How To Find The Best Size Of Roof For Your Home
The first step in a successful roofing project is to measure your roof. If you don’t want to climb a ladder and get up on the roof, you can get an approximation of its measurements from the ground. Otherwise, you can scale your roof to get more precise measurements.
The goal of precisely measuring a roof is to guarantee that the exact and required amount of roofing materials are ordered – whether you have a shingles roof, a gable roof, or a metal roof. In any case, we’ve got you covered! Today, you will get through each step of the procedure!
Getting the general idea of the roof area
First, measure your roof is to obtain a sense of how much space you’ll be measuring. Take a piece of paper and outline the appearance of your roof as closely as possible to its accurate measurements.
Well, this will not only give you a good concept of what you’ll be measuring, but it will also serve as a handy spot to record your measurements as you go. To account for waste, multiply these figures by 15%. Head upstairs and begin measuring once you’ve created a rough drawing of the roof.

Determine Home’s footprint
If you utilize the square footage of your house, you’ll obtain only a hazy picture of the square footage of your roof. That is why you must determine the footprint of your Home. A person of average height will have a stride of 2 to 2.5 feet.
You can calculate your Home’s footprint by stepping off (or using a measuring tape) the proportions of your roof and counting the steps you take to determine the length of your residence. You will then take a step across the breadth of your house.
After walking off the length and breadth of your home, multiply the two values. You will get the footprint of your Home. Your estimates will be inaccurate, but measuring this manner will provide you with a rough notion of your Home’s footprint. It’s important to remember that the square footage does not equal the square footage of a roof.
Measuring Additional Structures
If your roof has architectural components such as hip ridges, valleys, or dormers, measure the length and width of these regions as well. These measurements will be used in your calculations and, as a result, the number of supplies you’ll need to purchase.
Ridges and valleys are the curves of the roof where smaller hip portions connect to the main body of the roof. Dormers are independent projecting constructions that contain windows on the house’s upper stories. They are usually roofed individually.
Do not take measurements of chimneys, pipes, or other obstructive features. Once the project is started, you or your roofing contractor will work around these locations.
Measurement through satellite
The satellite measurements allow the roofer to offer you the exact size of the roof based on the measurements taken with computer software. The computer program can assess your Home, determine the roof’s slope, and utilize that knowledge to precisely measure the roof.
It is the most precise method, but it does not account for certain roof portions that may be difficult to detect from a satellite. As a result, you should ask your roofer how many various ways they will measure your roof. Someone who accurately measures your roof is willing to do so in various methods.
Shingle Count Method
Fortunately, you won’t have to generate a haphazard shingle estimate when planning your roofing project: your roof size and shingle type selection will direct the buying procedure. Shingles are sold in bundled bundles rather than separately.
Roofing manufacturers eliminate the guessing by listing the number of bundles required per square in the specs of each shingle they produce. The specifications for any individual shingle will let you know how many bundles make up a square, how many shingles are in a square, and even how many nails you’ll need per square.
Measurement through Pitch Gauge
- Determine the roof area using the following formula, which takes into account the roof length, total span, and roof pitch:
- Use a pitch measure (available at most home improvement stores) or a smartphone app to determine your roof pitch
- Measure the length of the roof surface
- Take the total length of the roof, including overhangs.
- Divide the length by the spread. The plane area will be the end outcome. Calculate the total area of the roof using the chart below.
- The entire roof area is calculated as follows: Plane Area x Correction Factor = Roof Area
Conclusion
Accurate roof measures can be tough to obtain. But it will become easy when you are following the correct procedure and are well equipped to measure the roof.
This blog will be helpful for any roofing project, whether you’re a contractor trying to teach a new employee or a homeowner wishing to perform some upgrades. To precisely measure your roof and estimate roofing expenses, follow the step-by-step procedure provided above!

David - Author
I’m a roof expert. I’ve been in the roofing industry for over 20 years and I know everything there is to know about roofs. The roof is an important part of a building because it protects the interior from rain and snow. It also helps to keep out wind and other weather conditions that could damage the building.
The roof is the outermost part of a building. It provides protection from the elements and from above.
