Roof Area Calculator

Sloped area and edge lengths, from a preset roof or plane by plane.

Roof

Unit system

Code references and product data are quoted in the units their source uses.

= 480" (40')

= 336" (28')

= 18" (1' 6")

= 12" (1')

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Roof Area · Result

Calculated

ROOF AREA

14.56 squares

Sloped area
1455.68 ft²
Plan area
1302 ft²
Ridge + hips
42.0 ft
Eaves
84.0 ft
Code references & assumptions · 1

How this result is supported

Planes are entered as horizontal projections; the slope factor is applied by the engine. A gable and a hip over the same footprint have the same sloped area.
ASSUMPTIONSloped area is plan area (including overhangs) times the slope factor; a gable and a hip over the same footprint have the same sloped area and different edges
ASSUMPTION
What do these evidence labels mean?
PRIMARY-VERIFIED
directly supported by one authoritative primary source, quoted with section/page/figure
CROSS-VERIFIED
independently supported by two or more appropriate authoritative sources
DERIVED
mathematically derived from PRIMARY-VERIFIED values; the derivation is preserved in data and in code
INTERPRETED
a source exists but translating it into calculator behaviour required interpretation
CONVENTION
recognised trade practice, not a mandatory provision
ASSUMPTION
product/design assumption or useful default with no authoritative basis
UNVERIFIED
insufficient authoritative evidence
Full methodology →

Code references and product data are quoted in the units their source uses.

Reference checks are informational, not compliance determinations.

How roof area is calculated

Area is measured along the slope, not on the plan, so the plan area is multiplied by the slope factor for the pitch. Overhangs are added to the footprint first, because a roof is larger than the building under it.

The preset forms — gable, hip, shed and flat — cover most simple roofs from a length, a width and a pitch. Anything else is entered plane by plane as horizontal projections, which is what a plan actually gives you, and each plane can carry its own pitch.

Edge lengths come back with the area because a takeoff needs both. The eaves take drip edge and starter, the rakes take drip edge, and the ridge and hips take cap — and a hip roof's cap run is more than double a gable's over the same footprint.

sloped area = plan area × slope factor

squares = sloped area ÷ 100

hip length = plan run × hip and valley factor

Questions

Do I measure the roof or the building?
The building, plus the overhangs. The calculator adds the eave and rake overhangs to the footprint and then applies the slope factor, so you are not trying to measure a surface you would have to be standing on.
Why do a gable and a hip give the same area?
Because the hip's four sloping faces reassemble into exactly the gable's two rectangles over the same footprint. The difference between them is the cap length and the cutting waste, not the surface.