A one-story 2,000 sq ft house (40 × 50 ft) with a 6/12 gable roof and 12 in overhangs has about 2,442 sq ft of roof, or 24.4 squares. With 10% extra for cuts, buy 26.9 squares: 81 bundles of shingles. A two-story 2,000 sq ft house has only about half that roof: 13.9 squares, or 42 bundles. Open this house in the roofing calculator and change the size or pitch to match yours.
Why the house size isn’t the roof size
“2,000 sq ft” is usually the living area. The roof covers the footprint, plus the overhangs, and it’s sloped, so it has more surface than the flat floor below it. Three things change the number:
- Stories. One story: the footprint is the whole 2,000 sq ft. Two stories: the footprint is about 1,000 sq ft.
- Overhang. 12 in on every side turns a 40 × 50 ft house into 42 × 52 ft = 2,184 sq ft before pitch.
- Pitch. A 6/12 roof has a pitch factor of 1.118: 2,184 × 1.118 = 2,442 sq ft of roof.
For a 6/12 roof with 12 in overhangs, the roof comes out about 1.2 to 1.3 times the footprint. Measure the outside walls on the ground to get the footprint.
The math for a 40 × 50 ft house
- Footprint with overhang: (40 + 2) × (50 + 2) = 42 × 52 = 2,184 sq ft.
- Pitch factor: √(1 + (6 ÷ 12)²) = 1.118. 2,184 × 1.118 = 2,442 sq ft of roof.
- Squares: 2,442 ÷ 100 = 24.4 squares.
- Extra for cuts: 24.4 × 1.10 = 26.9 squares.
- Bundles: 26.9 × 3 = 80.6, round up to 81 bundles.
Squares and bundles for a 2,000 sq ft house
6/12 gable roof, 12 in overhangs, 10% extra, 3 bundles per square. Click a row to open it in the calculator.
| House | Footprint | Roof area | Squares to buy | Bundles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One story, 40 × 50 ft | 2,000 sq ft | 2,442 sq ft | 26.9 | 81 |
| One story, 36 × 56 ft | 2,016 sq ft | 2,464 sq ft | 27.1 | 82 |
| One story, 32 × 62 ft | 1,984 sq ft | 2,433 sq ft | 26.8 | 81 |
| Two story, 25 × 40 ft | 1,000 sq ft | 1,268 sq ft | 13.9 | 42 |
Already know your roof is 2,000 sq ft of sloped surface (from a roofer’s report or a satellite measurement)? Then it’s simpler: 20 squares + 10% = 22 squares, or 66 bundles.
How pitch changes it
Same one-story 40 × 50 ft house, 12 in overhangs, gable roof, 10% extra.
| Pitch | Pitch factor | Roof area | Squares to buy | Bundles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4/12 | 1.054 | 2,302 sq ft | 25.3 | 76 |
| 6/12 | 1.118 | 2,442 sq ft | 26.9 | 81 |
| 8/12 | 1.202 | 2,625 sq ft | 28.9 | 87 |
| 10/12 | 1.302 | 2,843 sq ft | 31.3 | 94 |
| 12/12 | 1.414 | 3,089 sq ft | 34 | 102 |
Hip roof
A hip roof has the same surface area as a gable roof at the same pitch, but more cut shingles, so use about 15% extra. The 40 × 50 ft house with a 6/12 hip roof needs 28.1 squares, or 85 bundles, plus 6 bundles of ridge cap for about 136 ft of ridge and hips. A two-story 25 × 40 ft hip roof needs 14.6 squares, or 44 bundles, plus 4 bundles of ridge cap (96 ft).
Common mistakes
- Using the living area as the roof area. A one-story 2,000 sq ft house has about 2,400 sq ft of roof at 6/12. A two-story one has about 1,300.
- Counting the garage twice, or not at all. An attached garage under the same roof adds to the footprint even though it isn’t living area.
- Forgetting the overhang. 12 in all around adds 184 sq ft to a 40 × 50 ft house before pitch.
- Buying starter and ridge cap as field shingles. They’re separate bundles, sold by the linear foot.
- Not checking bundles per square. Most architectural shingles are 3 bundles per square; some heavy designer shingles are 4 or 5.
What to buy for a one-story 40 × 50 ft house (6/12 gable)
- 81 bundles of shingles (26.9 squares), plus 2 bundles of starter strip and 3 bundles of ridge cap (52 ft of ridge). Buy these from a local roofing supplier or home center so the color and lot match.
- 21 pieces of 10 ft drip edge for about 198 ft of eaves and rakes.
- 3 rolls of synthetic underlayment: shop synthetic underlayment
- 2 rolls of ice and water shield for one row along 104 ft of eaves (more where local code wants 2 rows): shop ice and water shield
- About 6,900 coil roofing nails at 4 per shingle (one box of 7,200 covers it): shop coil roofing nails
- Cap nails for the underlayment: shop cap nails
- Roofing nailer: shop roofing nailers
- Roof jacks and a fall-protection kit for anything steeper than a walkable pitch: shop roof jacks · shop fall-protection kits
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More: the full guide to how many bundles of shingles you need has charts by roof area, house size and pitch. The roofing calculator also works out underlayment, drip edge, starter, ridge cap and nails. Painting the outside too? See how many gallons of paint do I need.
FAQ
How many squares is a 2,000 sq ft house?
About 24.4 squares of roof for a one-story 40 × 50 ft house with a 6/12 gable roof and 12 in overhangs, or 26.9 squares to buy with 10% extra. A two-story 2,000 sq ft house (25 × 40 ft footprint) has about 12.7 squares of roof, or 13.9 to buy.
How many bundles of shingles for a 2,000 sq ft house?
About 81 bundles for a one-story house with a 6/12 gable roof, or 85 with a hip roof at 15% extra. A two-story 2,000 sq ft house needs about 42 bundles. That’s at 3 bundles per square.
How many bundles for 2,000 sq ft of roof?
66 bundles. 2,000 sq ft of roof surface is 20 squares; with 10% extra that’s 22 squares, and 22 × 3 = 66 bundles.
How much bigger is the roof than the house?
For a 6/12 roof with 12 in overhangs, the roof is about 1.2 to 1.3 times the footprint. A steeper roof is more: at 12/12 the same 40 × 50 ft house has about 3,089 sq ft of roof.
How many sq ft is a square of shingles?
100 sq ft of roof. Most architectural shingles come 3 bundles to a square, so one bundle covers about 33 sq ft.
Sources: GAF Timberline HD technical data (3 bundles per square, 64 shingles per square, 4 or 6 nails per shingle). Estimates for planning only; confirm with your supplier and local code.