Planning a Roof Replacement? How to Estimate Shingles and Avoid Material Waste
A roof replacement project is a major investment for your home. When it comes to hiring a professional contractor or doing it yourself, it’s important to know just how much materials you’ll need. Ordering too little halts your daily installation progress, while buying too much drains your budget. This guide will show you exactly how to estimate your materials accurately to keep your project on track and minimize waste.
Understand the Basics of a Roofing Square
If you’re contemplating purchasing materials, you should learn the language of the roofing industry first. Materials are sold by the square for roofers. Rather, they have a term referred to as roofing square. A roofing square is defined as 100 square feet of roof surface area. After you’ve determined your total squares, you’ll be able to easily work out your material order. This is the basis for your material estimate and will assist you to communicate in the same manner as your local roofing contractor or building supply.
How Many Bundles of Shingles Per Square
When determining your order, you must know the ratio of bundles to squares. The standard rule across the roofing industry is three bundles for standard architectural or three tab asphalt shingles. The first math is very easy with this 3 bundle standard. It’s as simple as tripling the number of roofing squares. Heavier designer shingles might require four or five bundles to cover that same single square. Before ordering a large quantity of materials, always refer to the exact product packaging to verify the coverage of the product.
Measure Your True Roof Surface Area
The most common mistake homeowners make is confusing their home floor plan with their roof surface area. A house that is 1,500 square feet on the ground is not a 1,500 square foot house roof. Your roof doesn’t just go beyond your exterior walls, it also runs outside of your eaves and overhangs. It is important to measure the actual roof surface to obtain an accurate measurement. If it is not safe to climb up for measurements, then use satellite measurement tools or have a contractor make exact measurements. Accurate surface measurements prevent you from falling short on materials during installation.
Account for Roof Pitch and Complexity
The slope of a roof can significantly affect the amount of surface area that needs to be covered. The more steep the roof, the more materials that will be needed to cover the same ground area. Also, you should consider the roof design’s complexity. Gable roof with two flat sides is simple to calculate. Valley roofs, dormers, skylights and chimney crickets, however, will require more material in the house. Each different angle a slab is used for will need special cuts, which means that material will be wasted and must be taken into account.
Factor in the Standard Waste Percentage
Not all roofing materials bought are perfect. There will always be cut-outs, overlap sections and damaged parts. This is why you’ll need to factor in a waste factor in the end result. If you are building a gable roof, increase the total number of bundles by 10 percent for the waste allowance. If your roof is complex with hips and valleys, increase that waste factor to 15 percent. When calculating your final material number always round UP to a whole bundle as only suppliers sell whole bundles. This buffer saves you from pausing work.
Remember Starter Strips and Ridge Caps
Many people manage to do a great job on the main field shingles, but so much of the edges are forgotten. The first row is called starter shingles and is a special type of shingles used to seal the first row. Ridge caps are unique caps that go over the top spot where both slopes meet. These items are not included with your normal bundles. Determine linear feet of eaves for starter strips. You also have to determine the linear footage of your roof peaks to ensure that your roof is completely sealed with ridge caps.
Conclusion
There’s no need to make a stressful guesswork when estimating your new roofing materials. Once you know what roofing squares are, you know how to measure actual surface area and you have found the ideal waste percentage, you can rest assured ordering all your supplies. Have at least one spare bundle stored away to use for repairs later. Take time with careful planning to guarantee a seamless, successful and extremely cost-effective roof replacement for your home.