By Ian Elle Samonte

ESTIMATING ROOFING MATERIALS

GALVANIZED IRON SHEET

Most common roofing material.

Also known as GI sheet.
It is either plain or corrugated.
Plain sheets are used for gutters,
flashing, down spout, ridge, hip, and
valley roll.
Plain sheet standard commercial size is
90 X 240 centimeters long.

GI SHEET

Corrugated GI sheet is widely used for

roofing and sidings
having standard width of 80
centimeters with varying length from
150 to 360 centimeters at consecutive
intervals of 30 centimeters.
Long span corrugated sheets are also
available on special order.

GAUGE NUMBER

The thickness of galvanized iron sheet is

measured in terms of Gauge Number
from 14 to 30.
The sheet becomes thinner as gauge
number becomes larger.
Gauge 26 is the most extensively used
for roofing and various tin works
Gauge 24 is specified for gutters and
valley rolls.

Before estimating the required number of corrugated roofing

sheets, the following information should be considered first:
1. Verify the plan if the side lapping is 1- or 2-
corrugations.
2. If it is 1-1/2 corrugations, the effective width covering per
sheet is .70 meters or .60 meters for 2-1/2 corrugations.
3. The standard end-lapping joint is from 25 to 30
centimeters long. This is important in determining the
length of the sheet to be used.
4. Spacing of the purlins should be proportionally adjusted to
the length of the G.I.
sheets to avoid unnecessary cutting or excessive
overlapping. In short, the length of the roof sheet governs
the spacing distance of the purlins.
5. A good roofing design minimizes end lapping joint. Longer
length of roofing sheet is preferred for economical reasons.

EFFECTIVE COVERING OF G.I. ROOFING SHEETS

Length
Ft Meter

5
6
7
8
9

1.50
1.80
2.10
2.40
2.70

Effective Covering Purlins

Number
Side Lapping
Spacing of Nails
1
2
In Meter or Rivets
per
sheet

.70
.70
.70
.70
.70

.60
.60
.60
.60
.60

.60
.75
.60
.70
.60

14
14
18
18
22

QUANTITY OF ROOF ACCESSORIES IN KILOGRAMS

Materials

Number per
Kilogram

GI Roof Nails
GI Rivets
GI Washers
Lead Washers
Umbrella Nails

120
180
126
75
120

Size of
Purlins
(inches)

Size of GI
Strap in
Inches

Number of
Strap in One
Plain GI
Sheet

2 x 3

1 x 9

384

2 x 4

1 x 10

342

2 x 5

1 x 11

312

2 x 6

1 x 12

288

ESTIMATING G.I. ROOF AND ITS

1.

2.

3.

ACCESSORIES

Determine the length of the purlins along the

gutter line. This distance is perpendicular with
the roof direction.
Divide this length by the effective width
covering of one G.I. sheet using either 0.70 for 1
corrugations or 0.60 m. for 2 corrugations.
The result is the number of sheets for one row.
Determine the length of the rafter or top chord.
Choose the right combination of roofing sheets
that will satisfy this length considering the 25 to
30 centimeters standard end lapping.

END LAPPING

SIDE LAPPING

EXAMPLE.ESTIMATE THE GI SHEETS, RIVETS, GI WASHERS & LEAD

WASHERS

14.00 M

6.00 M

Assume side lapping of 1 corr. And end

lapping of 0.30m.

SOLUTION
Corrugated GI Sheet
Divide the length of the gutter by the effective width
covering of one sheet.
14.00/0.70 = 20 sheets in one row
The length of the rafter is 6.00meters, referring to
the table of effective covering, the combination of
3.60m(12 ft) and 2.7 m (9 ft) long GI sheet is
appropriate.

