How Many Shingles Do I Need?

To determine how much shingle you need, you need to consider the roof size and the type of shingle you plan to use. Here's a general step-by-step guide to help you calculate the amount of shingles you need:

Measure your roof: Start by measuring the length and width of each section of your roof in feet. If your roof has multiple sections, measure them separately and calculate the area of each individual section.
Calculate roof area: To calculate the total roof area, multiply the length by the width of each section, then add up the area of all sections. For example, if you have two sections with a length of 30 feet and 40 feet and a width of 20 feet and 25 feet respectively, the total roof area would be (30 x 20) + (40 x 25) = 600 + 1000 = 1600 square feet.
Determine the exposure of the shingle: The exposure of the shingle refers to the amount of the shingle that will show after it is installed. Typical shingles exposure ranges from 5 to 8 inches.
Check manufacturer's specifications: Look for manufacturer-recommended shingles per square foot (100 square feet). This information is usually available on the packaging or on the manufacturer's website. Different types and brands of shingles have different coverage rates.
Calculate the number of roofing needed: Divide the total roof area by 100 to determine the number of squares needed. Multiply the result by the manufacturer's recommended number of shingles per square to get the total number of shingles needed. Finally, round to the nearest whole number to account for any additional roofing needed for scrap or replacement.

How Many Bundles Are In a Roofing Square?

Roofs are measured in squares of roofing, with each square representing 100 square feet of roofing. Since one bundle provides about 33 square feet of shingle, you'll need about three bundles per square. To find the area of the roof, you can divide the total area of the roof by 100. Remember that the area of the roof is not equal to the area of the house, it is about 50%. up to 60% for single-storey houses, after taking into account the garage. You will also need to consider the waste factor, which is typically between 10% and 20% on most roofs. Roofing waste is material that overlaps or is cut during installation.

How to Use the Roof Shingle Calculator?

As you can see, our shingle calculator is relatively short and simple. Thanks to that, using it will not be a problem! All but what you have to do is:

Enter the width and length of the roof (as shown in the illustration) in the appropriate fields.
Roof Shingle Calculator takes these two values and uses them to get the footprint area. The footprint is the 2D shape of the roof and is important for further area calculations. If you want to see it, you will find the value under roof length in advanced mode.
Choose the height of the roof.
The drop-down menu contains 13 standard roof notes, presented in x:12 format. If you know the pitch of the roof as an angle or a percentage, you can use the advanced mode of the roof shingle calculator. The calculator gives you the value of the roof slope coefficient for each slope.
As you can see, you cannot change it - we have included this field for informational purposes only. The multiplier is an important part of the calculation of the roof area, allowing you to take into account the slope of the roof. If you want to know more, check out our roof elevation calculator.
At the bottom of the "Roof Size" section, you'll see the roof area and roof area in squares. You can find more information in the text if you wonder about squares in this context.
You will see the results at the bottom of this roofing calculator! You will find the number of individual shingles and the number of bundles. You might be interested in the latter, because that's how shingles are sold.
You can adjust the default batch size if the batch you purchase has a non-standard quantity. This, however, is not possible. In most cases, one package contains exactly 29 standard roofing sheets (12" × 36").

How Many Shingles Do I Need for My Roof?

Some roofs have simple shapes, such as the long gable roof on a log house with a large rectangle at the front of the house and another of a similar size at the back of the house. A simple measurement of length times width and you're done. But then there are elaborate roofs with combinations of shapes, planes and surfaces - rectangular, triangular and maybe trapezoid "for good measure". Regardless of the shape or complexity of your roof, the goal is the same: measure the area of all surfaces and add them together to get the total area. Another option is to measure the area of the top floor in your home, or more precisely, the floor area of the attic. If you use this method, you will need to consider the slope of the roof. For example, a very sloping roof in a 1,000 square foot attic will require more shingles than a lower pitched roof in an attic of the same size.