How Many Shingles for a 2,000 Square Foot House?
Roofing squares needed
24.6 squares
A 2,000 square foot footprint, 50 by 40, 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 width40 ft
- Roof pitch, rise per 12 in6 /12
- Waste allowance10 %
- Ridge length, 0 if unknown50 ft
Roofing squares needed24.6 squares
| Footprint area | 2,000 sq ft |
|---|---|
| Slope multiplier at 6/12 | 1.12 x |
| Actual roof surface | 2,236 sq ft |
| Squares before waste | 22.4 |
| Squares with 10% waste | 24.6order to this number |
The material list this produces
| Shingles, bundles (3 per square) | 74 |
|---|---|
| Synthetic underlayment, rolls (10 sq each) | 3 |
| Starter strip, linear ft | 204 |
| Ridge cap, linear ft | 50 |
| Drip edge, linear ft | 180 |
| Roofing nails, lb | 54 |
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 | 23.2 squares |
| 6/12 | 24.6 squares |
| 8/12 | 26.4 squares |
| 10/12 | 28.6 squares |
| 12/12 | 31.1 squares |
What else matters here
Two thousand square feet of footprint at 6/12 is 2,236 square feet of roof. That gap, 236 square feet, is two and a third squares, seven bundles, and it is the single most common ordering mistake on a house this size. It is also why a quote built off the county record square footage comes in low.
Twenty five squares is a full pallet plus change. Most suppliers palletise at around 42 bundles, so this roof is two pallets, and a boom truck can set both on the roof in one visit if the ridge will take them. Ask for that when you order rather than when the truck arrives.
At two thousand square feet the house is usually no longer a plain rectangle. An L shape, an ell over a garage or a front gable all add valley, and valley is the most wasteful cut in roofing. If the roof has two or more valleys, push the waste allowance above from ten to fifteen percent and reorder your thinking around the offcuts.
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 2,000 sq ft house?
About 74 bundles at a 6/12 pitch with ten percent waste, which is 24.6 squares of roof.
How many squares is a 2,000 square foot roof?
A 2,000 square foot footprint becomes 22.4 squares of roof at 6/12, 24.6 with waste. If the 2,000 figure is the roof area itself, it is 20 squares before waste and 22 after.
How much waste should I add on a 2,000 sq ft roof?
Ten percent on a simple gable, fifteen on a hip or anything with valleys, and up to twenty on a cut up roof with dormers. On a roof this size, five extra percent is about four bundles.
The roofing calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.