Sometimes You Need To Do A Quick Calculation To See If The Numbers Stack Up We Get It
Our table of roof slope factors will help you do the maths when it comes to roof areas, sheet length and hip length. Remember, these methods are for quick estimating purposes only. Accurate measurements must be taken from the actual roof frame before ordering roofing and rainwater products.
As an example, take a typical hipped roof where all four roof sections have the same slope and all hips are of equal length.
Tips For Getting Started
Tip 1: Measuring to the nearest inch along eaves and across gables can be done from the ground just dont forget the overhang.
Tip 2: If you know the dimensions of your previous asphalt roofing job, you can use this info to cheat a little. Typical 3 Tab asphalt shingles have tabs that are 1 foot wide with a vertical exposure of 5 inches. Make sure to physically verify these dimensions by measuring 4 or 5 courses. Counting the shingles can give you eave to ridge dimensions from the ground.
Tip 3: 100 Square Feet = 1 Square in Roofing Terms
Get Your Moneys Worth With A Good Contractor
Whether replacing a broken front step or building a family room addition, most homeownersrealize that any improvement requires spending money. However, savvy consumers alsowant value for every dollar. To ensure that your money is well spent and that yourproject is a complete success, heed the following advice:
Fun Fact: When remodeling 78 percent of homeowners hire a pro 18 percentdo the work themselves. A small percentage, 4 percent hire a contractor but thenbuy their own materials, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
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Home Diy : Measuring Your Own Roof To Get An Accurate Quote
Theres perhaps nothing a Dallas / Ft. Worth contractor dreads more than a potential customer calling up and asking how much to build a garage or what would it cost to remodel my basement? Theres simply too many details that go into any contracting project for it to be fair to the customer or the builder to give a rough quote over the phone.
Along those same lines of common projects with almost unlimited variables is putting a new roof on your house. Factors such as how many layers of shingles underneath need to be torn off, the condition of the plywood sheeting, and the type of new shingles being installed all change the estimate of a new roof. For somebody with a roof leaking into the house, time is of the essence and you might not be able to wait for a contractor to get to your home, measure the roof, and draw up the bid. One way you can narrow down prospective roofing companies is by measuring your own roof with these steps and asking for a quote based on your exact square footage and design.
Know Your Roof Type
Get a Friend, Get On the Roof, and Measure Your Roof
Make a Blueprint and Calculate Roofing Square
Once youve created a blueprint and calculated the total square footage, you need to convert that into roofing square. A roofing square is 100 square feet this means that if the total area of your roof after adding together all the plains was 2000 square feet, youd divide that by 100 to need 20 square of shingles.
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What Depth Of Gravel Do I Need
You would usually lay a 10mm aggregate at a depth of 30-40mm, but on a driveway this would need to be at least 50mm. A 20mm aggregate would need to be at least 40-50mm deep, and at least 50-60mm on driveways. A larger aggregate will settle and bond together better than smaller ones. The depth you will need to select for your gravel or slate will always depend on the aggregate size and what the surface will be used for.
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How To Measure A Roof For Shingles
A homes roof is measured in squares. As you prepare for your roofing project, youll use squares to determine the amount of roofing materials you need, from asphalt shingles down to the underlayment.
How To Measure A Hip Roof Hip Roof Hip Roof Design Roof Truss Design
Estimating The Size Of Your Roof Surface
Every roof is unique, of course, and the size and shape of yours will factor into the final weight of the materials you toss in the dumpster. Roofers typically measure surfaces in squaresone square is equal to 100 square feet. Have a 2000 square foot roof? Youve got 20 squares, and so forth.
While the type of roof and the underlayment can affect the final weight, as a general rule, for asphalt shingles, you can estimate around 250 pounds per square for standard three-tab shingles, and about 400 pounds per square for architectural shingles. Remember, again, if you have multiple layers of shingles, you need to multiply the total amount of squares by the number of layers before you find the weight. For instance, a 2000-square-foot roof with two layers of shingles should be treated as 40 squares, not 20, because the weight will be doubled.
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Single Price Survey Data
The Roofing Shingles Cost Survey list the observed price of a bundle of shingles. A bundle is equal to roughly or one third of a roofing square . The survey includes a date, the name of the store, and the five price points for shingles: economy, low, median, high and premium.
