ROOF ESTIMATING:

CORRUGATED & Plain

GALV. IRON sheets
Roofing sheet. The most common roofing material is
the corrugated metal sheet made of galvanized iron.
It is a roll formed roof made from cold rolled mild
steel sheet hot-dipped in zinc. Invented in the 1820's
by an Englishman, its manufacturing process
remained mechanically similar. This is easy to
transport and simple to install, making it the best
choice for temporary or rural housing. For roofing
purposes, its sheets are laid beside each other like
tiles, but unlike tiles one could cover 10 times the
area. This material could be reused as low cost
fences even after 10 years, and is also 100%
recyclable.
Aside from the corrugated type (see picture, top right) mostly
suitable for roofing and siding applications, these galvanized iron
(G.I.) sheets are also available in plain version (see picture, bottom
right). Also used for roofing, plain G.I. sheets are used for gutters,
flashing, leaders or downspouts, as well as for ridge, hip, and valley
rolls.

Corrugated sheets have a standard width of 80cm. with varying

commercial lengths, from 240cm to 360cm at consecutive 30-cm
intervals. However at present, in the Phils. these lengths are still
expressed in English measure, thus the lengths would be 8’, 9’, 10’
and 12’. Corrugated long-span sheets are also available and are
more popular nowadays as it is advantageous in terms of the
effective material coverage.
The thickness of the sheets is measured in terms of gauge. The
sheet becomes thinner as the number becomes larger. Gauge
26 is most suitable for roofing, flashing, ridge and hip rolls while
Gauge 24 is specified for gutters and valley rolls.

Before estimating the quantity of roofing components, the ff.

info should be obtained:
1) Verify the side lapping required for the roofing sheets (1-1/2
or 2-1/2 corrugations are recommended). The effective
width of the sheet is 70cm for 1-1/2 corr. and 60cm for 2-1/2
corr.
2) The standard end lapping for loose individual sheets is from
25cm to 30cm long. This is important in determining the
commercial length of the sheet to be used.
3) Spacing of the purlins should be in a way
that is proportionately adjusted to the
length of the sheet to avoid unnecessary
cutting or excessive overlapping. In short,
the length of the roof sheet governs the
spacing of the purlins. Refer to Table 6-2.
4) A good roofing design minimizes end
lapping joints. Longer lengths are
preferred for better material coverage.
For this consideration, choosing such
combinations of roof sheet lengths to
satisfy end lap requirements is made
 convenient with the use of Table 6-5.
Determine the rafter or top chord length
for this purpose, to satisfy the previous
info no. 2.
5) Quantities of roofing accessories and
consumables such as nails, rivets and
washers are provided in Table 6-2 and
Table 6-3.
ILLUSTRATION A:

From the given building roof, find the number of corr.

G.I. roof sheets and its accessories required if the side
lapping specifies 1-1/2 corrugations with 30cm end
lapping.

SOLUTION:
1. Corr. G.I. Sheets. Divide the length of the roof by
the effective width of one sheet. Refer to Table 6-2
under 1-1/2 corr. The value is 0.70.
Qew = 14.00 ÷ 0.70 = 20 shts in one row

Refer to Table 6-5. Rafter length is 6.00m. so it is a

combination of 9’ (2.70m) and 12’ (3.60m)

ORDER: 20 shts. – Ga. 26 x 9’ Corr. G.I.

20 shts. – Ga. 26 x 12’ Corr. G.I.
2. Nails. Refer to Table 6-2, for a 12ft and 9ft sheet:
Qr1 = 20 shts x 26 nails = 520 pcs.
Qr2 = 20 shts x 22 nails = 440 pcs.
Total Nails Qrt = 960 pcs.

Refer to Table 6-3. Convert to kilos.

960 ÷ 120 = 8.00kgs.

ORDER: 8.00 kgs. – Tex screws (Roof Nails) with

rubber washers
Gutter, Flashing and Rolls. In roofing installations,
these items are categorized as roof accessories.
Estimating these components is simply done by
determining the number of plain G.I. sheets
needed for their fabrication, in accordance to the
form and shape shown in the working drawings.

The usual procedure is to find the total length of

each item and divide this by 2.35m which is the
effective length of one plain G.I. sheet ( 0.90m x
2.40m) given an end lap of 0.05m. Also find the
total width based on the cross-section of the item
(ex. Roof Gutter profile) that can be made out of
the standard width of one plain sheet.
ILLUSTRATION B:

From the given building roof, find the number of plain

G.I. sheets required to fabricate the gutter, end gable
flashing, and ridge roll.

SOLUTION:
1. Gutter:
a. Find the total length of gutter = 10m x 2 sides
= 20.00m.
b. Divide by effective length of one sheet:
20.00 ÷ 2.35 = 8.51 say 9 lgths. for the gutter.
c. Find the total width of the gutter cross-section:
Lgx = 2.5 + 5 + 2 + 13 + 7.5 + 15 = 45cm = 0.45m
Divide the width of one plain sheet:
0.90 ÷ 0.45 = 2pcs. derived from one sheet
d. Divide result in (b) by (c) = 9 ÷ 2 = 4.5 say 5 shts.

ORDER: 5 shts. – Ga. 26 x 8’ Plain G.I. for the gutter

2. Flashing:
a. Find the total length of flashing = 4.5m x 4 sides
= 18.00m.
b. Divide by effective length of one sheet:
18.00 ÷ 2.35 = 7.66 say 8 lgths. for the flashing.
c. Find the total width of the flashing cross-section:
Lfx = 23 + 5 + 2 + 15 = 45cm = 0.45m
Divide the width of one plain sheet:
0.90 ÷ 0.45 = 2pcs. derived from one sheet
d. Divide result in (b) by (c) = 8 ÷ 2 = 4 shts.

ORDER: 4 shts. – Ga. 26 x 8’ Plain G.I. for the flashing

3. Ridge roll:
a. Find the length of ridge roll = 10.00m.
b. Divide by effective length of one sheet:
10.00 ÷ 2.35 = 4.26 say 5 lgths. for the ridge roll.
c. Find the total width of the ridge roll cross-section:
Lrx = 45cm = 0.45m
Divide the width of one plain sheet:
0.90 ÷ 0.45 = 2pcs. derived from one sheet
d. Divide result in (b) by (c) = 5 ÷ 2 = 2.5 say 3 shts.
ORDER: 3 shts. – Ga. 26 x 8’ Plain G.I. for the ridge roll
TOTAL NUMBER OF SHEETS: 5 + 4 + 3 = 12 shts.