This roof estimating guide is a continuation of our two-part series for roofing contractors, on how to measure and estimate roofing prices. See part one of this guide to learn how to measure a roof.

Calculating roofing materials and estimating roof prices:

For the purposes of this guide, I will use asphalt shingles as a default roofing material, but the same principals can be applied to a metal roof, slate, etc. Cedar shingles/shake will be slightly different as the waste factor is higher.

Calculating roofing materials First – you need to know how many sq. ft. or squares of shingles you will need. You should take your total roof square footage and divide it by a 100 – this will give you the number of roof squares. Round the number up to the nearest square. Most shingle roofs will have 5-10% waste factor, and if during roof installation you use most pieces, waste can be reduced to as little as 2-3 percent. If you have valleys / dormers and side-wall flashing, use 15 percent waste factor. See our roofing square guide, to learn how roofers and builders measure roofs.

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In our previous article, we reported on a large price increase for roofing shingles, that took place in 2011. Due to these price increases, the overall roof installation costs have also gone up, as roofing contractors have to pay more for the shingles and roofing accessories. We updated our main roofing calculator (which estimates overall roof installation price) and roofing shingles calculator, which estimates the cost of roofing materials and accessories needed to replace your roof (including shingles, roof underlayment, drip-edge, nails, ridge vent and ridge cap shingles, etc.).

We’ve already updated our roofing materials calculator about a week ago, and now we rolled out the update for the main roofing calculator.

Summary of price updates for Roofing Calculator:

Base installation price for 30 year architectural shingles went up by $25 per roofing square – this accounts for $19 increase in shingles prices and about $6 / square increase in accessories cost. Base price now is $275 per square, installed.

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It’s been widely reported and discussed on various roofing forums that roof shingles manufacturers are drastically raising the prices of their roofing shingles and accessories that go along. Some roofers report getting letters from their roofing suppliers that shingles prices are going up as much as 30%. Keep in mind that in the spring of every year, most roofing manufacturers raise their prices by 3-8% on average, so this new increase in the cost of roofing materials is something out of the ordinary.

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This installation instructions guide and the video demonstration below will help you quickly add our roofing calculator software to your website. Adding our free roofing calculator will allow your customers to quickly calculate roofing costs without bothering you for a roof estimate, just to get “ballpark” pricing, as many homeowners like to do, even if they don’t plan to install a new roof anytime soon, or don’t have any clue as to what a new roof will cost. The benefits of having this roofing calculator on your site include:

• Ability for your customers to get an approximate price quote instantly, without wasting your time on those who will never be your customers.
• Let your customers know what you charge for your roofing services, which will prevent the sticker shock when you do a roofing estimate.
• Built trust for your roofing business, because you advertise your prices online – shady roofing contractors don’t do it and they rarely even have a website!
• Roofing Calculator simplifies your sales process, as both the customer and the roof estimator are on the same page.

I found that the roofing calculator works AWESOME for us – people already know what to expect in terms of pricing when the estimator shows up to measure a roof, and you avoid the “jaw-dropping effect” for the most part. We also sell more jobs now (percentage wise, as compared to the total number of roof estimates we do) and we avoid 95% of price shoppers/tire kickers. Also the calculator pages attract internet traffic by themselves, and these site visitors turn into customers!

Here is more information on roof estimating software for websites, where you will find the use policy and guidelines for this free roof calculator software, information on getting a customized version of the roofing calculator that will show your roofing prices instead of the industry average roof prices. Read the rest of this entry »

Roofing square is the most used measurement unit used by roofing contractors, as well as contractors from many other trades. It greatly simplifies communication between architects, contractors, roofing manufacturers, suppliers and even clients. It’s much easier to say 25 squares than 2507 square feet, and there is less information lost in translation.

What is a roofing square? Essentially it is 100 square feet or a 10×10′ block. Because roofs, siding and other big projects are … well, big, using a square foot as a unit of measurement gets complicated. Also, roofing and siding are a commodity now days, so even if you are off by a few sq. feet, it is fine. It’s not marble flooring, where each tile costs $20 + installation, and when you are off by 30 sq. feet, you can be down $1000. In roofing, 30 square feet is a bundle of roofing shingles, and costs $27.95 at home depot.

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There are actually two major types of roofs with multiple variations derived from these two roof types (except of course flat roofs). These two roof types are Gable Roof and Hip Roof. Depending on the roof type, you will need to order a different amount of roofing materials, when you are going to replace your roof. It is equally important for homeowners and roofing contractors alike to know this, as it will affect your roof cost.

