Shingle manufacturers recommend using four nails per shingle in the main part of the roof and five nails per shingle in the first row, says Owens Corning. This amounts to an average of 320 nails per square, or 100 square feet. In high-wind areas, you need five nails per shingle, or 480 nails per square. One-and-a-half-inch roofing nails typically have a large, 11-gauge shank and an oversize, 7/16-inch flat head. Moreover, they are hot galvanized to help them withstand the rain and sun on the roof. Approximately 140 of these nails make a pound, reveals Tree Island’s nail weight chart, so you need about 2 1/4 pounds of them to install a square of shingles in normal conditions and about 3 1/2 pounds in windy conditions.
Whether youre re-roofing your home or purchasing shingles for a brand-new house, its important to understand that a successful roofing project often requires a significant investment of both time and money. As you begin shopping for materials, you might wonder how to measure a roof for shingles. After all, roofing materials vary greatly in cost and are priced per square foot. To determine the size of your roof, contact a professional roofer who can measure your roof and provide an estimate for the roofing project.
Roofing is a very important part of your house because it protects it from water. Without a watertight room water would be allowed to enter and stream down the walls in your house. It’s essential that the roof is in the very best condition.
Pitched roofs are commonly weatherproofed by using shingles, and these are arranged so that they overlap one another. It’s important that you have the right number of shingles on your roof, because if you have too few then it won’t be waterproof. You will then need to go back to the store a second time to buy more. Ordering too many roofing shingles will waste money.
There are a number of calculations that you can use to work out exactly how many shingles you need to correctly cover your roof. These calculations aren’t scary because you don’t need to worry about anything you learned in school.
The first thing that you will need to do is work out the size of your roof in square feet. This is very easy, as it’s simply a matter of measuring the length and height of the room. Multiply the length and height of the roof together to work out the number of square feet that you need to cover. Remember to work out the total square footage around the whole of your house. For a simple room this will be very easy. However for larger, more complicated shapes you will need to work slowly.
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.
How To Measure Roof Square
- Written by Darren Spears on Jan 05, 2010To ensure our content is always up-to-date with current information, best practices, and professional advice, articles are routinely reviewed by industry experts with years of hands-on experience.Reviewed by
Measuring your roof square is an important step when determining how much roofing material you will need during repair or replacement. No matter how large or small your home is, if you have lived in it 15 to 20 years, or plan to, repairing or replacing the roof is inevitable. Your roof is subject to wear from years and years of being exposed to nature’s elements. Repairing or replacing your roof is an extensive job so accurately calculating the square footage will get you started on the right foot and avoid wasted time, material, and money.
Step 1 – Understand your Roof Surface
A home’s roof is measured in squares. Each square is 100 square feet. If your roof is 5,000 square feet, you will have 50 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.
Step 2 – Section the Roof
If you have a roof that has different dimensions such as gable ends and hip ends, the sketch of the roof you’ve drawn up will come in handy. You will have to measure your roof in sections and record it on the sketch. This makes measuring simpler and easy to keep up with your total numbers when purchasing squares of shingles.
Step 3 – Consider the Roof Slope
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How Many Bundles Of Shingles Do I Need For A 10×12 Shed
To calculate the amount of shingle bundles needed for a 10×12 shed, you first have to calculate the square footage of the roof.
Lets say this shed has a gable roof running parallel to the long end of the shed. The shed also has a roof overhang of 1 all around. Therefore the length of one side of the roof is 14.
The pitch of this roof is 4:12. A rough estimate of the width of one side of the roof is just a bit over 5 say 53, which is 5.25 feet. Add a foot of overhang and you get 6.25. Multiply this by 14
Multiply the two and you get 87.5 square feet. Multiply that number times two and you get 175 square feet your total roof area.
Now you need to find out how many bundles of shingles is required for 175 square feet of roofing. Divide 175 by 100 to find out how many squares of roofing you have. This equals 1.75. We know that each square of roofing requires 3 bundles of shingles, so 3 bundles of shingles times 1.75 roofing squares equals 5.25 bundles of shingles.
You still have .25 of roof leftover. It would be prudent to purchase one extra bundle of shingles to ensure you cover your entire area and to replace any damaged shingles in the future.
Thus, it takes 6 bundles of shingles to properly cover the roof of a 10×12 shed with a gabled roof and a 1 overhang around all sides.
How Many 3 Tab Shingle In A Bundle
For traditional asphalt 3-tab roof shingles, there are 26 pieces in a bundle. Architectural shingles will have around 21 shingles per bundle for similar square footage, as they are larger than standard 3-tab shingles. Depending on the shingle manufacturer, the number of shingles in a bundle can vary widely.
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Estimating Materials Based On Decking
If you can see the plywood panels that comprise your decking, you can get a rough estimate by counting the number of panels. This requires that existing roofing has already been removed or that you can see the panels clearly from the attic. Most panels are 4 feet by 8 feet, making them 32 square feet. Simply count the panels if they are not full panels, you may have to estimate their size. Multiply your total number of panels by 32 to determine the total number of squares needed. Add about 10 percent to allow for waste, hips, valleys and ridges.
Estimating The Size Of Your Roof Surface
How to Install Shingles on a Shed | Ask This Old House
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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How Many Shingles Do I Need For 1000 Square Feet
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. Moreover, how many bundles of shingles do I need for 1000 square feet?
