How to Measure Vinyl Siding
When shopping for siding, it is important to know how much siding and materials will be needed. The most effective way to determine the quantity of vinyl siding is to properly measure the area of the home where you will place the vinyl siding. it is important to measure properly entered to save you money and, more importantly, save you time. Below, you will find a comprehensive article detailing the most effect is way to properly measure your home for vinyl siding.
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10 Steps of Estimating and Measuring Vinyl Siding
Do the following to estimate the siding and materials you will need:
1. Find the home’s main square footage (Main SF). Take measurements in feet of the perimeter (P) of your house. Find the measurement from the eaves to the bottom of the siding (EH). By multiplying this height by the perimeter, you will find the house’s main square footage: P x EH = Main SF.
2. Find the gable square footage (Gable SF) by measuring the gable height (GH) and gable wall width (GW) at the eaves. By multiplying the gable height and gable width, then dividing by two, you will have each gable’s square footage: (GW x GH) / 2 = Gable SF (of each gable).
3. Find the gross square footage (Gross SF) by adding the square footage for all the gables and the main square footage: (Sum of all Gable SF) + Main SF = Gross SF.
4. Find the square footage of major openings (such as large windows, patio doors, and garage doors) by multiplying the height of each opening (OH) and the width of each opening (OW): OH x OW = Opening SF (of each opening).
5. Find the net square footage (Net SF). The net square footage will be the gross square footage minus the square footage of major openings: Gross SF – (Sum of SF of all Openings) = Net SF.
6. Find the number of squares of siding needed by dividing the net square footage by 100: Net SF / 100 = # of squares of siding.
7. Find the number of outside and inside corners. First, count the outside corners and measure the length of each corner. To determine the number of outside corners you will need, add together the lengths of the corners and divide by 10: (Sum of all outside corner lengths) / 10 = # of outside corners needed.
To determine the number of inside corners needed, repeat the steps for the inside corners: (Sum of all inside corner lengths) / 10 = # of inside corners needed.
8. Find the number of lengths needed, which is the perimeter divided by the length of the starter strip: P / length of starter strip = number of lengths needed.
9. Determine the lengths needed by first measuring all the gable slope lengths and the perimeter around all doors and windows. The number of lengths needed is the total of linear feet divided by the length of each J-channel: (Sum of door & window perimeters) / length of each J-channel = # of lengths needed.
10. To find the number of lengths needed, take measurements of all window widths and all eaves lengths, then divide these numbers by the length of each utility trim.