One should use the pricing for roofing materials that can be bought locally. However, the following prices are for different quality grades of shingles in the United States:
How Many Nails Will You Need
Nails will also be required for any roofing project. The average 3-tab shingle needs four nails per shingle. High wind areas and other types of shingles may need more. 320 nails will be needed to install a square of standard 3-tab shingles, assuming four nails per shingle and 80 shingles per square.
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What Is A Square In Roofing
A roofing square is the amount of roofing material required to cover 100 square feet of roof. When calculating the number of shingles you need to cover your roof, youll calculate the area in terms of squares. Therefore if you have 2100 square feet of roof, youll need 21 squares of roof material.
A square of shingles is the number of shingles needed to cover a square of roofing. Whereas a bundle of shingles can vary in square footage, a square of shingles is always 100 square feet. This makes it easier when purchasing roofing materials since manufacturers will package 3 or 4 bundles of shingles to add to an even square.
A square in roofing is always 100 square feet. This refers to the square footage on the roof surface. It doesnt necessarily have to be a perfect square and is a quick way to calculate the quantity of roofing material that youll need for your job.
Youll always need more shingles than youd think to cover a square of roofing. Even if a shingle is 12 wide, some of that is covered by the shingle on top of it. Therefore, only about 6 to 8 of each shingle is showing. Thus, for standard 3-tab shingles, you may end up with 80 or more shingles in one square of roofing.
The Positive Roof Measuring Method
The positive roof measuring method requires you to break the roof up into measurable sections. For image 1.2 find the area of all sections of the roof, and then add them together to find the total area of the roof.
Area of section A = 20 x 60 = 1200 sqft
Area of section B = 20 x 40 = 800 sqft
Area of section C = 20 x 20 = 400 sqft
Therefore, the total area of the roof plan above is 1200 sqft + 800 sqft + 400 sgft = 2400 sqft
Example 1.2
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How Do You Stagger Shingles On A Hip Roof
There is no definitive answer to this question since it depends on the specific roof and the preferences of the builder or homeowner. Some people might stagger shingles every other row, while others might stagger them every third row. It really depends on the look that is desired and the shape of the roof.
Measuring Or Calculating Gable And Hip Lengths
The slope factor is also used to determine gable lengths when the run length is known. For example, in Figure 4 the bottom left gable measures 16 across from eave to eave and therefore has a run of 8. When this is multiplied by 1.202 the gable distance is 98 . Note that this run can also be multiplied by the hip/valley factor of 1.563 to get a valley length of 126.
Record all your calculations on your drawing as seen in Figure 5 below.
Figure 5. Completed Roof Plan Drawing
Pro Tip: A Note About Waste Factor
Once you have figured out your roof area, you will need to also calculate how much room you need to allow for waste. For metal roofing products on a medium complex roof a waste factor of 15% is advisable. In other words for the 2468 ft2 roof in our example you should multiply by 1.15 giving you 2838.2 ft2 roofing material needed.
Important Note: Most metal roofing products are packaged and sold by the square so for our example roof the number of squares or boxes to purchase is 29.
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What Is A Roofing Square
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 .
This means you would need 24 squares of shingles to cover that roof. Be sure to add 10%-15% to all your material totals for trim allowance .
Pro Tip: Want to skip doing some math?Order a FREE RoofScopeX aerial roof reportto see the size of your roof in squares, as well as the slope of your roof.
Keep the report on hand for future conversations with roofers or when reviewing estimates for your next roof replacement or repair.
How To Estimate The Size Of A Roof
If youre replacing a roof, the first consideration needs to be the roofs size so you can accurately estimate project materials.
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.
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How To Measure Your Roof With Google Earth
Using your computer to get a ballpark estimate of your roof area is easy and fast. However, using satellite imagery may not be an ideal solution if your structure is in a very remote location that hasnt been 3D scanned. Thats because well need to grab an accurate representation of your roofs pitch for measuring purposes. From above with a 2D image, everything looks flat. If you were to just measure your roof area from directly above, you wouldnt be accounting for its pitch, or slope.
Consider two homes with the same base area square footage, but one of them has a much steeper roof pitch than the other. That structure would need to be taller, and there would be a lot more roofing material to account for. If youre just measuring from above in 2D, both of these structures might look identical. If you dont account for roof pitch, youre going to underestimate your materials requirements, which could be a costly mistake.
