Whether you’re getting early cost estimates for your siding project or are ready to order, you need accurate measurements. If geometry wasn’t your favorite class, it may seem intimidating. But don’t worry! We’re here to help you learn how to measure for siding.
Exterior Siding & Building Material Terms to Know
Square:
A square equals 100 square feet of coverage. Packages of siding provide different square footage coverage. You’ll be measuring your house to calculate how many squares of siding you need. Then you’ll convert squares of siding you need to the quantity of siding packages needed for your project.
Wall:
The wall is the portion of your home exterior that’s shaped like a rectangle.
Gable:
A gable is the triangular portion above a wall that leads to the pitched roof—since most houses are not perfect rectangles!
Dormer Window:
A window located on the sloped side of a roof.
How to Measure for Exterior Siding Step by Step
Grab a partner, your tallest ladder, longest tape measure, and a way to record dimensions—it’s time to measure your home! Pro tip: take a photo of each side of your house. Print those photos out, so you can write your measurements directly on the photo.
Step 1) Define the Faces of the House
Take a walk around your house make note of all of the sides or faces of your house. Pick one face to work on before moving on to the next one.
Step 2) Measure Each Wall
Measure all square or rectangular walls. Record the length and height of each wall.
Step 3) Calculate Square Footage
Multiply the length and height for each wall to get the wall square footage.
Step 4) Measure Gables, Dormers
Now that you have the total square feet and the rectangles, measure the triangle portions of your home—gables, dormers, and more. Record the base and height of the triangle. For dormers, windows, or sides of the house like the one below, break it down into two measurements. First measure the length and height of the square portion. Then measure the base and height of the triangle portion.
Step 5) Calculate Square Footage for Gables & Dormers
Back to geometry class! The area of a triangle is ½ base times height.
½ base x height = triangular area
Be sure to include the square area of the dormer window in this square footage.
Step 6) Measure Windows and Doors
You won’t be covering windows and doors with siding. Measure the length and height of each door and window—and anything else that won’t need siding.
When in doubt, account for 15 square feet for windows and 20 square feet for doors.
Step 7) Calculate the Window & Door Square Footage
Similar to the wall square footage, calculate the area of the doors and windows by multiplying length times height. Once you have the square footage for each window and door, add them together to get a total square footage.
Step 8) Calculate Total
Add:
together the square footage you calculated in steps 3 (walls) and 5 (gables/dormers).
Subtract:
the square footage in step 7 (doors and windows) from the total.
Divide:
this number by 100 to get the number of squares of siding you will need to order.
Round up:
5–10% to have extra material on hand for trim, cutoffs, or repairs.
Congratulations! You now know how to measure for siding and know how many squares of siding your house requires!
When you’re ordering siding, look for the square conversion in ‘Coverage Area’. This will show you how many pieces of siding will cover 1 square (100 sq. ft.). Divide the total squares you calculated above by the pieces/square and you’ll know how many pieces of siding you need to order.
The knowledgeable Warehouse ’71 product experts are on hand to answer any questions you have about measuring, the installation process, and more. Shop our Siding Selection online for premium brands including Diamond Kote, Tando and more!