How to Calculate Shingles for Roof Repair
- 1). Set your ladder up so you can access the roof easily. Make sure the ladder has both feet firmly on the ground, and have a helper hold it steady while you climb up.
- 2). Measure the width and length of the area that needs to be reshingled with a tape measure. If you can get up on your roof easily and it is not too steep, climp up and measure the actual area. If your roof is too steep, remain on the ladder and count the shingles around the repair area (width and length). Measure the equivalent area of shingles that are easily reached from the top of the ladder.
- 3). Climb back down, remove the ladder, and put it away. Calculations can be done on ground level or inside, with a calculator.
- 4). Calculate the square footage of the area that you need to reshingle. Before you multiply the length by the width to get the square footage, round up any inches in your measurements to the nearest foot (do not round down). For example, 1 foot 4 inches will become 2 feet. This way, you will be sure to have enough shingles.
- 5). Figure out how many shingles you need to cover the square footage you just calculated. The amount of shingles you will need will depend on the type of shingle that you are going to use. When you know the type, check the labeling on the package of shingles; it will give you the square footage that the package will cover and tell your the number of shingles in the package. Divide the total square footage noted on the package by the number of shingles contained to find out how much area one shingle will cover.
- 6). Divide the total square footage of the roof area you need to repair by the square-foot coverage of one replacement shingle. Your answer will be the number of shingles you need to cover your roof area.
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