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Roof Shingles Estimate – How To Evaluate Your Roofing Expenses

A roof shingles estimate will include the cost involved in roofing your building, including the expenses for material and labor. To make sure your estimate is accurate and reliable, you first will require the right measurements of your roof area. Once you have the right information to hand, you can make an informed choice between doing it yourself or hiring an outside contractor for the job.

To begin your roof shingles estimate, start off by measuring your roof area. Draw a diagram on paper of your roof. Different roofs have different shapes. You will need to break it down into components, each of which you can computer the area for easily. The best way is to view your roof in terms of squares, rectangles and triangles.

Use a tape measure to find out the length and breadth of each component. Jot it down on the sheet of paper. Using simple formulae, you can compute the area of each section. Then add up the totals to get the complete roof area that will need working. Roof shingles estimates are slightly more complex than merely recording roof area because the shingles will overlap, resulting in a little extra.

Typically a roof area of one hundred square feet will require 4 to 5 bundles of shingles to cover completely. You will also need a little extra for the first row, the ridge and valley overlaps, and for unusual projections if any. You’ll also need nails to fix them in place. Depending upon which shingles you plan to use, your roof shingles estimate will have to consider the number of nails per shingle.

Wherever flashing will be used, be sure to take linear measurements. These areas include (but are not limited to) chimneys, vents and skylights. You may also require removal of existing roofing elements, and this must be factored into your roof shingles estimate under labor costs. Some contractors will charge a flat rate for this, while others will charge you a price based on the number of sheets or shingles that must be removed.

Labor costs range widely from one place to another. Your roof shingles estimate must be based on local costs. You can find them online where many roofing websites offer calculators to let you compute this expense conveniently. Another hidden cost may be the expense involved in dumping the debris after your job is finished.

As you can see, roof shingles estimate calculations are not simple or intuitive. But with discipline and some guidance, you can get a reasonable estimate ready quickly and that will help you make a rational decision about how best to get the job done and have your roof shingled nicely and easily.

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Roof Shingles Estimate – Learn To Make An Estimate Of Roofing Costs

If you need roof shingles estimate then you have to know the size of your roof. Measure the area of the roof as accurately as possible. The cost of roofing includes the cost of the materials and labor costs. With measurements in hand you can make more reliable and accurate assessment of costs and also decide whether it is worth doing the job yourself or hiring professional roofing contractors.

There are variety of shapes as far as roofs are concerned. To get an accurate measurement draw your roof design as accurately as possible on paper to a reduced scale. Roofs can be flat, gabled, sloped and so on. For ease of measurement reduce the roof to squares, rectangles and triangles.

Now get somebody to measure all the lengths and breadths.The formulae to measure these areas are simple and straightforward. Calculate the areas of each of these component shapes. Add them up to get the area of your roof.

Roof shingles estimate will be the area of the roof multiplied by the cost of the shingles. To the area of the roof you will need to add a little more to get an accurate estimate of the cost. The reason for this is because the roofing shingles will overlap with each other when laid. You will need to make provision for this overlap and order extra shingles.

An expert roof layer will be able to make exact assessment of roofing shingles requirement. On average a 100 square feet of area will need 4-5 bundles of roofing shingles for complete coverage. The first row, ridge and valleys and other unusual projections will need more than 4-5 bundles per 100 square feet. Fixing the roofing shingles will need nails to keep them in place. Different shingles will need different number of nails. In your estimate add the cost of nails.

There are certain areas where flashing will be used here you will need to take linear measurements. These will be around chimneys, air vents, skylights and other such components. One more thing that you need to be aware of is that older shingles may need to be removed. Some contractors will charge a flat rate to remove them and others will charge you on basis of sheet of shingles removed.

Labor costs are the most variable if you consider the prices around the country. This keeps changing depending on where you live. Different roofing websites have roofing calculators to help compute the costs fast and easy. You also have to figure out how much it will cost to dump the old debris once your roofing project is over and done with.

From the above discussion it will clear that doing an accurate roof shingles estimate is not easy at all. It needs a little patience and discipline to arrive at a reasonably accurate figure. You might need help from experts to figure this out. You can ask for help on experts forums and discussion boards. Once this is done you will have a reasonable number to base your decision on about how much and type of shingles to buy.

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Five Steps To A Reliable Roof Shingles Estimate

Have you ever wondered about what goes into making a roof shingles estimate that’ll tell you exactly how many shingles you’ll require for a roofing job? It isn’t too complicated. You can take either of two routes to estimating your roof’s surface area, and then apply a simple formula to arrive at your roof shingles estimate.

Roof Shingles Estimate – Determine The Number of Shingles Needed

Roofing shingles come packed into bundles. You can order them by the bundle, or the square. Shingles are wrapped in plastic or paper and bundled into sizes that are convenient for a single person to carry comfortably. Heavier shingles will contain fewer shingles per bundle, and therefore require more bundles per square. Three bundles of 3-tab shingles typically can cover a square of roof.

When you start a roof shingles estimate, the first thing to do is determine how much of your roof needs to be covered with shingles. This can be estimated using the measurement method, or others like the sheet-count approach. More complex projects and re-roofing require different approaches.

Roof Shingles Estimate by Measurement Method

One surefire way to determine how many bundles of roof shingles you’ll need is to hop up on the top of your building and actually measure each and every plane. If the building is made of rectangular planes, this is a relatively straightforward task. You’ll simply have to measure the length and breadth, and then multiply them together. But with steep roofs, you will not be able to walk on them to carry out the measurements and must rely on more indirect approaches.

First, compute the floor area of your building. Add in a little extra for overhang of your roof. Using a pre-determined formula, and making allowance for the slope (pitch) of your roof, you can multiply the area by a “correction factor” that’s dependent upon the slope of the roof and arrive at a reasonably accurate measurement of the roof area.

Roof Shingles Estimate by Shingle Count Method

If the previous shingles are still intact and haven’t yet been stripped, then you can estimate the roof area through measurements of the eaves on each roof plane. You may even choose to estimate that by counting tabs along the eaves and edges, and keeping in mind that each tab is a foot long.

Once you’re done, count the numbers of rows of shingles from eaves to ridge. Each shingle is exposed for 5 inches, which means a 5 course layer will measure 5X5 inches, or just over 2 feet. Knowing the length and breadth through this computation, you can tell how much of the roof needs to be fixed or installed.

For more about roof shingles estimate, don’t miss the full report here.

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