Siding for a 1,500 Square Foot House
Siding needed
17.4 squares
160 ft perimeter, 9 ft walls, two 30 ft gables at 6/12, 12 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 perimeter160 ft
- Wall height to the eave9 ft
- Gable ends2 each
- Gable width30 ft
- Roof pitch, rise per 12 in6 /12
- Windows12 each
- Doors2 each
- Outside corners4 each
- Waste allowance12 %
Siding needed17.4 squares
| Wall area | 1,440 sq ft |
|---|---|
| Gable area | 225 sq ft2 gables at 6/12 |
| Openings deducted at half | 111 sq ftof 222 sq ft total |
| Net area | 1,554 sq ft |
| With 12% waste | 1,740 sq ft |
| Squares | 17.4 |
| Vinyl cartons at 2 squares | 9 |
| Starter strip | 160 ft |
| J channel | 228 ftaround windows and doors |
The material list this produces
| Siding, cartons at 2 squares | 9 |
|---|---|
| Starter strip, ft | 160 |
| J channel, ft | 228 |
| Outside corner posts, 10 ft | 4 |
| Undersill trim, ft | 160 |
| House wrap, sq ft | 1,665 |
| Siding nails, lb | 5 |
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 | 16.6 squares | 150 sq ft |
| 6/12 | 17.4 squares | 225 sq ft |
| 8/12 | 18.2 squares | 300 sq ft |
| 10/12 | 19.1 squares | 375 sq ft |
| 12/12 | 19.9 squares | 450 sq ft |
What else matters here
Seventeen point four squares, which is nine cartons of vinyl at two squares each. The walls are 1,440 square feet of that and the two gables add 225, so the gables alone are more than two squares that get left out of a guess.
Openings come off at half: twelve windows and two doors is 222 square feet of opening, deducted as 111. Net area is 1,554, and 12 percent waste takes it to 1,740.
Perimeter is the number to measure carefully, not floor area. A 1,500 square foot house can have a 160 foot perimeter if it is a simple rectangle or well over 200 if it has bump outs, and the siding follows the perimeter, not the square footage.
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 many squares of siding for a 1,500 square foot house?
About 17.4 squares, or nine cartons of vinyl, for a single story with a 160 foot perimeter, nine foot walls and two 6/12 gables. The gables and the perimeter shape move that figure more than the floor area does.
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.
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.
The siding calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.