Find The Area Of The Footprint Of The Roof
To calculate a roofs dimensions, you need to measure the roof as if it were flat, then account for roof pitch, calculate square footage, and finally determine how many squares of material are required for the roof.
The calculator above can handle all of this, simply enter the length, width, and pitch, and it will determine the size of the roof in squares.
Start by measuring the roofs length and width in feet as youre standing on the ground. Remember that the length and width need to be found for the roof, not the house, so take into account that the roof overhangs the building.
Then determine the area of the roof as if it were flat. Multiply the length by the width in feet to get the area measurement.
How To Measure Roof Squares
Find this number by measuring the length and width of each plane on the roof then multiplying length times width. To find your roofs total square footage, simply add the square footage of each of the planes together
If youre intending on doing a shingle roof, youre going to need to consider exactly how many shingles you will need to procure. To do this, youll need to assess the total square footage of your roofs total surface. Doing so is straightforward. You or your hired roofing team will initiate by evaluating the span and width of each plane of the roof, adding to any dormers. Multiply the entire length by the width to receive the exact square footage of each plane. In the end, tally the roofs full square footage by summing the square footage of each plane together.
Every roof surface is surveyed in squares. A square is purely any area of roof which computes at an exact 100 square feet. Youll need to find out the number of squares on a roof in order to learn the number of shingles youll need to cover the roof. Lets say you have a gable roof that is a sum of 24,000 square feet. Simply divide the entire square footage by 100. Youll get a result of 240, meaning that youll need 240 squares of shingles to cover the roof.
How many bundles of shingles per square?
The most common type of shingle called a three-tab or strip shingle is generally packaged three bundles per square.
What About Other Roofing Costs?
Inspecting the Roof
How Do You Calculate The Square Footage Of Your Roof
Is it time for a roof replacement? Are you trying to figure out how much youll have to invest in your new roof?
If so, youre probably overwhelmed trying to learn everything that goes into the cost of your roof replacement. To help you understand the size of your roof investment, you first need to know the size of your roof. Thats why were going to break down how to measure your roofs square footage.
The team at Bill Ragan Roofing has been repairing and replacing roofs in Nashville and surrounding areas since 1990. We take extreme pride in everything we do, especially our workmanship.
Read Also: Travel Trailer Roof Repair Kits
Read Also: How Much To Replace My Roof
How To Measure A Roof For Shingles
Whether taking on a roofing job on your own or hiring someone else to do it, knowing how many shingles youll need for the job is key. To figure that out, one needs to measure the dimensions of their roof. While this may be a simple task for a small shed, determining the square footage of a roof thats 20 feet off the ground can be daunting.
While climbing onto the roof with a tape measure is the most straightforward way to calculate a roof area, doing so isnt always feasible or safe. Fortunately, there are many options for measuring the square footage of a roof. Many of these methods can be conducted with your feet firmly on the ground or even from a computer with the help of online resources.
In this article, well discuss how to measure a roof for shingles from both the roof or the ground. Well also take you through how to use these measurements to determine how many shingles you need to buy for your roofing project.
Quick Navigation
Do You Need Roof Repair Replacement Or New Installation In The Dallas 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.
Recommended Reading: How To Get Wrinkles Out Of Rubber Roofing
The Operating Cost Of Your Roofing Contractor
Every roofing contractor has operating expenses to keep their business going. These operating costs will always factor into the price of any roof work that needs to be done.
Some common operating costs are:
- Building cost and utilities, shop and truck yard
- Advertising and promotions
- Payroll and payroll taxes
These are just some of the fixed operating costs that it takes to run a business. No matter if a roofing company does a simple repair or replaces 10 roofs, these are the costs that have to be paid every day. No matter what work you get done or what service you need, operating expenses will always factor into an estimate or final cost.
Keep The Slope And Complexity Of Your Roof In Mind
You have to keep in mind the makeup of your roof when doing the calculation for the square footage. The steepness and complexity will change the number you multiply the footprint of your home by.
For example:
For an easy up-and-over, walkable gable roof, youll multiply the footprint of the roof by 1.3 to get the square footage of your roof.
For a hip roof with a low slope, you’ll multiply the footprint of the roof by 1.4 to get the square footage of your roof.
For a steep and complex roof, you’ll multiply the footprint of the roof by 1.6 to get the square footage of your roof.
Recommended Reading: What Is The Average Cost Of A New Shingle Roof
S To Calculate Your Roofs Square Footage
You just learned what a roofing square is. The number of roof squares has a huge impact on the cost factors, such as the amount of materials used, labor, and time.
