How Many Square Feet In A Square Roofing

What Is A Roofing Square A Comprehensive Guide

By: Author Ryan M.

A roofing square is the most common unit of measurement for materials that are used to cover roofs. Theres a tool used for convenience but theres also a quick way to determine the answer:

What is a roofing square? A roofing square, often known as a square of roofing shingles, is the quantity of material required to cover 100 square feet of roof area. Contractors, manufacturers, and suppliers use the phrase as a shorthand to define the size of a roof. A 2,000 square foot roof, for example, is 20 square.

How Long Do Timberline Roofs Last

Its important to note that Lifetime does not actually mean that. While 50 years is considered Lifetime, architectural shingles, including GAF Timberline HD shingles, will not last this long.

However, with quality installation it can last a good 18-22 years. By comparison 3-tab shingles will last around 10-15 years, and mare require more repairs a long the way.

How To Calculate Shingles

To calculate the number of shingles youll need, youll need first to measure the square footage of your roof, which is covered above.

Once you have the square footage, divide that number by 100. This will tell you how many roofing squares you have. If your roof is 4500 square feet, divide this number by 100 and youll get 45.

Since we know that most shingles require three bundles to make a square, youll multiply 45 times 3 to find out how many bundles you will need. In this case, youll need 135 bundles of shingles.

If you want to take it a step further and calculate the amount of individual shingles youll need for your project, multiply 135 by the number of shingles indicated on the bundle.

Recommended Reading: How To Repair A Trailer Roof

Don’t Miss: What Kind Of Plywood Is Used For Roofing

Varying Roof Styles Make The Term Roofing Square More Common

Another reason that you cant always divide square footage by 100 to get the number of square is because every roof shape and style is different

For example, measuring a gable roof is fairly straightforward, but measuring a gambrel or mansard style roof can be a bit more complicated. Waste becomes a major factor when measuring more intricate roofing types like mansard and hipped roofs. Waste happens when shingles need to be cut to fit tight spaces . They are not always nailed in even rows along the roof deck.

With more complex roof types, you quickly realize that not every square foot of measurement is created equal! Overall, the phrase roof square helps bridge the gap for projects both simple and complex.

As long as you have an experienced roofing contractor to work with, you can breathe easy knowing that at the end of the day, the correct amount of materials will get delivered and that your roof installation will go 100% according to plan! You can skip the hassle of measuring your roof, ordering materials, and DIYing the project by hiring Roof Hub. Our guarantees, time-tested processes, and 50 year warranty are just a few of many reasons hundreds of homeowners have trusted us with their #1 asset. If youd like to get started on a roof estimate, click here.

How Much Do Shingles Weigh

To calculate shingle weight, youâll need to understand bundles and squares. A square of shingles is a roofing term for 100 square feet of material. It typically takes 3 bundles of shingles to cover a square of roof. While youâll hear both terms, bundle is more commonly used when purchasing shingles, while square is associated with a completed roof or shingle removal.

Keep in Mind: The exact weight per bundle or square of shingles depends on the manufacturer. Also, remember that older shingles will weigh less as they are worn down by the elements over time.

Also Check: What To Do If Roof Is Leaking During Storm

Tips For Calculating Roof Area So Youll Know How Many Bundles Per Square Youll Need For Roof Area Coverage

So you need a new roof, whether its to adorn your newly built home or to replace your existing roof. Like most North Americans, youve 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.

Sounds simple, right? The only hard part is getting the actual measurements, and there are various ways to do this. Most likely, the roofer will physically get on the roof and, using a good old-fashioned tape measure, measure the areas of all the various roof sections and total them together. Of course, if the house is a new construction, these values will be readily available from the architectural drawings.

Do You Need Roof Repair Replacement Or New Installation In The Fort Worth Area

If so, TX Roofing Solutions is the first choice for residents in the Dallas, Texas, area.

Providing free, no-obligation roof inspections, our company can handle any service request you may have. Whether youre in Euless, Arlington, Flower Mound, Keller, Coppell, Grapevine or a surrounding area, were happy to provide you with honest, reputable roofing services.

Call us today at 726-1369 or complete our form here to request your free, on-site roof inspection.

Dont Miss: Garage Roof Trusses

Don’t Miss: What Is The Average Cost To Replace A Roof

Can I Shorten Washing Machine Drain Hose

When Roof Felt Gets Wet The felt is actually what keeps your roof dry! The shingles are in place to protect the felt. Roofing felt should ideally be dry when shingles are installed to avoid ripping, but its still possible to install when wet. The felt can be damaged if exposed to moisture too long.

Thereof, Is felt underlayment waterproof?

