Roof Shingles Calculator – How To Determine Roofing Area

A roof shingles calculator can help you compute the roof area in square feet that require replacement using roof shingles. The conventional measure for roof shingles is the ‘square’, which refers to a 10’x10′ area (or 100 square feet).

Different types of roof shingles calculators are needed for gable roofs and shed roofs. The length, width and vertical height of the roof, in feet, is measured and entered into the appropriate fields in a roof shingles calculator. The computation of slope is described in more detail in the article about roof shingles calculator on the roofing blog.

Hip roofs are harder to calculate area for because of the height variability. The slope method of calculating roof area may be used and replaces the height measurement on the calculator. Mixed roofs are growing more common with architectural styles and designer homes becoming the norm. These intersecting roofs create some difficulty when it comes to calculating roof areas.

Dimensions can be taken for a roof shingles calculator from the ground itself, or may be recorded from a ladder. Any measurements must take into account the extra requirement for overhang at eaves. Heights are easier to measure from the end wall in the middle of a gable.

Complex roofs are even harder as they have more than one such variation. Each section of the roof may then need separate computation using a roof shingles calculator. The total of each section is then added together to arrive at the total surfacing area. Other geometric formulae can be used to more accurately estimate the size of roofing area in some of these complex roofs.

In a roof shingles calculator, when you enter the dimensions in feet (or slope as inches rise per running foot), you will get the computed area of the roof. The areas of specific sections of a complex roof are added together to arrive at a final figure. The advantage of using a roof shingles calculator is that it will not only carry out these calculations easily, but also subtract any hidden areas and display only the exposed roof area which needs to be shingled.

A typical roof shingles calculator will help you streamline the estimates for your roof, order the right amount of shingles, and create reasonably accurate budgets for the roofing project.