Roofers price by the square, not the square foot. Convert your footprint into squares and shingle bundles below, then see how the math works.
Footprint means the area the roof covers from above — for a two-story home, that's roughly half your total living square footage. Not sure? Call (417) 744-6741 and we'll measure it free.
A roofing square covers 100 square feet of finished roof. It's the unit every material order, every insurance scope, and every contractor bid is built on — so once you know your square count, you can compare quotes apples to apples.
Three multipliers get you from your footprint to your square count. Pitch, because a sloped roof has more surface than the ground it covers. Waste, because shingles get cut at valleys, rakes, and ridges. And layers, if there's more than one roof up there already.
Architectural shingles run three bundles to the square. That's why your material list is always a multiple of three.
| Pitch | Multiplier | 1,800 sq. ft. becomes |
|---|---|---|
| Flat – 4/12 | 1.08 | 1,944 sq. ft. · 19.4 squares |
| 5/12 – 7/12 | 1.20 | 2,160 sq. ft. · 21.6 squares |
| 8/12 – 12/12 | 1.41 | 2,538 sq. ft. · 25.4 squares |
Before waste. Add 10–20% depending on how cut-up the roof is.
Three, for standard architectural shingles. Some premium and impact-resistant lines run four or five bundles per square because the shingle is heavier — check the wrapper on the product you're pricing.
No, and this trips up most homeowners. A 2,400 sq. ft. two-story home sits on a footprint of about 1,200 sq. ft. Then pitch adds surface back on top of that. Use the footprint, not the listing square footage.
Usually a different waste factor, or one contractor measured from satellite imagery while the other got on the roof. A gap of a square or two is normal. A gap of five or more is worth asking about.
Yes. Adjuster reports are written in squares, which is why it's useful to know your own number before the adjuster shows up. If their count looks low, we'll walk the roof with them and document why.
Run your square count through the cost estimator, or have us measure it in person for free.