A roofing estimate template built around squares.
Tear-off, decking, underlayment, and the flashing details that decide whether a roof quote holds up once the old material is off.
Get the roofing estimate template
A working spreadsheet, not a picture of one. The totals, overhead, and margin are live formulas. We email it over, so no download to lose track of.
One email with the template attached. We will not pass your address on.
A roof estimate is one measurement with three corrections applied to it. The measurement is squares. The corrections are pitch, waste, and whatever is underneath the old material. A template that captures only the first one will be wrong on most roofs.
The template
| Section | Line item | Unit | What decides it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Measure | Roof area | Squares | Footprint corrected for pitch |
| Measure | Pitch factor | Multiplier | 6/12 is about 1.12, 12/12 about 1.41 |
| Measure | Waste allowance | Percent | 7-10% simple gable, 15%+ cut up |
| Removal | Tear-off | Squares x layers | Layer count, verified not assumed |
| Removal | Disposal | Container | Weight, which doubles with layers |
| Deck | Decking replacement | Per sheet | Unit price agreed in advance |
| Deck | Underlayment | Squares | Synthetic or felt |
| Deck | Ice and water shield | Linear feet | Eaves and valleys, per code |
| Field | Shingles or panels | Squares | Material and profile |
| Field | Starter strip | Linear feet | Eave and rake length |
| Field | Ridge cap | Linear feet | Ridge and hip length |
| Edges | Drip edge | Linear feet | Perimeter |
| Edges | Valley treatment | Linear feet | Open or closed |
| Details | Step and counter flashing | Linear feet | Walls, chimneys |
| Details | Pipe boots and vents | Count | Penetration count |
| Details | Ventilation | Linear feet or count | Ridge vent, or the code item that grows the job |
| Access | Steep or high-access charge | Squares | Above 7/12, staging and harnesses |
| Totals | Job cost, overhead, profit | Sum, percent, percent | Kept as three separate lines |
The two lines that prevent arguments
Decking replacement is the honest unknown on every tear-off. You cannot see the deck until the old roof is off, and pricing as though it is all sound is how a profitable job becomes a break-even one. A unit price per sheet, written into the estimate before work starts, turns that from a surprise into something the customer already agreed to.
Layer count belongs on the sheet as a verified number rather than an assumption. Check at a rake edge or by lifting a shingle near a vent. Homeowners are genuinely unsure how many roofs are up there more often than not, and the difference changes both tear-off labor and container size.
Why pitch appears twice
Pitch corrects the area, because a footprint measurement understates a sloped surface. It also drives a labor multiplier, because anything above roughly 7/12 slows the crew and starts requiring staging and harnesses. Those are two separate adjustments and folding them into one number loses the labor half.
The full reasoning is in our guide on how to estimate a roofing job.
Repairs do not use this sheet
A repair is not a small replacement. The cost driver is access and diagnosis rather than area, and a small shingle fix carries the same setup, travel, and safety time as a much larger job. Price the trip, not the square footage, and keep repair quotes on their own short form.
For storm and insurance work, every line wants a photo attached to it, taken while you were up there. Reconstructing evidence afterward is slower and weaker. FlyQuote builds the scope from those photos so the estimate reflects the roof you inspected rather than the one you remember.