How To Shingle A Round Turret Roof
Im looking for advice about how to shingle a round turet roof with architectural asphalt shingles. The roof is about 17 outside diameter at the bottom and has a pitch of 11 in 12. My first issue is the drip edge it doesnt bend so Im figuring I need to use something else otherwise I end up with hundreds of overalpped seams. As for the shingles, I can cut the starters and first row to match the curve, after that I think I can get away with 1/2 shingles cut pie-shaped, but Im concerned that the pie cuts will leave an odd pattern of shingles such as thin bits. Anyone have experience? Would 3-tabs be better? Is there an easier way than cutting pie shaped pieces? Ive got Owens Corning Oakridge Pro 30 shingles.
Paul
What About The Waste Factor Should I Order Extra Roofing Materials
You want to order extra material to account for waste. Waste factors vary.
10%-15% is a good rule of thumb, but your results may be different. More complicated roofs will have a higher waste factor because there are usually more cut shingles around corners, walls, and edges.
It is okay to have a few shingles left over. They can be saved in case there is roof damage later or if repairs need to be done in the future.
So for the 24 square roof example, you would want to add 2.4 squares which equal about 7 or 8 more bundles.
What Color Roof Is Most Energy Efficient
Cool roofs are lighter in color than traditional black asphalt or dark wood shingles and save energy by reflecting light and heat away rather than absorbing them. This is known as the albedo effect, and many studies have documented significant energy savings from simply lightening the color of a roof.
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Driving Roofing Nails For Shingles
Roofing nails should be driven by hand with a hammer or with a properly adjusted pneumatic nail gun.
Nail guns that are improperly adjusted can result in either under penetration or over-penetration of the roofing nails, which then affects the shingles performance. It can also cause:
- Nail corrosion
- Buckling, and
- Shingle blow-offs.
Roofing nails are typically placed no closer than 1 inch fromthe edge of the shingle according to the manufacturers specifications.
Fixing Nailing Mistakes
Its important that nailing errors are fixed immediately.
- Underdriven nails can be appropriately tapped in with a hammer.
- Crooked or overdriven nails need to be removed, and the holes need to be filled in with asphalt roofing cement.
- A new nail must be driven in a nearby spot to secure the shingle. If this cant be done, the entire shingle should be replaced.
Nail Fastening Pattern
A four-nail fastening pattern per shingle is required to take advantage of the maximum wind warranty available on Owens Corning® Duration® shingles. Six nails are required for structures with slopes exceeding 60 degrees or 21 inches per foot. In some areas of the country, building codes may require six nails as well.
It is important to consult your local building department and to refer to the manufacturers installation instructions as the number of nails required often varies depending on the shingle product.
Finding The Size Of The Roof In Squares

Roofing contractors estimate projects and materials by the square, so it is crucial to find this measurement to estimate the amount of material needed accurately. A square simply refers to a 10 x 10 square of roofing. This is simply 100 square feet of roof.
To find the squares, divide the overall roof area by 100 and then round up. For instance, if the roof is 1550 square feet, then it is 16 squares.
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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.
Can I Put A Metal Roof Over Shingles
In almost every case, the answer is yes, you can lay down a new metal roof over an existing shingle roof. This is one of the many reasons metal roofs keep growing in popularity their installation doesnt require completely tearing off the existing roof, which is a time-consuming and expensive job.
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Draw A Diagram Of Your Roof
The first step in measuring your roof is to get a general idea of the area you will be measuring. Take a piece of paper and outline the appearance of your roof so that it is as close to its actual dimensions as possible. Not only will this give you a good idea of what youll be measuring, but also a handy place to record your measurements as you go. Increase these numbers by 15% to account for waste. Once you have a rough sketch of the roof, its time to go upstairs and start measuring.
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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.
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How Roof Area Is Measured
In order to find out how many shingles your roof will require, you first need to estimate its total square footage. This is done in three easy steps:
Here are a few examples of different roof types:
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:
- Plane 1 : 40 x 30 = 1200 sq. ft.
- Plane 2 : 40 x 30 = 1200 sq. ft.
- Plane 1 + Plane 2 = 2400 sq. ft. for the total square footage of the roof.
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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.
Ready to get an estimate?
Search our list of independent roofing contractors in the Owens Corning Roofing Contractor Network to find the roofing professional thats right for you.
How To Calculate A Roofing Square

Before beginning, make sure you can safely access your roofif you can’t, contact a roofing professional for help.
Grab your measuring tape, level, pen and paper, roof safety equipment, and your ladder. With these in hand, you can measure your roof in five simple steps.
