Siding for a 1,000 Square Foot House
Siding needed
14.1 squares
130 ft perimeter, 9 ft walls, two 26 ft gables at 6/12, 8 windows, 2 doors, 12% 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.
- Wall perimeter130 ft
- Wall height to the eave9 ft
- Gable ends2 each
- Gable width26 ft
- Roof pitch, rise per 12 in6 /12
- Windows8 each
- Doors2 each
- Outside corners4 each
- Waste allowance12 %
Siding needed14.1 squares
| Wall area | 1,170 sq ft |
|---|---|
| Gable area | 169 sq ft2 gables at 6/12 |
| Openings deducted at half | 81 sq ftof 162 sq ft total |
| Net area | 1,258 sq ft |
| With 12% waste | 1,409 sq ft |
| Squares | 14.1 |
| Vinyl cartons at 2 squares | 8 |
| Starter strip | 130 ft |
| J channel | 164 ftaround windows and doors |
The material list this produces
| Siding, cartons at 2 squares | 8 |
|---|---|
| Starter strip, ft | 130 |
| J channel, ft | 164 |
| Outside corner posts, 10 ft | 4 |
| Undersill trim, ft | 130 |
| House wrap, sq ft | 1,339 |
| Siding nails, lb | 4 |
Roof pitch compared
Pitch only moves the gable triangles, but it moves them fast. Going from 4/12 to 12/12 triples the gable area on the same house, which is about three extra squares of siding on a 30 foot wide elevation and closer to six on a 40 foot one.
| Roof pitch | Siding needed | Gable area |
|---|---|---|
| 4/12 | 13.5 squares | 113 sq ft |
| 6/12 | 14.1 squares | 169 sq ft |
| 8/12 | 14.7 squares | 225 sq ft |
| 10/12 | 15.4 squares | 282 sq ft |
| 12/12 | 16 squares | 338 sq ft |
What else matters here
Fourteen point one squares, eight cartons. Notice how little the total drops against a 1,500 square foot house at 17.4: a third less floor area buys under a fifth less siding.
That is the geometry of a perimeter. Area grows with the square of the dimensions while perimeter grows in a straight line, so small houses carry proportionally more skin per square foot of floor. It is why siding a small house is never as cheap per square foot as the owner expects.
The fixed pieces make it worse. Starter strip, corner posts, J channel and the trip charge do not shrink with the house, so on a job this size they are a larger share of the invoice than the field siding is.
What this calculator assumes
- A gable is a triangle, so its area is the width squared times the pitch divided by 48. Two gables on a 30 foot wide house at 6/12 add about 225 square feet, which is more than two squares of siding that people routinely forget.
- Openings are deducted at half, not in full. You still cut siding around a window and the offcut is usually scrap, so the trade rule is to take off half the opening and leave anything under 10 square feet in.
- 12 percent waste is normal for vinyl on a straightforward house. Lap siding, a cut up elevation or a staggered shake course runs higher.
- A carton of vinyl siding covers two squares, 200 square feet. Fiber cement and wood lap are sold by the piece, so use the square figure and convert at your supplier's coverage.
Questions people ask
How much siding for a 1,000 square foot house?
About 14.1 squares, eight cartons, with a 130 foot perimeter, nine foot walls and two 26 foot gables at 6/12. Small houses use more siding per square foot of floor than large ones, because perimeter does not shrink as fast as area.
Do you subtract windows and doors from siding?
At half, not in full. You still cut siding around every opening and the offcut usually cannot be used anywhere else, so the trade rule is to take off half the opening area and leave anything under about 10 square feet in the number entirely.
How do you calculate gable area?
Width squared times the pitch divided by 48. A 30 foot wide gable at 6/12 is 30 times 30 times 6 divided by 48, which is 112.5 square feet each, 225 for a pair. That shortcut is the triangle area formula with the rise already substituted out, so you never have to measure the height of the peak.
The siding calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.