How Many Shingles for a 36x48 Pole Barn Roof?
Roofing squares needed
20 squares
A 36 by 48 foot pole barn at a 4/12 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 length36 ft
- Building width48 ft
- Roof pitch, rise per 12 in4 /12
- Waste allowance10 %
- Ridge length, 0 if unknown48 ft
Roofing squares needed20 squares
| Footprint area | 1,728 sq ft |
|---|---|
| Slope multiplier at 4/12 | 1.05 x |
| Actual roof surface | 1,821 sq ft |
| Squares before waste | 18.2 |
| Squares with 10% waste | 20order to this number |
The material list this produces
| Shingles, bundles (3 per square) | 61 |
|---|---|
| Synthetic underlayment, rolls (10 sq each) | 3 |
| Starter strip, linear ft | 180 |
| Ridge cap, linear ft | 48 |
| Drip edge, linear ft | 168 |
| Roofing nails, lb | 44 |
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 | 20 squares |
| 6/12 | 21.3 squares |
| 8/12 | 22.8 squares |
| 10/12 | 24.7 squares |
| 12/12 | 26.9 squares |
What else matters here
Seventeen hundred and twenty eight square feet of footprint at 4/12 is 1,821 square feet of roof, exactly twenty squares with waste, sixty one bundles.
Most buildings this size get an exposed fastener steel panel rather than shingles, and the reason is structural before it is economic. A pole barn is framed with purlins running across widely spaced trusses, and shingles need a solid deck under them, so shingling one means buying and installing sheathing that a metal panel does not need.
The trade is maintenance. An exposed fastener roof holds itself down with thousands of screws, each with a rubber washer, and those washers are the wear item. They need looking at every few years and a panel roof at twenty years often needs every screw replaced with a larger diameter one. Panels are ordered in the exact length of the run, so measure the slope length and the overhang before ordering rather than working from the footprint.
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 36x48 pole barn?
About 61 bundles at a 4/12 pitch with ten percent waste, which is 20 squares, plus the cost of sheathing the roof first.
Can you shingle a pole barn?
Yes, but it needs a solid deck over the purlins, which a steel panel does not. That sheathing is usually what makes shingles the more expensive option.
How long do exposed fastener metal roofs last?
The panels outlast the screws. The rubber washers are the wear item and often need replacing across the whole roof at around twenty years.
The roofing calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.