How Many Shingles for a 1,500 Square Foot House?
Roofing squares needed
18.4 squares
A 1,500 square foot footprint, 50 by 30, at a 6/12 pitch with ten percent waste.
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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 length50 ft
- Building width30 ft
- Roof pitch, rise per 12 in6 /12
- Waste allowance10 %
- Ridge length, 0 if unknown50 ft
Roofing squares needed18.4 squares
| Footprint area | 1,500 sq ft |
|---|---|
| Slope multiplier at 6/12 | 1.12 x |
| Actual roof surface | 1,677 sq ft |
| Squares before waste | 16.8 |
| Squares with 10% waste | 18.4order to this number |
The material list this produces
| Shingles, bundles (3 per square) | 56 |
|---|---|
| Synthetic underlayment, rolls (10 sq each) | 2 |
| Starter strip, linear ft | 180 |
| Ridge cap, linear ft | 50 |
| Drip edge, linear ft | 160 |
| Roofing nails, lb | 41 |
Roof pitch compared
Pitch is the number most people guess at, and it is worth more shingles than any other input. Same house, five pitches.
| Roof pitch | Roofing squares needed |
|---|---|
| 4/12 | 17.4 squares |
| 6/12 | 18.4 squares |
| 8/12 | 19.8 squares |
| 10/12 | 21.5 squares |
| 12/12 | 23.3 squares |
What else matters here
Fifteen hundred square feet is the most common American house size and therefore the most common reroof. At 6/12 the roof is 1,677 square feet, 18.4 squares with waste, 56 bundles. It is a two day job for a small crew and a one day job for a big one.
Eighteen squares is also the size at which the dumpster decision starts costing money. A full tear off of three tab at this size produces roughly five tons of debris, which is a fifteen yard container, and a second layer doubles it. Guessing that wrong is a second haul fee and a truck sitting idle.
If the house has a garage under the same roof line, measure it as part of the footprint, not separately. If the garage roof is a lower separate plane, it is its own rectangle at its own pitch, and running it through the calculator twice and adding the squares is more accurate than treating the whole thing as one shape.
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 1,500 sq ft house?
About 56 bundles at 6/12 with ten percent waste, which is 18.4 squares. At a flatter 4/12 it is 53, and at a steep 12/12 it is 70.
How many squares of shingles for 1,500 square feet?
18.4 squares once the pitch and waste are in, over a 1,500 square foot footprint. If your 1,500 is a measurement of the roof planes themselves, it is 16.5 squares with waste and no multiplier.
How long does it take to reroof a 1,500 sq ft house?
One to two days for a three or four person crew on a simple gable with a single tear off layer. Valleys, dormers, steep pitch or a second layer of old shingles each add time.
The roofing calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.