BEAVORA Build Smarter
BEAVORA · BUILD SMARTER

Roof it right, bundle by bundle.

Measure the footprint, adjust for roof pitch, add a waste margin, and get the exact squares and bundles to buy.

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01

How do you want to measure?

02

Footprint, pitch and waste

Optional. How far the roof extends past the exterior walls. Adds the overhang strip to your total below — leave at 0 to ignore.

40 ft30 ftROOF FOOTPRINT
MEASURING GUIDE

How to measure your roof

Get these four things right and your bundle count will land close to exact.

  1. Measure the ground footprint

    Walk the perimeter (or check your plans) and get the length and width of the building's footprint — the flat, ground-level area the roof sits over, not the sloped surface itself.

  2. Identify the pitch

    Pitch is the rise in inches for every 12 inches of run — a “6:12” roof rises 6″ for every 12″ horizontal. Steeper roofs have more real surface than their footprint suggests; see exactly how much more in the table →

  3. Measure the eaves stick-out

    The overhang — where the roof extends past the exterior walls — adds real surface the footprint alone misses. Measure it in inches from the wall to the roof edge and enter it in the calculator above.

  4. Note hips, valleys, dormers and other complications

    Any place the roof changes direction, breaks for a dormer, or has a chimney or skylight adds cuts and waste. A simple gable needs less waste allowance than a roof with several of these — see the diagram and the Waste setting above.

Footprint vs. direct measurement Ground footprint is usually close enough for a simple roof with one roofline — a plain gable or hip. For roofs with multiple levels, several dormers, or additions built at different times, measure (or estimate) each roof section separately and add the totals, or use L-shaped footprint above for two connected rectangles. The more complex the roof, the more a straightforward footprint estimate under-counts.

Roof terms, illustrated

Plan view of a hip roof with an attached wing.

Diagram labeling the ridge, hip, valley and eave of a hip roof with an attached wing Ridge Hip Valley Eave
  • Ridge — the top horizontal peak
  • Hip — outward sloped corner
  • Valley — inward angle, sheds water
  • Eave — the roof's lower edge

Where the multiplier comes from

Multiplier = 1 ÷ cos(pitch angle). A sloped roof is always longer along the slope than the flat footprint below it — this is exactly how much longer, for every pitch in the dropdown above.

PitchRise : runMultiplier
Flat / low slope0:12×1.00
Shallow3:12×1.03
Shallow4:12×1.05
Moderate5:12×1.08
Common6:12×1.12
Steeper8:12×1.20
Steep10:12×1.30
Very steep12:12×1.41
ROOFING GUIDE

Roof coverings:
where they work best.

Original BEAVORA illustrations. Confirm bundle coverage, exposure and pitch requirements with the manufacturer.

POPULAR

3-tab shingles

Economical asphalt shingles for standard slopes; usually 3 bundles per square.

Typical lifespan: 15–20 years
DURABLE

Architectural shingles

Thicker dimensional shingles with a longer life; often 3–4 bundles per square.

Typical lifespan: 25–30 years
PREMIUM

Metal panels

Long-lasting panels for steep or exposed roofs; sold by panel or square, not bundles.

Typical lifespan: 40–70 years
Pitch matters…
Waste…
Squares…