Felt underlayment is water-resistant, but not waterproof. Its available in two thicknesses: 15-pound and 30-pound. Thirty-pound felt is more resistant to damage during installation of the roof-covering material, and will protect the roof longer if it should somehow become exposed to weather.

Also to know is, Can felt paper get wet? Everything in Moderation. Roofing felt can get wet and still maintain its integrity, as long as it is not exposed to the elements for more than a few days. It will break down in sunlight and with large amounts of ongoing moisture. If the felt is still wet, it may rip when shingles are installed.

Subsequently, question is, How many square feet does 30 lb felt cover? The average roll of 15-pound roofing felt covers about 400 ft2, or 4 squares, while the average roll of 30-pound roofing felt covers about 200 ft2, or 2 squares.

Also, Should I use 15 or 30 lb felt?

Recommended Reading: How To Stop A Roof Leak Temporarily

How Many Shingles Come In A Bundle

You usually purchase shingles by the bundle. Standard shingles are 12 by 36 inches and come 29 to a package. Most shingles come 3 bundles to a square which is equal to 100 square feet. So, each bundle provides about 33 square feet of coverage. Your contractor will calculate how many shingles youll need for the job.

You May Like: How Do You Calculate Roof Square Footage

How Big Should A Pack Of Shake Be To Cover A Square

This will alter the number of bundles required to cover 1 square. For example: 18 shake bundles 12/12 should cover 100 square feet at 7 1/2 exposure. 9/9 pack should give 75% coverage of a square. Check with your supplier to confirm specific packaging used for your order.

How many square feet does a 4 bundle square cover?

The above coverage table tells you that a 4-bundle square at 4 exposure covers 80 square feet. 3200 divided by 80 = 40 squares of material

What Is The Size Of A Square Of Roofing Shingles

How big is a roofing square? This is one question that most homeowners usually ask when installing a new roof on a newly built house or replacing an existing roof. Knowing the roofs area will help you determine the correct quantity of roofing shingles needed.

When youve settled on asphalt shingles, youll need a professional roofing contractor to help you install them. But before you hire anyone, you can estimate the size of shingles your roof needs. That will be easier when you know how big a roofing square is.

Recommended Reading: How To Add A Porch Roof To Existing House

Sky Roof Measure Provides Industry Leading Takeoff And Roof Estimating Reports For Professional Construction Contractors Please Email :

Area of a rectangle or square:A = L x WExample: 20 feet x 10 feet = 200 square feet

Area of a trapezoid:A = / 2Area = / 2Example: / 2 = 45 square feet

Area of a triangle:A = / 2Area = / 2Example: / 2 = 10 square feet

When you have finished calculating the area of each plane, use this information to find your roofs total square footage. Add the area of each plane together, and the sum will be the total square footage of the roof.

What Influences A Roofing Projects Cost

Although a roofs size is always a major factor in calculating project costs, other elements may influence a contractors quote, such as:

• Your location and the average roofing project prices in your area.
• Your choice of roofing material
• Roof accessibility and ease of installation
• The contractors certifications and level of work
• Project timeline

Don’t Miss: What Should Be In A Roofing Contract

How Do I Calculate Roofing Sheets

To calculate the number of roofing sheets you will need, you will first need to know the size of the area you are wanting to cover and the type of roofing sheets you will be using.

Once you have those two pieces of information, you can use this equation:

Number of sheets =

For example, if you are wanting to cover an area of 1000 square feet with standard 3-foot by 12-foot roofing sheets, you would need 250 sheets.

The Purpose Of Roofing Felt Is Roofing Felt Necessary

Have you ever approached a roofing project and wondered: is roofing felt necessary?

For more than 25 years organizations such as the National Roofing Contractors Association and the Canadian Asphalt Shingle Manufacturers Association have included roofing felt in their roofing and waterproofing recommendations. It is also a requirement under many building codes.

Read on to understand the purpose of felt paper on roofs, and how this product will add an integral layer of protection to your roof and your residence.

Read Also: Can You Vent A Dryer Through The Roof

How Many Bundles Of Cedar Shakes Are In A Square

Like shingles, shakes are sold by the square, enough for 100 square feet of finished roof, but while a square of shingles consists of 4 bundles, a square of shakes may contain 5 and even, for the 32 length, 6 bundles. Its easy to see why such a square weighs 450 pounds. Thereof, how much is a square of cedar shakes?

How Can I Figure Out The Square Footage Of My Roof

Its been a long time since high school trigonometry, but take it from the leading Northern VA roofing company, figuring out the square footage of your roof isnt as complex as it sounds.

The Terminology

First, youll want to understand a few of the terms you might not have heard before. If youre researching a new roof, its easy to become overwhelmed.