Three bundles to a square is most common, which applies to most three-tab strip shingles and some lightweight laminated shingles. Heavier three-tabbed shingles and laminated shingles require four, or sometimes five, bundles to cover a square.
how long does it take to roof a 1000 square foot house? ‘ However, in general, you can expect a typical roof replacement on a 1,000-2,000 sq. ft. home to take anywhere from 1-3 days.
Herein, how many shingles do I need calculator?
To determine the number of squares on the gable roof above, divide its total of 24,000 square feet by 100 . This means you would need 240 squares of shingles to cover that roof. The most common type of shingle, called a three-tab or strip shingle, is generally packaged three bundles per square.
How much does it cost to reroof a 1000 square foot house?
Average Cost to Replace a Roof per House Size
| House by Square Foot |
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How Can You Visualize Your New Roof
Often, the hardest part of a roofing project isn’t navigating the logistics of squares and bundles but deciding which shingle is right for your home. The large selection of styles and colors can seem overwhelming. To make the decision easier, GAF has developed a no-cost virtual remodeling tool that lets you see how different shingle colors will look on your home. You can even change the color of the siding and doors. Choose a preloaded model home or upload a photo of your own home to try on the new style before you commit.
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How To Measure A Roofing Square
Starting a new roofing project can introduce homeowners to many roofing-specific terms, and one of the first you’re likely to come up against is “roofing square.” Measuring in squares is unique to the roofing industryfor homeowners, understanding how these measurements work can be an unfamiliar but vital part of planning for your roof repair or replacement.
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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Determining Roof Area For Shingles
You may occasionally need to purchase roof shingles for a repair project or to re-roof your home. Roof shingles come in various styles and shapes, but the basic calculations to determine roof area are the same.
Shingles and Roofing Materials
Shingles come in bundles of 3 which equal a square. Each square represents 100 square feet of roof area. When making calculations to determine how many shingles to purchase, keep in mind that you will not only need enough for the correct square footage, but you will also need 10 to 15 percent more shingles to accommodate dips and valleys in your roof or for extra coverage.
Additionally, you will need to purchase:
- Roof ridge shingles
- Flashing
- Roofing nails.
Asphalt paper and flashing are sold in rolls. You will need enough asphalt paper to place under all of the shingles for your entire roof area. Flashing usually comes in 16-inch wide rolls or 6×6 or 8×8 square inch steps. Step flashing is used around chimneys, doorways and at the points where side walls come together.
Hip and ridge vent requirements vary according to local building codes. Be sure to purchase all of your roofing materials in advance of starting the project. Also, keep in mind that roofing materials are run in batches that have variations in quality and color. If roof shingle bundles are purchased in differing lots, it may result in inconsistencies that lead to leaks and other defects in the roof.
Roof Measurements
Ridge Caps
Hip and Ridge Vent
Should You Consider Diy Roof Installation
As we discussed before, professional labor to install a new asphalt shingles roof constitutes at least 70% of the total cost. This means that you can potentially save thousands of dollars if you can do the tear off and installation yourself.
The million dollar questions is, should you?
When it comes to asphalt shingles, one of their biggest benefits is that they are extremely DIY friendly. Indeed, asphalt shingles is one of the very few roofing materials that a handy homeowner can put up on their own.
Shingle installation does not require any special tools or technical training. This is the reason why so many roofers install them its the easiest entry point in this field.
You can purchase all the necessary materials and supplies at your local big box home improvement store, and avoid the hassle of hiring a roofing company. In fact, basic 3-tab roofing shingles is one of the cheapest roofing options out there, and you can have a brand new roof for under $3,000.
Moreover, there are many step-by-step guides and YouTube videos on how do this correctly.
Keep in mind that when you buy shingles, you need to carefully measure your roof and also buy extra shingles to account for the waste factor. Typically, gable roofs require about 5% waste, while hip roofs are about 7.5%
Still, if you do everything carefully and educate yourself about the nuances of proper installation, you can do a very successful shingle install and keep thousands of dollars in your pocket.
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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.
Estimating Your Dumpster Size And Cost For A Roofing Project
Applying Asphalt Roof Shingles – Bob Vila
Planning to reroof your home by yourself? Get readyyoure going to generate plenty of waste. Roof tear off materials often tally in the tons for weight, meaning you need a generous dumpster to take care of your excess. But just what size dumpster is right? How do you know? Heres how to make your calculationsbefore you step foot on your roof.
You may also be interested in our step by step guide on how to install asphalt roofing shingles
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How Many Bundles Of Shingles Per Square
A package of roofing shingles is called a bundle. Laminate or architectural shingles, one of the most common types of roofing shingles, are generally packaged in three bundles per square.
So in the 2400 square foot gable roof example, you would need 72 bundles of shingles .
Here are a couple more examples:
Ask Alpha Roofing For An Estimate
As you can see, a roofing calculator can give you an idea of the materials for a roofing project however, its complicated. Roofing contractors have different methods that can be used, so you really should ask a professional for help.
Alpha Roofing is an award-winning contractor serving Austin, Texas and surrounding areas. We offer a full range of rooftop services, including asphalt shingle installation and repairs, metal roofing systems and chimney repair. We also installsiding and skylights. Our crews are highly trained and work only for us. We are committed to providing quality work and outstanding customer service at affordable rates. Call 777-1086 or complete the online form to request a free quote.
We service the areas of Buda, Kyle, Killeen, Cedar Park, Leander, Belton, Hutto, Tyler, Lakeway, Lago Vista, and Taylor, TX!
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