Saturday, May 30, 2009

Measure your Roof for Shingles

While installing the roof it is very important that you buy all that you are going to need in appropriate quantity and in advance. You definitely would not want to rush to the market in the middle of the installation to buy additional stuff. If you are not adequately prepared it may affect the quality and the time taken to install the roof. Thus it is important that you plan properly and properly measure your roof for shingles before hand, when you are about to lay your roof shingles. This should save you from any trouble of having to go in the middle of the installation to buy more shingles.

However you must measure your roof for shingles properly because whereas you wouldnt want to rush to the market in the middle of the installation and at the same time you wouldnt want to be saddled with extra shingles.

It is actually quite simple to measure a roof for shingles for determining how many shingles you are going to need. A shingle of one square will cover an area of 100 sq feet of the roof. A contractor always measures a roof for shingles like this when he has to determine the number of shingles he will need. You should also place your order accordingly. A square of regular asphalt shingles has three shingle bundles in it. Each of these bundles carry twenty seven shingles.

Just measuring the perimeter of your roof will not be sufficient for determining the number of shingles you are going to need. There is something more to it that you should know about measuring the roof for shingles.

There are many types of shingles and buying only one type of shingle is not enough. For a complete installation of shingles you need different types of shingles. Without it the installation of the roof cannot be complete. How much you want to cover your roof means the number of layers of protection you are looking for. For instance, asphalt roofs which are laid on sloping roofs usually have only one layer.
How to measure a Roof for Shingles

The incline (slope) of the roof is called a ratio. The slope is determined by measuring the vertical rise inches, per inches of the flat (horizontal) run. For instance, a roof having 3:12 slope means that at every flat space of 12 inches the roof is rising by 3 inches. The slope/angle of the roof will tell you how many shingles you should buy and what types of shingles you shall need and should order. Of course, it also depends on how you decide to measure the roof.

The best and the easiest way to measure your roofs for shingles is that you go to the roof with a measuring tape. In case you dont want to take the trouble or the risk of climbing the roof then you can measure the floor area of the house. You add to this area, the overhanging areas, and then multiply it by the conversion factor which is determined according to the slope of the roof.
Another point you must keep in mind when you measure a roof for shingles is that you need shingles for the ridge/hip area of the roof too. You will need at least 4 complete shingles for each ridge measuring 5 linear feet.

Thus if you keep all these tips in mind when you proceed to measure your roof for shingles, you will not make any mistake in buying them and will save yourself a lot of trouble too!

As Long Island, LI Roofing Contractors, and Northern Virginia Roofing contractors we take great pride in maintaining customer satisfaction for all types of new roof installation and roof repair work for residential and commercial roofing accounts.

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