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How Many Squares Per Roll Of Underlayment
The roll size depends on the type of underlayment product. Synthetic underlayment comes in 10 square rolls, while regular #15 felt comes in 4 square rolls.
So for the 24 square roof example, you would need 2.4 rolls of synthetic underlayment, or 6 rolls of regular #15 felt.
- 24 squares ÷ 10 squares per roll = 2.4 rolls of synthetic underlayment
- 24 squares ÷ 4 squares per roll = 6 rolls of regular #15 felt
Remember: Add 10%-15% for the waste factor on underlayment, as well.
Finally, if you have any questions about your estimate, ask a roofing contractor in your area. Most will be happy to give you a free estimate.
How To Measure A Roof
Getting accurate roof measurements can be difficult but with this roofing calculator, youll be well prepared to take measurements of any roof. Whether youre a contractor looking to train a new employee or a homeowner looking to do some renovations, youll find this guide helpful for any roofing project. Use the step-by-step guide below to accurately measure your roof and estimate roofing costs.
Step 1: How to Calculate Your Roof Square Footage
First, measure the length and width of each surface on the roof, then multiply these values to get the square footage of that surface. Make sure to document the number of chimneys, skylights or other obstructions and include dormers in your measurements. Youll also be recording the length of your house throughout this first step in order to calculate your total area.
Add up the square footage for each surface to get the total square footage of your roof. For example:
Step 2: How to Determine Your Roof Pitch
The next step is to measure the pitch of the roof deck. Youll need to figure out the vertical distance over a 12 horizontal segment . Record these values as roof rise over run, with the vertical measurement listed first and the horizontal second.
Its important to keep in mind that the roof pitch will be dramatically different for homes with a flat roof than homes with a steep roof.
Step 3: Calculating Roof Squares
HOVER Roofing Calculator
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General Guidelines For Nailing Shingles
To ensure optimal performance of your asphalt roofingshingles, be sure to follow these general directions for proper nailing:
- Use the correct roofing nail material, size, and grade as specified in the shingle installation instructions.
- Fasten shingles with corrosion-resistant nails.
- Install the recommended number of nails per shingle. For Duration® Series shingles, Owens Corning recommends using either a 4- or 6-nail fastening pattern depending on the roofs slope and building code requirements. In most cases, 4 nails are adequate.
- Position the nails appropriately according to the shingle installation instructions.
- Align shingles properly to avoid nail exposure.
Where to Nail Shingles
Each shingle manufacturer has its own requirements forproper nailing, including where roofing nails should be placed. Roofingcontractors should follow those guidelines and take care not to overdrive nailsas this can lead to water infiltration.
Owens Corning® Duration® shingles, for example, provide a reinforced nailing zone, called SureNail® Technologya tough, engineered fabric strip embedded on the face of the shingle that offers outstanding nail pull-through and nail blow through resistance while providing a highly visible nailing target for roofing contractors. Its easy to see where the nails are supposed to go.
Calculating The Area From The Building’s Square Footage
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How To Measure A Roof And Determine How Many Squares Of Shingles Are Needed
When installing a new roof or paying a professional roofer, the magic number is the number of squares of roofing shingles. A square of roofing is equal to 100ft2 of asphalt shingles. Roofers will typically charge based on the number of squares of roof in need of installation. Other factors include whether the roof can be walked upon without ropes. If a roof does not require cable for workers to be safe, it is called, walkable. And vice versa, non-walkable. If a roof already has a layer of shingles, another layer of shingles can be laid-over the old layer of shingles. The shingle installation is called a lay-over. Obviously a lay-over cost less because the labor and dumping costs are less.
How To Cut Metal Roofing Panels
But you may not be aware of how crucial it is to properly cut the panels.Choose the best way to cut metal roofing from the list down below, and you wont find the cutting hard to do.Cut metal roofing with tin snips.Cutting metal roofing material needs to.
Do not cut the metal panels with saws, abrasive blades, grinders or.Draw on both sides of your metal roofing before cutting.Field cutting of panels is certainly allowed and acceptable to manufacturers and is common, particularly at framed openings.How to cut metal roofing?
However, there are two things to pay attention to here:However, this metal can be tricky to cut because of its wavy shape.I am cutting the panels across their width, about 26 inches or so.I have a jigsaw, so that is a possibility, but it seems that the skil saw with a special blade might be easier to make the straignt cuts.
If field cutting is required, the panels must be cut with nibblers, snips or shears to prevent edge rusting.If the power shear binds, tilt the handle of the power shear forward, toward the cutting blades, to change the angle at which the blades meet the surface of the panel.If there is an issue how to cut corrugated metal roofing, the most reliable option would be using electric scissors.If you are being offered galvalume you may experience some white rust on the cut edge.
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