the number of squares on the gable roof example in this post, divide its total of 12,000 square feet by 100 (12,000 ÷ 100 = 120). This means you would need 120 squares of shingles to cover that roof.

                          Call Us – (315) 926-1777

Squares are also used to identify the amount of underlayment your roof requires. So, using the same example and formula above, you’ll also need 120 squares of underlayment for a roof with a square footage of 12,000. Most—if not all—companies that offer residential roofing in Naperville, Illinois and in other cities in the U.S. offer underlayment in rolls of four (4) squares each. As such, if your roof requires 120 squares, you will need 30 rolls (120 ÷ 4 = 30) of underlayment from roofers.
 

Roofing Pitch for Square Roof Area

Finally, the more complex part, measuring your roof’s pitch.

  1. Estimate or calculate the pitch of your roof .
  2. Climb to the peak of your roof. Bring a two foot level. Hold your level outward, perfectly horizontal from your roof, so the bubble is in the middle of the indicator glass. Then, using a tape measure, determine how many inches are between the middle of your level and your roof. 
  3. Multiply the number of roofing squares by the following digits below.

Low Pitch: 1.07 x Roofing Squares
Medium Pitch: 1.185 x Roofing Squares
High Pitch: 1.36 x Roofing Squares

Please note that we recommend letting a professional roofer do the calculations for your own safety!

Calculating a roofing square of your roof is very important, if you’re communicating with someone from the industry.

If you ever need help with roofing square or anything related to the roofing, you can simply approach the Sky Roof Measure, a company that has been serving local residents with 5 star roofing measurement services and an excellent track record.