How Many Shingles for a 12x16 Shed Roof?
Roofing squares needed
2.2 squares
A 12 by 16 foot shed at a 4/12 pitch with ten percent waste.
When the figures look right, the roofing material list downloads as a real PDF with your business details on it, built inside your own browser. Nothing you type is uploaded anywhere.
How that number is worked out
These are the figures this page was built with and every line the calculator produces from them. Change anything above and all of it moves.
- Building length12 ft
- Building width16 ft
- Roof pitch, rise per 12 in4 /12
- Waste allowance10 %
- Ridge length, 0 if unknown16 ft
Roofing squares needed2.2 squares
| Footprint area | 192 sq ft |
|---|---|
| Slope multiplier at 4/12 | 1.05 x |
| Actual roof surface | 202 sq ft |
| Squares before waste | 2 |
| Squares with 10% waste | 2.2order to this number |
The material list this produces
| Shingles, bundles (3 per square) | 7 |
|---|---|
| Synthetic underlayment, rolls (10 sq each) | 1 |
| Starter strip, linear ft | 60 |
| Ridge cap, linear ft | 16 |
| Drip edge, linear ft | 56 |
| Roofing nails, lb | 5 |
Roof pitch compared
Same house, five pitches.
| Roof pitch | Roofing squares needed |
|---|---|
| 4/12 | 2.2 squares |
| 6/12 | 2.4 squares |
| 8/12 | 2.5 squares |
| 10/12 | 2.7 squares |
| 12/12 | 3 squares |
What else matters here
A hundred and ninety two square feet of footprint at 4/12 is 202 square feet of roof and 2.2 squares with waste, which is seven bundles.
This calculator assumes a gable, meaning two planes meeting at a ridge. If this shed has a single sloping plane instead, which is also called a shed roof, one line of the list changes.
The surface is the same, because a single plane over the same footprint at the same pitch covers the same area. Ignore the ridge cap line on the material list, because a single plane has no ridge.
What this calculator assumes
- Footprint times the slope multiplier gives the actual roof surface. A 6/12 roof is 11.8 percent larger than the ground it covers, which is the number most people forget.
- Three bundles per square is standard for both three tab and architectural shingles. Check your brand, a few premium lines run four.
- Synthetic underlayment is figured at 10 squares per roll, starter and ridge cap at one linear foot per foot.
Questions people ask
How many bundles of shingles for a 12x16 shed?
About 7 bundles at a 4/12 pitch with ten percent waste, which is 2.2 squares.
Does a single slope roof need ridge cap?
No. With only one plane there is no ridge, so the cap comes off the list.
The roofing calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.