ORDER:

20 32 x 12 corr. GI Sheet
20 32 x 9 corr. GI Sheet

Rivets
Refer to table
For 12 ft long: 20 x 26 = 520 pieces
For 9 ft long: 20 x 22 = 440 pieces
______________
Total rivets
960
pieces
Covert to kilograms
= 960/180 = 5.3 say 5.5 kilograms

GI Washers
Double the number of rivets
= 960 x 2 = 1920
Convert to kilograms:
= 1920/128 = 15.24 KILOGRAMS

Lead Washers

Number of rivets is the same as the lead

washers+ 960
Covert to kilograms:
= 960/75 = 12.8 say 13 kilograms

SUMMARY OF MATERIALS

20 pcs 32 x 12 corr. GI
Sheet
20 pcs 32 x 9 corr. GI Sheet
5.5 kg GI Rivets
15.5 kg GI washers
13 kg Lead Washers

Find the number of corr. GI sheets, rivets, GI

washers, lead washers, and anchor strap
required if the plan specify 2-1/2 corrugation
for side lapping and 0.30 end lapping on a 2 x
4 purlins.

ROOFING SHEETS

Length of gutter/0.60 = 18/0.6 = 30

pieces
The length of rafters is 6.00 m , so the
combination is 3.60m and 2.7m GI
sheets
30 pieces of 32 x 12 GI sheet
30 pieces of 32 x 9 GI Sheet
Since that is only one side, double the
quantity.
60 pieces of 32 x 12 GI sheet

Considering the roof is hipped type,

wastage on cutting cannot be avoided,
hence provide add 5% to 10% wastage.
Get a longer sheet to avoid excessive
cutting.
60 + 60 = 120 x 5% = 6 pieces of 12
ORDER:
66 pcs 32 x 12 GI Sheet
60 pcs 32 x 9 GI Sheet

GI RIVETS

For 12 ft sheet = 60 * 26 = 1560 pieces

For 9 ft sheet = 60*22 = 1320 pieces

Total: 2880 pieces

GI WASHERS

Double the number of rivets

2880 x 2 = 5760 pieces
Convert to kilograms

5760/126 = 45.7 say 46 kilograms

LEAD WASHER

Same as the number of rivets

=2880 pieces
Convert to kilograms
= 2880/75 = 38.5 say 39 kilograms

PLAIN GI ANCHOR STRAP

The size of GI Strap on a 2 x 4 purlins

is 1 x10
Number of strap is equal to number of
rivets.
2880/342 = 8.42 say 9 pieces 90cm x
240cm plain GI Sheet

SUMMARY

66 pcs 32 x 12 GI Sheet
60 pcs 32 x 9 GI Sheet
2880 pieces GI Rivets
46 kilograms GI washers
39 kilograms Lead washers
9 pieces - 90cm x 240cm plain GI
Sheet

GUTTER, FLASHING, RIDGE, HIPPED, AND VALLEY

ROLL

Categorized as roof accessories under

tinsmith work. Estimating these type of
accessories is simply determining the
number of plain GI sheets needed to
fabricate it.

EFFECTIVE LENGTHS

Gutter 2.35m
Flashing 2.30 m
Ridge Roll 2.20 m
Valley roll 2.30 m
Hipped roll 2.20m

GUTTER, FLASHING, RIDGE

RIDGE ROLL

GUTTER

FLASHING

EXAMPLE.
Find the number of Plain GI sheets required to
fabricate the gutter, ridge roll, and flashing.

GUTTER, RIDGE, FLASHING DETAIL

GUTTER

Total length of gutter = 20m

Divide effective length = 20/2.35 = 8.5
say 9 pieces gutter
Total width of gutter = 45cm
Compute no. of gutter that can be
made out of 1 plain GI sheet
=90cm/45cm = 2 pcs.

No of plain GI sheets = 9/2 = 4.5 say 5

pieces plain GI sheet

FLASHING

Total length = 18m

Divide it by the effective length =
18/2.30 = 7.8 say 8 pieces
Width of flashing = 45cm
90 cm / 45 cm = 2 pieces can be made
of 1 plain GI sheet
8 pcs/2pcs = 4 GI Sheets

RIDGE ROLL

Total length = 10 m
Width = 45cm
Divide total length by effective length
= 10/2.2 = 4.5 pieces ridge roll
2 pcs of ridge roll can be made out of 1
plain GI sheet
Therefore , 4.5/2 = 2.25 sheets say 3
sheets

SUMMARY

GUTTER = 5 pcs 90 x 240cm Plain GI

Sheets
FLASHING= 4 pcs 90 x 240cm Plain GI
Sheets
RIDGE ROLL = 3 pcs 90 x 240cm Plain GI
Sheets
TOTAL = 12 pieces plain GI Sheets