How to Measure Your Roof to Replace Shingles

Although replacing an entire roof is not an everyday kind of homeowner repair it does come up eventually and the need to replace a roof can become very costly. Don't let yourself be fooled into paying more than you should to have your roof replaced just because you simply do not know the square footage of the roof itself. Measuring a roof is actually quite simple once you know some basic geometry and a few roof related facts. You can measure your roof so that you know exactly how many shingles you will need for the repair and so that you will have a basis of knowledge as to how you will be charged for the repair if you are to pay a roofing contractor to do the job for you.

To measure a roof you must first know the basis of geometry and how to figure the area of a triangle, square and rectangle. Now a square and a rectangle is quite simple to figure as all you have to do is measure the width and the height and multiply these together to get the area or the square footage. For a triangle the math is slightly different. :You will begin by measuring the base of the triangle (the base is the lower flat end of the triangle or the eve of the triangle) and then measure from the eve or the base of the triangle to the point or peak of the triangle. Multiply the base times the height of the triangle and then divide this number by 2 to get the area of a triangle.

Once you know how to perform the simple mathematical equations then can begin measuring the roof out to determine the area of the entire roof and the amount of material that you will need to replace the roof. Start by drawing a sketch of the roof including the layout or shape of the entire roof. Then, begin measuring each section of the roof and write down the measurement in the corresponding area of the drawing. Don't forget to measure all peaks and eves along the entire roof to determine the area of triangular areas of the roof top.

When you have finished measuring the entire roof and have written down all of the measurements on the roof top drawing then you can begin doing the math to determine the area of the roof. In roofing terminology, the entire area of a roof will be addressed in squares. A square in roofing language is actually 100 square feet so a roof that is 1000 square feet total will be addressed as 10 square. This is how the amount of material will be determined as well so when you place an order for shingles you will address the roofing company with how many square the roof is. This will assure that you receive the proper amount of material to repair your roof.