Solve backwards
How much roof will my bundles of shingles cover?
- 30 bundlesThe example worked below
- Roofing Shingle CalculatorEvery figure is its own
You have
How much shingle bundles?
Worked by the Roofing Shingle Calculator at the settings below.
The settings it uses
- Roof Pitch
- 6/12 — 26.6° (common)
- Waste Factor (%)
- 12
What it will do
893 sq ft of roof surface
82.9 m²
One roof footprint. Enough for a roof footprint 28.3 × 28.3 ft.
Or several. Less than one roof footprint of the size the Roofing Shingle Calculator opens on (a roof footprint 33 × 33 ft).
Check it forwards
- Roof Footprint Length
- 28.3 ft
- Roof Footprint Width
- 28.3 ft
- It asks for
- 30 bundles
- You have
- 30 bundles
The Roofing Shingle Calculator asks for 30 bundles at that size, and 31 bundles one step larger.
If you had more, or less
Around your amount
Each worked by the Roofing Shingle Calculator at the same settings.
Half
15 bundles
446 sq ft
a roof footprint 20 × 20 ft
Yours
30 bundles
893 sq ft
a roof footprint 28.3 × 28.3 ft
Half as much again
45 bundles
1,339 sq ft
a roof footprint 35 × 35 ft
Double
60 bundles
1,786 sq ft
a roof footprint 40 × 40 ft
Common amounts
What each amount of shingle bundles covers
The sizes it is usually sold in, each worked by the Roofing Shingle Calculator at the settings above.
| You have | It covers | As one roof footprint | Average roof footprints |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 bundles | 298 sq ft(27.6 m²) | a roof footprint 16.3 × 16.3 ft | under 1 |
| 20 bundles | 595 sq ft(55.3 m²) | a roof footprint 23.1 × 23.1 ft | under 1 |
| 30 bundles | 893 sq ft(82.9 m²) | a roof footprint 28.3 × 28.3 ft | under 1 |
| 60 bundles | 1,786 sq ft(166 m²) | a roof footprint 40 × 40 ft | 1 |
Three bundles to the square
A roofing square is 100 square feet, about 9.3 m², and standard 3-tab and architectural shingles come three bundles to the square — the constant the calculator uses. A product whose wrapper states a different coverage changes the bundle figure in direct proportion; the squares stay right, so divide by the coverage on your pallet.
The slope makes the roof bigger than the plan
The calculator takes the building's footprint and multiplies it by the slope factor — about 1.12 at 6/12, the common pitch it opens on. So thirty bundles cover more footprint on a low-slope roof than on a steep one, and eave and rake overhangs, which the footprint leaves out, take some of what you have.
Twelve per cent for cuts, starters and caps
The waste allowance opens at 12 per cent, inside the 10 to 15 per cent standard, and covers cuts, starter rows, ridge caps and hips and valleys cut from field shingles. Read backwards, it comes off the bundles. Dedicated starter strip and hip-and-ridge cartons are sold separately — the ridge cap page reads those.
How the answer is worked
Nothing here is a second formula. The Roofing Shingle Calculator runs forwards — a size in, a quantity out — and this page grows its own starting roof footprint in proportion until the quantity it asks for is what you have. Where it rounds up to whole containers, the answer is the largest size before the next one would be needed.
Where the calculator adds an allowance for cuts or breakage when you order, the same allowance comes off here, because it is the same calculator: a stack you already own finishes less than its face value. Where it adds none, neither does this page — the settings beside the answer say which.
Roofing Shingle Calculator
runs it forwardsEstimate the true roof area — in squares or square metres — and the shingle bundles needed, accounting for pitch.
Work out what to buy insteadSolve backwards
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Solve backwards
Start from what is already in the yard
Paint, sheets, rolls, bags and pieces, each read the other way by the calculator that orders it.
The calculator's own figures
Nothing is estimated twice: the page runs the same calculator you would order with.
The largest size that fits
Where a calculator rounds up to whole containers, the answer stops before the next one.
Both unit systems
Gallons and litres, square feet and square metres, side by side.
Frequently asked questions
- How much roof surface does 30 bundles of shingle bundles cover?
- At the Roofing Shingle Calculator's own settings, 893 sq ft (82.9 m²) — a roof footprint 28.3 × 28.3 ft. Every figure follows the settings, which you can change in the calculator.
- How many bundles of shingles are in a square?
- Three, for standard 3-tab and architectural asphalt shingles — a square being 100 square feet (9.3 m²) of roof surface. Some heavier or designer shingles come four or five to the square; the wrapper states the coverage.
- How many square feet does a bundle of shingles cover?
- About 33⅓ square feet (3.1 m²) for a standard three-bundle-per-square shingle. With 10 to 15 per cent for cuts, starters and caps, plan on about 29 to 30 square feet of roof surface per bundle.
- Do I measure the roof or the house footprint for shingles?
- The calculator takes the footprint and applies the pitch, so a 10 by 10 metre footprint at 6/12 is about 112 m² (1,200 square feet) of roof. Measuring the sloped surface directly works too — just do not apply the pitch twice, and add the overhangs the footprint leaves out.