How Much Does a New Roof Cost? | Charlotte Roofing Company

Learn More About a New Roof

Would you like to know how much to budget for your roof replacement without an in-person consultation or having to get on a ladder? This article has been written in laymen’s terms to provide you with simple step-by-step instructions to determine accurate measurements, options, and pricing for your roof replacement project.

Steps to determine Budget for roof replacement:

Determine your roof type
Measure your Roofs Footprint
Gauge the slope of your roof
Calculate the size of your roof
Price a new roof for your home

1. Determine the Type of Roof

Your roof is likely to be one of two main design styles, hip or gable. It’s easy to find out what type of roof you have.

Gable Roof

Gable roofs are the most common roof type. The key characteristic of a gable roof is its classic up and over design.

Gable roofs only have gutters on 2 sides of the roof. The other two sides of the house are gables, hence the name.

Hip

Hip roofs are the second most common roof type and require more roofing materials to cover the same square footage of a gable roof. The key characteristic of a hip roof is that it slopes downward on more than 2 surfaces. Hip roofs typically have gutters running all the way around the house on all 4 sides. Think of an Egyptian Pyramid – it slopes down on all sides. The extra materials a hip roof uses are applied at hip capping and as a result of greater material waste due to all the angled cuts.

Combination of Hip and Gable

Sometimes roofs are both hip and gable, not to fear – in this case simply treat your roof as a hip roof for estimating purposes.

2. Calculate Footprint of Your Roof

Measure the width and depth of your home. If the footprint of your home is not a single rectangle that’s okay – Focus on the main (primary) building footprint first. Treat the smaller “bump-outs” as separate shapes/areas. Simply pull a tape measure and line up the end of the tape with the edges of the roof for each area.

let’s assume that the Length of area A is 40 feet and the width of area A is 20 feet. The area of A is 40 times 20. (40*20)= 800 Square Feet
let’s assume that the Length of area B is 30 feet and the width of area B is 20 feet. The area of B is 30 times 20. (30*20) = 600 Square Feet
Add the total areas together to get the total footprint. In this example its

Area A 800SF

Area B + 600SF

Sum A+B = 1,400SF

THE TOTAL FOOTPRINT IS 1,400 SF.

3. Calculate the Slope of Your Roof

Low Slope Roofs (Up to 4/12)

Low roof slopes take less material to re-roof than steeper roof slopes. The major drawback is that rain moves more slowly on a low slope roof and these roofs are very prone to leaking. Low slope roof replacements take special attention to detail and cost considerably more than steeper slope roofs due to the material and labor required. Asphalt shingles, Multirib metal, stone coated metal, slate shake, and tile are not permitted on roofs with slopes that are this shallow.

Standard Slope Roofs (4/12 to 7/12)

This is the most common roof slope on most homes today. These roofs are walkable and do not require the use of specialized equipment to access the roof. Any asphalt shingle or metal roofing system can be used on these slopes.

Steep Slope Roofs (7/12 to 9/12)

Steep roofs are much like standard slope roofs, however, they do require more material, and due to accessibility require more labor/time to install.

Very Steep Slope Roofs (10/12 and UP)

These roofs are very difficult to access and take much more time and material to install than all other roofs.

Find your roofing surface multiplier. This multiplier factors in the type of roof, the height of the roof, and the waste factor.

Slope	Gable	Hip
Low	1.24	1.28
Standard	1.33	1.37
Steep	1.50	1.57
Very Steep	1.73	1.79

5. Calculate the Size of Your Roof:

To calculate the total size of the roofing area you will need to multiply the Footprint by the Multiplier

Roof Footprint area in square feet = X

The multiplier is a combination of the roof type and slope/pitch = Y

X * Y = Total Roof Surface Area in Square Feet.

In the example above the total roof footprint was calculated to be 1,400 SF. If the roof is a very steep slope gable roof then the multiplier is 1.73.

The roof area is calculated by multiplying the total footprint by the multiplier. In this case it’s 1,400 x 1.73 = 2,422 SF.

Congratulations, if you’ve made it this far, you just calculated your roof size. For the purposes of this article are pricing below will be per square foot. If you are getting quotes from roofing contractors, they typically do not price by the square foot, instead, they price by 100 square feet or what is commonly known as 1 square.

If the square footage of the roof is 2,422 square feet. The total roof squares are 2,422 divided by 100 or 24.22 Square. Roofers typically round up to the nearest 1/3 of a square since shingles come 3 bundles to a square. This roof may be quoted by a roofer at 24.33 square.

5. Roofing Material Options

ASPHALT SHINGLES

3-TAB SHINGLES

$2.25 to $2.80 per sf

In the example roof from above with square footage of 2,422. An adequate budget for a 3-tab asphalt shingle roof installation is $5,449 up to $6,781

ARCHITECTURAL SHINGLES

$2.50 to $3.20 per sf

In the example roof from above with square footage of 2,422. An adequate budget for an architectural asphalt shingle installation is $6,055 up to $7,750

DESIGNER SHINGLES

$3.20 – $5.00 per sf

In the example roof from above with square footage of 2,422. An adequate budget for a Designer Asphalt Shingle installation is $7,750 up to $12,110

METAL ROOFS

MULTI-RIB METAL (EXPOSED FASTENER)

The cost of a Multirib metal roof runs between $3.07 per sf up to $4.50 depending on the underlayment, penetrations, flashings, and ventilation.

In the example roof from above with square footage of 2,422. An adequate budget for a multirib metal roof installation is $7,435 up to $10,899

STANDING SEAM (HIDDEN FASTENER)

Standing seam metal roofs typically cost $5.50 per sf up to $8.25 per sf depending on the quality of the metal and the underlayment used.

In the example roof from above with square footage of 2,422. An adequate budget for a standing seam metal roof installation is $13,321 up to $19,981.

We hope your enjoyed reading this and trust you are well on your way to further your understanding of your home’s roofing system. If you get stuck on any of these steps or you’re ready for the next steps and want a written quote for your project, please call us today to schedule a free no-obligation consultation.

How Much Does a New Roof Cost in Charlotte, NC?