Before investing in a new roof, wouldnt it be great to know how much itll cost per square?
If you answered yes, we have a great way to roughly calculate your roofs square footage to give you an idea of the cost of your new roof. Be aware, the only way to get a 100 percent accurate measurement is to have a local roofing contractor come out to professionally measure your roof.
How Many Roofing Shingles Do I Need
To estimate how much roofing material you need, such as bundles of architectural shingles or rolls of synthetic roofing underlayment, you need to know the total square footage of your roofs surface.
How to Calculate Total Square Footage of Your Roof
To find your roofs total square footage:
Example #1: Shed Roof with One Roof Plane
For example, this shed roof has one roof plane.
Multiply length times width :
A x B = 40 x 30 = 1200 sq. ft. for the total square footage of the roof.
Example #2: Gable Roof with Two Roof Planes
This gable roof has two planes.
So to derive the total square footage of the roof, you would:
For example:
Ready to get an estimate? Find an independent roofing contractor in the Owens Corning Roofing Contractor Network near you.
Read Also: How To Waterproof A Roof
Estimating The Cost Of The Roof
Once you know the area of the roof, you have to decide on the scope of works. Do you want to build the roof from scratch, or maybe replace the old layers? You also need to decide on the finishing material. For example, asphalt shingles will be less expensive than clay tiles.
After you’ve made all of these decisions, it’s best to contact your local contractor and ask about the cost of both materials and labor per square meter or square foot of roof area. Remember that this unit price should include all additional elements such as fasteners, as well as the cost of removing all layers and disposing of them .
The most typical cost of roofing falls between $2 and $4 per square foot . If the price proposed by your contractor deviates from these values, it is advisable to check with other contractors before starting the works.
If you cannot contact any contractor, calculate the cost of materials and multiply this price by 2.5. You will obtain an approximate price including labor, assuming that 40% of the cost is taken by the materials and 60% by the labor.
The last thing you have to do is to multiply this cost by your roof area and voilà, you now know the total cost of your roof! Remember that the real cost might differ from this value a bit due to waste, so plan ahead and assign more funds to this construction work.
If you are not on a tight budget, maybe you’d like to add solar panels?
Also, make sure to take a look at our concrete slab cost calculator, too!
Calculating Roof Square Footage
Roof replacement is an expensive endeavor and you need to know the exact square footage of your roof in order to get the right estimate. Incorrect estimate of the square footage of the roof may need to lead to mistakes and you may overshoot your budget. There are a number of roof square footage calculators available online that can help you in estimating the square footage of the roof correctly in order to estimate the overall costs of roof replacement. However, you still need to do some manual calculations in order to make sure that the cost of roof replacement is calculated reasonably correctly.
As far as calculating the cost of total roof replacement is concerned, there are some simple calculations you need to do in order to estimate the overall cost of roof placement. You just need to figure out the overall roof area and the number of shingles needed to cover the roof area in order to calculate the overall cost. Needless to say, you will also need to pay for the services of roofing contractor in case you want a professional to do the job.
Read Also: When Do You Replace A Roof
Calculate The Surface Area Of The Roof
Youll notice as an area is drawn the area and perimeter results are displayed in the bottom right corner. With a single pitch roof youll have only one area result that relates to the entire footprint or perimeter of the roof. Both metric and imperial measurement systems are displayed in a popup menu over the results area.
Take your area result and multiply it by the pitch multiplier found in the table above to arrive at the roofs surface area. Now youre ready to price out the materials.
For multi-pitched roofs simply add the areas of all common pitches together by toggling layer visibility from the summed layer at the left of the layers control.
Use the appropriate pitch multiplier for each totaled area calculated, then sum all the areas together.
Why Should I Measure My Own Roof
If you plan on re-roofing your own home then you will need to calculate materials so you wont waste your own time and money. If youre like most people, youll need to hire a professional.
Knowing your numbers will help you figure out what roofing materials are within your budget and having your square footage handy is a great way to protect yourself from inflated quotes.
Recommended Reading: Roof Overhang Extension
Read Also: How Does Insurance Cover Roof Replacement
Draw A Quick Diagram Of The Property
The first thing to do when measuring a roof from the ground is to draw a quick diagram of the property. This ensures you wont accidentally miss a section and leave something out of your calculations. Plus, it gives you a place to record your measurements as you go along.
