A square represents exactly 100 square feet of roof area. Estimators, suppliers, and crews use it to calculate material quantities, labor costs, and project scope without dealing in massive square-footage numbers. A typical residential roof might require 20 to 30 squares of shingles.
Heard on the job
We need to order 35 squares of architectural shingles for the Oak Street job.
Insider tip
Always order 10 to 15 percent more squares than the actual roof measurement to account for waste, valleys, and starter strips.