Siding for a 1,200 Square Foot Ranch
Siding needed
15.3 squares
150 ft perimeter, 9 ft walls, two 26 ft gables at 4/12, 10 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 perimeter150 ft
- Wall height to the eave9 ft
- Gable ends2 each
- Gable width26 ft
- Roof pitch, rise per 12 in4 /12
- Windows10 each
- Doors2 each
- Outside corners4 each
- Waste allowance12 %
Siding needed15.3 squares
| Wall area | 1,350 sq ft |
|---|---|
| Gable area | 113 sq ft2 gables at 4/12 |
| Openings deducted at half | 96 sq ftof 192 sq ft total |
| Net area | 1,367 sq ft |
| With 12% waste | 1,531 sq ft |
| Squares | 15.3 |
| Vinyl cartons at 2 squares | 8 |
| Starter strip | 150 ft |
| J channel | 196 ftaround windows and doors |
The material list this produces
| Siding, cartons at 2 squares | 8 |
|---|---|
| Starter strip, ft | 150 |
| J channel, ft | 196 |
| Outside corner posts, 10 ft | 4 |
| Undersill trim, ft | 150 |
| House wrap, sq ft | 1,463 |
| 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 | 15.3 squares | 113 sq ft |
| 6/12 | 15.9 squares | 169 sq ft |
| 8/12 | 16.6 squares | 225 sq ft |
| 10/12 | 17.2 squares | 282 sq ft |
| 12/12 | 17.8 squares | 338 sq ft |
What else matters here
Fifteen point three squares. The ranch shape is long and shallow, so the perimeter is 150 feet on only 1,200 square feet of floor, more skin per square foot than a squarer house of the same size.
The low pitch pulls the other way. At 4/12 the two gables are only 113 square feet together, about a square, where the same house at 10/12 would carry nearly three.
Those two effects roughly cancel, which is why a ranch and a similar square footage two story can land closer together than people expect. The number that actually decides it is the perimeter, so measure it rather than working from the listing 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 much siding for a 1,200 square foot ranch?
About 15.3 squares, eight cartons, on a 150 foot perimeter with nine foot walls and two low 4/12 gables. A ranch has a long perimeter for its floor area, which pushes the total up, and shallow gables, which pull it back down.
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.