Satellite technology has progressed a lot in the past few years. With , you can easily find your address and a 3D replica of your structure, including your roofs pitch. Lets get to it.
Once you load the site, youll be presented with our beautiful planet:
While you can switch to 2D mode by clicking the button in the lower right, youll want to stay in this 3D view so you can get a good view of your roofs pitch.
How To Start Shingles On A Hip Roof
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as the best way to start shingles on a hip roof will vary depending on the specific roofs geometry and other factors. However, a few tips on how to start shingles on a hip roof include:-Measure and mark the roofs pitch before beginning. This will help you determine the correct placement of the first row of shingles.-Beginning at the bottom of the
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Plan For Waste Factor
The only roof that will generate no waste from cutting is that rare simple gable whose roof length is divisible by the 3-ft. length of a shingle. Other simple gable roofs will require cut shingles at the rakes. From there, the waste factor increases with every obstruction, such as a chimney, and with every hip or valley.
Laminated shingles typically generate less waste than three-tab shingles do because you dont have to maintain a cutout pattern, but its tricky to determine exactly how many square feet of shingles you will be able to salvage. Its best to plan your order using the same waste factor that you would use for three-tab shinglesat worst youll just have a couple of bundles to return.For a simple roof, I generally figure 1 percent as a waste factor. On a complex roof with open valleys, I add 5 percent and sometimes more. Theres no calculation you can use to determine the extra shingles youll need for waste. With experience estimating jobs, youll get a feel for how many extra shingles to order.
Waste is also generated when shingles are damaged, which is inevitable when youre moving shingles around a steep roof slope and some will slide off. You may be able to salvage part of the damaged shingle, but dont count on it. You can also waste shingles when you nail them improperly and have to remove them. You may drive nails too low in the exposure or fasten one off a control line.
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How Do I Measure A Steep Roof
Most roofers wont go on a roof with an 8/12 roof pitch or greater with special equipment such as scaffolding and roof jacks and neither should you. Instead, use one of the four methods described above that allow you to measure the roof while standing safely on the ground or from the comfort of your computer.
While these methods may not be quite as accurate as taking actual measurements from the rooftop, theyre close enough for calculating how many shingles youll need to purchase for a new roof.
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How Many Bundles Of Shingles Will You Need
The average bundle of shingles covers 33.3 ft2, so three bundles of shingles are needed per square. Asphalt shingles range in price from about $25 per bundle for a standard 3-tab style to around $50-$75 or more for an upgraded architectural style.
Since transportation is a major cost factor, expect prices to vary by location. A typical bundle of shingles weighs about 75 pounds, while some premium products can weigh over 100 pounds per bundle, so consider delivery of materials.
Builder Mike Guertin Explains 3 Ways To Calculate The Quantity Of Shingles You’ll Need For Your Next Roofing Job
One of the biggest challenges for experienced builder and novices alike is accurately estimating materials for a construction projectespecially for roofs, because they can be difficult to access for taking measurements.
But dont fretIn this excerpt from my book Roofing with Asphalt Shingles, I describe three reliable methods for determining the area of a roof, plus Ive included tips for estimating the number of extra shingles youll need for waste, overlaps, and starter shingles.
Note: be sure to take your time and double-check your numbers when calculating the quantity of shingles, underlayment, flashings, and other materials needed for yourroofing project. The more accurate your estimates, the less time youll waste waiting for material deliveries during the project.
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Whats Your Roof Slope
You will also need to know the slope of your deck.
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 mentioned second.
How To Figure Out The Square Footage Of A Roof
Repairing or replacing your roof can be expensive, especially if you dont know how to calculate its square footage. A wrong estimate can cost you thousands of dollars and might even delay your roof repair, leaving your home exposed to the elements. The good news is you can easily estimate the square footage of your roof with a few tools and basic geometry.
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Can You Have Two Different Pitches On A Hip Roof
A hip roof is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards towards the walls, and the roof ends come to a point. The word hip comes from the Old English word for angle and refers to the fact that the roof angles inward at the top.
A hip roof can have two pitches, which refer to the slope angle. For example, a roof with a steeper pitch will have a sharper angle, while a roof with a shallower pitch will have a gentler angle.
