How to estimate roofing materials.
Roof size in squares.
Use a tape measure to note the length and width of your roof including dormers.
Keep in mind that using google earth isn t going to give you a 100 percent accurate reading but it will give you a basic idea of the size of the roof for your calculations for the roofing materials.
Convert the area to roofing squares.
If you are replacing your entire roof you will need to purchase shingles in 50 squares to sufficiently cover your 5 000 square foot roof.
It is often compared to slope but is not exactly the same.
Each square is 100 square feet.
Wear shoes boots with proper traction.
Square used outside of the roofing industry.
Next you will need to use a roofing materials calculator.
For your safety use a sturdy reliable ladder and secure to your roof.
This is simply 100 square feet of roof.
The term roofing square and roof pitch are the most commonly used terms in the roofing industry.
A square simply refers to a 10 x 10 square of roofing.
Roof pitch is the measurement of a roof s vertical rise divided by its horizontal run.
Whenever a contractor is measuring a roof they know that each square of roofing shingles is 3 bundles for the most part and if you have 20 squares of roofing you will need 60 bundles of shingles.
Although roofing projects are estimated and sold by the square roofing material is often not sold in 1 square increments.
Don t use this as your only method of measuring.
The answer is the number of roofing squares for the roof.
It does not matter how you arrive at 100 square feet.
Check that your footage measurements are within this range so you can start off on the right foot.
Because each 100 square feet of roof is one roofing square divide the total area from step 1 by 100.
Just use it as a starting point and you ll have a fairly basic idea of what you re dealing.
For instance if the roof is 1550 square feet then it is 16 squares.
A home s roof is measured in squares.
In the united states a run of 12 inches 1 foot is used and pitch is measured as the rise of the roof over 12 inches.
If your roof is 5 000 square feet you will have 50 squares.
Steps to measuring roof square footage prepare.
To find the squares divide the overall roof area by 100 and then round up.
If your roof is flat or has no more than a 3 in 12 pitch you can calculate its total square footage by simply multiplying the length by the width.
Keep in mind that the average size of a roof is 1 700 square feet so your total will likely be 10 higher or lower than this figure.
Steep roofs measure your house at ground level then add in the roof s overhang for greater accuracy.
