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HOUSE SIDING & WINDOWS DIRECTORY

HOW TO MEASURE A HOUSE FOR SIDING

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Gables

The width of the house is 28 ft. + 1 ft.
overhang at each corner - that makes the
bottom base of the gable triangle 30 ft.

THE FORMULA FOR FINDING
THE AREA OF A TRIANGLE

BASE X HEIGHT
2

A Gable is a triangle. Because of the
angles of each piece of siding to be cut,
there is more waste.

6 ft. high X 30 ft. wide = 180 sq. ft.
that would be the area for a square or rectangle.

The gable is a triangle, therefore we will divide by 2 to find the area of a triangle.

180 sq ft divided by 2 = 90 ft for the area
in each gable ( before waste ).

Here's the popular
method for calculating waste.

Figure 1/3 more for waste
90 ft. x .33 = 30 ft.
90' + 30' = 120' X 2 (2 gables) = 240 sq. ft
of siding to be used in the gables.

Calculations

Walls

Length of wall x height = area

In this case all walls are the same height, therefore we simply add them:
60 + 60 + 28 + 28 = 176 linear ft.

For a complex (typical house) measure each wall and add them together for wall total. Measure each wall height X width.

Wall Height

The wall height is 99 inches. The calculation will be different for different panels.

If you are using an 8" (double 4") you first
determine how many 8" panels are required
to cover the 99 inch height. 99 inches
divided by 8 inches = 12.37 panels.
Since this figure is more than 12 (panels)
you must go to 13 panels.
This requires 13 (8") panels.
13 panels X 8" = 104 inches.
Now let's find the footage.
104" divided by 12" (1 ft.) = 8.66 wall height.

176' X 8.66 feet = 1524 sq. feet of
siding to cover the walls using an 8" panel.

If you are using a 10" (double 5) panel:
99" divided by 10" = 9.9 panels, you go to
10 panels, therefore 10 panels X 10" is 100".
100" divided by 12" (1 foot) = 8.33 feet.

176' X 8.33 feet = 1466 sq. feet of siding
to cover the walls using a 10" panel.

The other side of the coin ..

Let's say the wall height is 96 inches ..

96" wall height
8" panel

This would require exactly 12 (8") panels with virtually no vertical waste when using an 8" panel.

Do not let the "waste factor" influence
your selection of a siding panel,
it's not that significant.

Total amount of siding required for walls and gables = 1466 + 240 = 1688 SQ FEET

ROUNDED UP TO 17 SQUARES - ORDER 18 SQUARES - YOU'LL NEED IT!

Now let's figure the Overhang (Soffit) and Fascia.
(The overhang is 12" and the fascia is 6")

Some dealers use "coil stock" to form up the fascia (and other trim items)
while other dealers may use a fascia panel. For our purpose here
we will not "bog" down in those details.

Step one - Add the following:

176 ft. around the house + 4 ft. (12" or 1 foot overhang at each corner)
+ 6' high each gable = 192 Linear ft.

NOTE

A math student would argue that 6' added for the rise in each gable is too much.
I agree! but this is the easiest way to satisfy everybody. The actual formula: 6' squared + 15' squared then extract square root of that sum X 2 will give you the exact length of the gable end soffit & fascia. BUT we ain't gonna do it! If you use this exact method, you'll make too many people mad at you! ( Smart Aleck )

BACK TO BUSINESS

192' X 12" (1 foot) overhang = 192 square feet of soffit before waste.
Add 10% waste for soffit. 192' + 20' (waste) = 212 sq ft. of Soffit Material and
about 192 linear feet of 6" fascia before waste.

Remember

A 6 inch fascia board has a bottom (1 inch) and usually a few breaks
so you must figure about 8-9 inches for a 6 inch board.

ORDER ABOUT 10% MORE THAN YOU FIGURE.
(so you don't run short and have to make a trip)

Ceiling material is figured in square footage using a 10 % to 20 % waste factor. Porch ceiling material is usually the same as soffit material. This same material is also often used for under-pinning.

Window & Door Facing are difficult to cover and the material is figured in
square feet the same as any area but the waste factor is high. COIL STOCK
comes in rolls and is aluminum (either vinyl-clad or painted aluminum). A METAL BRAKE is used to form the pieces.

Porch Beams, Posts, Frieze Boards and other trim items are labor intensive,
the materials are figured like any other area with a high waste factor. COIL STOCK is used for most all of these components the same as window, door facings and fascia.