Image credit: Rox Roofing
Since youre working from the ground instead of up on the roof, its ok for this to just be a rough sketch of the overall shape of the house. Just make sure to label your diagram with basic reference points like front, back, left, and right. This helps to make sure that you record the measurements in the right place.
Calculating The Area Of Complex Roofs
If your roof is not the classic Gable shape, or if it has multiple sections such as hips and valleys, wed recommend splitting the roof into each section and working out the areas individually. If youre unsure of how to do this, get in touch with a roofing professional. Learn how to find a good roofer.
Or, alternatively get in touch with us! Our customer service team will be able to help you calculate your roof area, and anything else you might need for your project. Call them on 01295 565 565, email , or use the handy live chat below.
Recommended Reading: How Do I Estimate The Cost Of A New Roof
How To Measure Your Total Roof Area
Length x width = square footage
In order to determine the amount of shingles you need for your roof, youll need to know the square footage of your roofs surface. Measurements for the area of the roof will depend on what roof type you may have, whether its a gable roof with fewer planes or a hip roof with more.
To find the square footage of your roof, measure the roof length and roof width of each plane, including overhangs, and multiply them together. Then, add up the square footage of each plane. This will give you the total square footage.
How To Measure Your Roofs Square Footage
The square footage of your roof has a huge impact on the cost of your replacement. It affects a number of cost factors, including the amount of materials used, labor, and time.
Be aware, the only way to get a 100 percent accurate measurement is to have a local roofing contractor come out to professionally measure your roof and give you a quote. However, I can give you the calculations to get a rough measurement of your homes square footage.
Also Check: What Do You Need To Start A Roofing Company
The Type Of Roof You Want
The type of roof you want will have a big impact on the cost of your roof replacement. There are a variety of different types of roofs for you to choose from based on your budget and the look you want.
If youre on a tight budget and looking for an affordable roof, an asphalt shingle roof might be right for you. But if youre looking to upgrade to a longer-lasting and sharp looking roof, theres the standing seam metal roof.
Asphalt and metal are two of the most commonly seen roof types, but there are also premium shingle roofs that come at a premium price. These roofs give you a unique look that really stands out. These premium roofs include cedar shake, slate, and tile.
The premium shingle roofs can get expensive quickly and be more than triple the cost of an asphalt shingle roof.
What Is Slope Factor
Taking a 2D measurement of a roof either online via Google Earth or by measuring the exterior walls of the home doesnt account for the elevation of the roof, which adds square footage. Slope factor is a convenient way of using the pitch of your roof to convert a 2D measurement to an accurate measurement of the roofs square footage.
| Roof Slope |
Recommended Reading: Is Tesla Solar Roof Available
How To Measure Your Roof Area From The Ground
A more accurate way to calculate the area of the roof than using Google Earth is to get outside to estimate the roof pitch and the base area of the property. Using these two figures, we can get a good idea of the shingle roofs square footage and estimate your asphalt shingles needs and costs. This DIY technique can be helpful, especially if you are not comfortable getting on your roof, or if you have limited access to it.
Ground measures only work well for a gabled roof, since there are usually just two main rectangular pitches to calculate area for. For more complex roof shapes, like hip roofs, youll need to work with a roofer or measure from on top of the roof itself to calculate its total area.
Need A Rooferget 4 Free Quotes From Local Pros:
Enter Your Zip Code:
Below, there is a simple triangle, and the math used to work out how to make a proper measurement. Once you work through the basic triangle, we will review a typical roof, and how to apply some simple math to calculate how much material you will need for a roof used in our hypothetical example.
1 roof square = 100 square feet The length times the height of a triangle is twice its area . So if you divide your answer of a product of length times height by two, you will get the area of a triangle. /2 = Area
| New Shingle Roof |
|
See costs in your areaEnter Your Zip Code |
In Figure above: l=30 feet h=12 feet /2 = 180 square feet
Now that the basic concept has been covered, lets take a look at a more complex roofing system. In this overhead view you see both a hip-end section, and gable ends. With a more complex roof such is this one, it is highly recommended that you make a basic sketch. By doing so, it will be easier to mark your measurements, and calculate the necessary materials for the project. For this example we will break this roof up into sections labeled A through E.
In the figure B. above, a sketched portion is a basic triangle. As we did in the first example, measure the length of the eaves, and the vertical line from the eaves half way point to the peak. Multiply these numbers, and then divide the answer by two./2 = 270 square feet
S1 = /2 = 135 square feetS2 = 50 × 15 = 750 square feetS3 = /2 = 135 square feet
Read Also: Do You Need A Permit For A Roof
