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How to Get a Roofing Measurement

Climbing up on a house to calculate roof square footage by hand every time you prepare an estimate means you can only cover so much ground after a big storm. It takes time to measure every area and input the information into an estimate, setting you back hours a day.

AccuLynx provides easy access to aerial roof measurement reports from EagleView® and SkyMeasure™ by CoreLogic® so you don’t have to waste time measuring a roof by hand. Get accurate measurements for your roofing and siding projects straight to your AccuLynx job record so you can save time and turn around estimates faster.

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How to Manually Measure a Roof

To manually measure a roof without the help of aerial measurement reports, you must visit a job site and climb onto the roof to take precise roof measurements by hand.

  1. Measure the width and length of each plane of the roof (including dormers), and then multiply those numbers to get the correct figure for the square footage of that area.
  2. Note any skylights, chimneys or other parts of the roof that would not require materials so you can subtract those measurements from your total area.
  3. Add together the calculated square footage of each surface to get the figure for total square footage of the roof.
  4. After determining the total square footage of the roof, you must calculate the pitch of the roof by measuring the vertical distance (rise) over a 12 inch horizontal segment (run).
  5. Write down these numbers as the vertical measurement listed first and the horizontal measurement recorded second so you can find rise over run.
  6. When you have the total square footage and rise over run of the roof, you can calculate the roof squares to determine how much materials are needed to cover the roof. To calculate the number of squares on a roof, you need to divide its total square feet by 100.

With those figures, you can then estimate the roofing supplies needed for a job.

How Aerial Roofing Measurements Work

For a tool that can be so valuable to your company, aerial roof measurements are actually quite simple. Planes or drones capture images of residential and commercial properties from the sky. From these images, a report with accurate measurements of a roof’s area, length, and pitch is generated. Details typically include measurement of a roof’s ridges, hips, valleys, rakes, eaves, flashing, and step flashing.

EagleView Aerial Measurement Logo

Roofing Measurements from EagleView

The EagleView PremiumReport™ delivers measurements derived from high-resolution aerial imagery for residential and commercial structures. EagleView roof measurement products include georeferenced, high-resolution aerial imagery captured at low altitudes from a top-down perspective as well as views from the north, south, east, and west.

What’s included in an EagleView aerial measurement report:

  • High-resolution aerial images and a 3D diagram
  • Length, area, pitch, and other measurement data
  • Length diagrams showing color-coded details and total line lengths for ridges, hips, valleys, rakes, eaves, drip edges, flashing, step flashing and parapet walls
  • Waste calculations

Roofing Measurements from SkyMeasure

SkyMeasure™ Residential Roof Reports from CoreLogic® are comprehensive aerial measurement reports that contain measurements for standard items such as rakes, hips, valleys, and eves, as well as ridge vent placement, allowing roofing contractors to put together an accurate estimate within minutes.

What’s included in a SkyMeasure aerial measurement report:

  • Latitude and longitude of the property
  • Total area, pitched area, flat area, primary pitch, total ridge length, total hip length, total valley length, total rake length, total eave length, rakes + eaves length, total apron flashing length, total step flashing length, and other data
  • Waste factor table
  • Oblique images of the roof(s): north, south, east and west

Save Time, Cover More Ground with Aerial Measurement Reports

Ordering an aerial measurement report is a much faster and convenient way to get the measurements of a roof. Instead of climbing on a ladder to measure a roof for shingles by hand and inputting measurements into an estimate for the homeowner, the entire process can be managed digitally, saving you time and eliminating measurement errors.

Deliver Estimates Faster

After a big storm, you want to be as prepared as possible for an influx of work. Customers are eager to have their homes repaired, so the faster you can provide an estimate, the faster work can get started. Even a simple roof can take around 30 minutes to measure. Plus, you run the risk of inaccurate numbers. Ordering a roofing measurement report through AccuLynx, on the other hand, takes only a few seconds, which means your field sales teams can provide estimates to more homes.

Eliminate Errors

Measuring a roof for shingles is an error-prone process that often results in miscalculations. Aerial measurement reports eliminate manual errors so you can be assured you have accurate numbers from the very start. Eliminate material shortages and overages once and for all, resulting in money savings for your roofing business.

Get Detailed Roof Measurements Right to Your Job File

AccuLynx integrates with aerial measurement providers, EagleView and SkyMeasure, to simplify the process of obtaining measurements of a roof. With AccuLynx, you’ll get fast and accurate measurements right to your AccuLynx account, so you can prepare competitive estimates, increase sales closing rates, and improve production planning.

  • Reports on any property can be placed to EagleView and SkyMeasure right from your AccuLynx account.
  • Reports are delivered to your AccuLynx account and automatically stored with the appropriate job record
  • Reports can auto-populate an estimate, eliminating the need to import files or manually enter measurements

Business Management Tools to Streamline Your Processes and Grow Your Business

AccuLynx is the leading roofing software for residential roofing contractors. It’s packed with powerful features designed to help you grow your revenues. With one simple tool, you can efficiently manage every aspect of the business—from sales and production, to supplementing and collections—and everything in between.

  • Track leads and tasks
  • Take photos
  • Upload documents
  • Order aerial measurements
  • Create estimates and contracts
  • Order materials
  • Schedule labor
  • View job progress
  • Track payments
  • Run reports

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