Pitch/Slope: This is the steepness of your roof. The reason this is important is because this angle will greatly affect the square footage of the roof deck.

Squares: A square is 100 square feet, or an area 10×10. Roofers use this because its easier to say The roof is 24 squares, than it is to say, The roof is 2380 sq ft. Pricing and materials also tend to be quoted in squares.

Peak/Ridge: This is the top of your roof. Its not uncommon to instal special ventilated ridgecaps, and if the peak is shingled traditionally, it will require several layers of shingles.

Gable: The gable is the sloping edge of your roof.

Eave: This is the bottom of your roof, where the gutters hang.

The Math

The first thing you will need to do is figure out the slope of your roof. Unlike, say, engineering the rafters figuring out the slope of your roof is relatively easy.

Or, you could go outside with a protractor and see which angle matches.

Next Steps

Contact us

McLean, VA 22102

Customer Testimonials

Thank you for doing a very good job, in a timely way and for leaving the site in a very good condition.

You May Like: How To Attach Metal Roof To Shingle Roof

Do I Need To Understand Squares And Bundles

If you are completing a DIY roofing job, then all the talk of roofing squares can seem overwhelming and unnecessarily complex. The good news is that your roofing supplier will understand the measurement of squares and will be able to calculate for you how many bundles you need.

Therefore as long as you are able to calculate the number of squares on your roof, you can use this information when ordering shingles. For example, you would just need to ask your supplier to order you 20 squares worth of shingles, and they would be able to calculate this into the equivalent of 60 bundles of shingles.

More Information From The Unit Converter

How many squares in 1 square foot?The answer is 0.01.We assume you are converting between square and square foot.You can view more details on each measurement unit:squares orsquare footThe SI derived unit for area is the square meter.1 square meter is equal to 0.1076391041671 squares, or 10.76391041671 square foot.Note that rounding errors may occur, so always check the results.Use this page to learn how to convert between squares and square feet.Type in your own numbers in the form to convert the units!

Read Also: What Are Metal Roofs Made Out Of

Sellers Roofing Company Minneapolis & Saint Paul

Sellers Roofing Company Minneapolis & Saint Paul provides residential & commercial roofing services to clients in the Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn center, Minnesota area. Specializing in full roof replacement, tearoffs, repairs, and storm damage assessment, we strive to offer the best overall customer experience in the residential roofing industry. We believe that every homeowner deserves honesty.

Contact Us

• AddressBrooklyn Park and Brooklyn center area MN 55443

Roofing Felt Paper Pricing And Installation Cost Checklist

• Get at least 3-5 estimates before hiring a Roofing Felt Paper contractor estimates are typically free, unless its a service call for a repair.
• Expect the Roofing Felt Paper prices to fluctuate between various companies each and every company have different operation expenses and over-head.
• Try to get prices in late Fall, early winter you should expect aggressive pricing discounts by waiting for a contractors down season.
• Try to budget and additional 7-15% more on top of what our calculator gives out I.e difficult configurations, patterns, hips, valleys, dormers, curbs, ventilation, etc. The additional complexity of your roof will add to the Roofing Felt Paper costs.
• Visit every supply house that sell your particular brand of Roofing Felt Paper and try to negotiate a better price with each supplier I save on average 20%.
• Remember, there are multiple styled homes in the U.S from: Contemporary, colonial, cape-cod style, ranch, bungalow, victorian, etc. So keep that in mind and try to budget a little more, before starting your Roofing Felt Paper project.

Recommended Reading: What Is The Overhang Of A Roof Called

How To Calculate Squares On A Roof: Example

Since it may still be somewhat confusing, lets look at a detailed example so that you can learn where to plug each number in. Lets start with a roof that looks like this:

For a house that is this shape, you will want to divide it into rectangular planes. There are a few ways to do this, but for this example, we will take the entire left side of the house and the entire right side of the house. This will leave the central area as the third plane.

The left side measures 20 feet, but only the entire length from the edge of the left side to the edge of the right side is measured at 30 feet. Since we only want the left side, we have to subtract the length of the center area, 8 feet, by the total length, 30 ft, to get 22 ft. This means that the total area of the left side is 20 ft by 22 ft or 440 square feet.

Doing the same for the right side, we also have one edge at 20 ft. Then, we have the width at 4 ft. This equals 80 square feet.

Finally, the central area has a length of 8 feet. The width is equal to 20 feet . Therefore the entire central area is 12 feet by 8 feet or 96 square feet.

Accounting for pitch, the total square footage is 1.29 x 616 = 794.64. However, to calculate the squares, you will have to divide that number by 100 to get 7.95. This is the number of squares and to account for any additional materials, you can round it up to 8 squares. Rounding up can also allow you to accommodate for any overhang or other discrepancies.