Depending on the type of roof you have, the roof price will differ, as will the difficulty of installing the roof, and the amount of waste associated with each type of roofing materials. You can refer to our roofing materials calculator to see exactly how much and which roofing materials you will need to order for your roof, depending on whether it is a gable or hip roof variation.

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The roofing Calculator tool has recieved a major update on Oct. 15, 2010. Now, the roofing calculator got even better at estimating roofing materials and installation prices, and you can get the most accurate price quote to install an Asphalt Shingle Roof, a Metal Roof or a variety of flat roofing options – all of these types of roof are reviewed in depth in our roofing materials guide. New changes to the roofing calculator include the following:
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Because there are quite a few roof types available to homeowners, it’s important to understand not only the costs associated with installing a particular roofing system, but also the benefits and drawbacks of common roof types. Now, lets cover some basic roofing prices for several different types of roofing systems. The least expensive roof replacement options will be listed first.

Asphalt shingle roofs are among the least expensive roofs for residential homes.  Asphalt shingle is the most frequently installed roofing product in America.  Although asphalt shingle roofing costs less than other types of roofs, they have a low lifespan expectancy, contain petroleum products, and ultimately pollute the environment.

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This in-depth, yet simple roof measuring guide will help you measure your roof, and with the help of the Roofing Calculator you will be able to estimate your roof replacement cost. This guide will be helpful to homeowners, roofing contractors and roof estimators / salespeople alike, as it will describe the process of measuring and estimating roofs, which I used as a roofing salesman.

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Roofing Calculator Updates:

Bellow are chronologically presented features and functions updates to our Roofing Calculator. We periodically adjust price settings or add new functions and different roofing materials (previously not included) to make our Roofing Calculator more useful to you and better able to relay the actual “on the street” roofing prices that homeowners can expect to get from local roofing contractors.

We recommend that you learn how roofing prices are calculated by different roofing contractors. You will discover two most popular methods of calculating roof cost – Per Square Roof Pricing (most common) and Materials, Labor, Overhead and Profit method of estimating roof costs.

Planned Roofing Calculator updates:

In the next month or two we will be rolling out our first version of Solar Metal Roofing Price Calculator, which is going to estimate the cost of installing a steel standing seam metal roof combined with Uni-Solar thin-film PV laminates – flexible solar panels for metal roofs – see photograph of a solar metal roof with solar thermal heating bellow:

Together with a Solar Roofing Calculator we are developing a new Solar System Cost Calculator which will estimate the solar system cost, based on the number of solar PV panels you plan to use on your roof, your desired electric output, solar cost per watt, and solar system payback period, as well as many other functions and information about solar prices, roof solar installation and how to prevent roof leaks when installing a solar system.

Recent Roofing Calculator updates:

Mar. 25, 2010 – We are working on adding a setting for the number of floors that your house has as this can change you per-square pricing significantly. Most roofing contractors have an up-charge for the second floor, and an even bigger additional charge for the total roofing cost for 3-story homes, such as Victorian style homes, or triple-deckers that are very common in the urban areas.

In the same update we will include not only straight mathematical progression for steep roofs vs. shallow or low-slope roofs, but also an average premium which roofing contractors charge when calculating the roofing cost. On average, roofing contractors will add $60 per square for a 12 pitch roof vs. a walkable roof (less than 7 proof pitch).

Mar. 10, 2010 – New Metal Roofing Calculator: We’ve added a new, specialized version of our roof price calculator which is designed to calculate metal roofing prices for standing seam metal roofs, steel and aluminum shingles, stone-coated steel roofing (such as Decra or Gerard metal tiles), and specialty metal roofing – copper roofs and zinc roofing.

Future updates for the Metal Roofing Calculator will include price calculation for snow-retention systems such as rib-mounted (for standing seam metal roofs) snow-guards, Railing-snow-guard systems with one, two or three horizontal bars, as S-5 type clips.

Metal Roof Price Calculator will also estimate approximate Cool Roof energy savings and provide an average roof life expectancy.

Feb. 25, 2010 – We recently included TPO roofing into our roofing calculator, as it is the fastest flat roof material right now, because of its relatively low price compared to PVC roofs. However, we feel that you as a homeowner need to know the difference between PVC and TPO roofing: Why TPO is less expensive, facts about ever-changing TPO formulations (the way TPO roof is made and what goes into the product, as this determines the quality), and how long you can expect a TPO roof to last. Learn more about Pros and Cons of TPO roofing and the state of flat roofing today.

Feb. 21, 2010 – We added a specialized Metal Roofing Calculator (see link above or on the side), and now you will be able to calculate the cost of almost every metal roofing system readily available today, including standing seam metal roof, interlocking metal shingles, copper and zinc roofing, stone-coated steel and corrugated / vertical rib panel roofs.