Estimate Your Roofing Materials
A roofing project has more components than most homeowners realize: shingle bundles, ridge cap, starter strip, underlayment (felt or synthetic), drip edge, roofing nails, and potentially ice and water shield in cold climates. The Shingle Calculator handles the core materials — shingle bundles, ridge cap, nails, and underlayment — from your roof's footprint dimensions and pitch.
The key concept in roofing math is the "square" — 100 square feet of roof coverage. Everything is priced per square: shingles run $80–$120 per square for standard architectural, $150–$300 for premium. Labor adds another $150–$350 per square depending on pitch, accessibility, and location. A 20-square roof (typical 1,500 sq ft ranch house) with architectural shingles runs $5,000–$8,000 in materials alone.
Pitch matters for both material quantity and cost. Steeper roofs use more material per square foot of building footprint, and contractors charge more for high-pitch work (above 8/12) due to safety equipment requirements. The calculator accounts for pitch in the material estimate automatically.