How Many Roof Shingles Do You Need?

With so many different forms of roofing available today, it can be difficult to decide which is best for you. Even more confusing, once you’ve chosen an option, your next task is figuring out how much you need to cover your roof. Roof shingles have gained massive popularity in recent years, thanks to their formidable combination of affordable prices and straightforward installation. In fact, the most difficult part of fitting shingles to your roof may just be calculating how many shingles you need.

To give you a helping hand, we’ve put together a brief guide, taking you through all the necessary steps to arm you with what you’ll need to know to estimate the number of shingles your roof will require.

What You Need to Know Before Ordering

Roofing shingles are sold in packs of m², so the very first thing you’ll need to determine is the area of your roof and the run of your ridge. Without these two basic figures, ordering shingles would be a bit like playing darts without the lights on.

Measuring the Area of Your Roof

The area of a roof is actually a fairly straightforward calculation, though if you don’t have the technical drawings to hand getting the original measurements may be a bit tricky. You will need to the full length along its long edge as well as the length of your roof’s slope. Think of these two measurements as the horizontal and vertical sides of a rectangle.

Simply multiply them for an estimated area. Remember to then double this number to account for the other side of your roof. If you roof is made up of multiple slopes and valleys, we would suggest separating each into an easily recognisable rectangle, calculating all of the individual areas and then adding these together for your final result.

Due to the difficulty involved in determining these measurements by hand, we would recommend either hiring a professional for a complete and accurate estimation (they would also able to help with installing the shingles) or find yourself a laser measure. This will still involve some manual labour but will make an easier job of getting these numbers.

Measuring your Ridge

Getting this measurement is quite simple, but again will involve some manual labour (and working at height) if you don’t have the original technical drawings. If you are getting this measurement yourself, take care to consider all the health and safety risks that may be present. This includes determining which areas of your roof can hold your weight and which are weaker. However, the most important thing to have a second pair hands to help out and keep the ladder steady.

Calculating How Many Packs of Shingles You Need

With your roof’s area and ridge length clear in your mind, the next step is to find the shingles you want to use. Let’s take our customer favourite Coroshingles as an example. Each pack covers an area of 2m² with 14 shingle strips. With this, calculating the rough number of packs you need just involves punching the numbers into a simple formula:

Roof Area/Pack Size

Assuming the roof area was 50m², this specific example it would look like this:

50/2

This would give you a final answer of 25 packs. However, that is just for the area of the roof. If you are also using shingles to cover the length of your ridge, you will need to determine how many strips are needed to cover the full run. This may require you to look at the width of the induvial strip to determine exactly how many extra packs you might need based on your initial ridge measurement. We would always advise rounding up, as this would help to account for any mistakes, wastage or off-cuts.

Also bear in mind that most shingles will require a detailing strip to be installed along the eaves first.

Ordering Your New Shingles

We offer a superb range of roof shingles ideal for all manner of refurbishments on all sizes of roofs and sheds, in a wide range of colours and designs. For more information on ordering these, or for any questions related to their use and installation please feel free to get in touch using our online chat or direct at 01295 565 565. Our customer service team will be happy to help.

Please Note: This method of calculation is only meant as a rough guide and may not necessarily provide a fully accurate estimate. It is important that you ensure that your order reflects the specific requirements of your roof.