Start with sloped roof area
A roofing square is 100 sq ft of roof surface. A 2,000 sq ft sloped roof contains 20 squares. Home floor area is not roof area: overhangs, multiple stories, garages and pitch break that shortcut. Measured Bid reads roof surface area plane by plane; the pitch is already included.
Check the aerial date and outline against the house. Missing additions, roof under trees and incomplete planes require verification. Separate low-slope sections from the pitched roof and confirm material requirements on site. Use the roof measurement tool to inspect planes, area and pitch.
Worked retail replacement estimate
Illustrative scope: 2,000 sq ft of pitched roof, including 400 sq ft above the configured steep threshold; one story; one existing layer; no low-slope area. Sample settings: $400 per square for asphalt, 10% waste, a 1.25 steep factor, a 1.00 story factor, $60 tear-off per square per layer and a $3,000 minimum.
| Line | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| New roof | (20 + 4 × 0.25) × 1.10 × $400 | $9,240 |
| Tear-off | 20 squares × $60 × 1 layer | $1,200 |
| Total | Greater of $10,440 and $3,000 | $10,440 |
The replacement quantity before the steep labor adjustment is 22 squares including waste. The steep adjustment increases price for only four measured squares; it does not create additional roof surface. Tear-off uses the original 20 squares with no waste. Two layers would make tear-off $2,400 and the total $11,640. Tax, permits, decking repairs and special details are excluded from this example.
Inspect layers, low slopes and extra work
Confirm the existing material and number of layers, disposal, decking condition, ventilation, flashing, penetrations and access. An aerial measurement cannot verify these. List allowances with a unit and an approval process for repairs discovered after tear-off. Confirm any required permits with the relevant authority; do not assume one rule applies everywhere.
Measured Bid can price a configured low-slope membrane rate separately. If that rate is unavailable, the affected section is flagged for pricing on site. A large unpriced low-slope share lowers confidence. Do not price membrane as shingles or describe an incomplete range as covering the whole project.
Set selling rates deliberately
Start with a defined cost base: materials, loaded labor, equipment and other job costs. Recover overhead deliberately in your rates or cost allocation. Markup and gross margin use different denominators.
With $100 of cost, a 25% markup gives P = C × (1 + m) = $125. A 25% target gross margin gives P = C ÷ (1 − g) = $133.33. Gross margin is before overhead and other expenses; it is not a promise of net profit. Reject a margin of 100% or more because the denominator is zero or negative.
These formulas help you choose selling rates outside the app. Measured Bid applies the configured trade rates and adjustments; it does not automatically calculate these cost or margin inputs.
Build your material rate from actual supplier costs, crew production, disposal and the scope included. State whether waste is already in that rate. Keep the waste allowance separate if you plan to enter it in Measured Bid; applying it in both places overstates the estimate.
Map the estimate to product settings
Measured Bid has per-square material rates, waste by roof type, story factors, a steep threshold and multiplier, tear-off per layer with existing-material rates, an optional low-slope rate and a minimum. The team reviews line-item dollars; homeowners see a starting range.
This workflow supports preliminary retail replacements. It is not an insurance or Xactimate estimate and is not a verified material-order takeoff. The published nine-job study tests gutter footage only, not roof area or roofing price accuracy. Confirm measurements before ordering and use a reviewed report or on-site takeoff where the job requires it. Document the result with the roofing estimate template.