Weight of Roofing Materials • Comprehensive Reference Table

How Much Does a Roof Weigh?

The total weight of a roof depends on the type of roof system (and the size of the roof, of course). Roof systems can vary wildly by weight, from well under a pound per square foot for an aluminum standing seam metal roof to over 15 pounds per square foot for very thick clay roof tiles.

Roof systems typically include more than one type of material, and the weight of a roof system can be determined by adding up the weights of the different roofing materials used in that system. A built-up roof, for example, will typically include the built-up membrane itself, the layer of gravel for a gravel-surfaced roof, and the insulation and cover board, which will vary in thickness and material type from roof to roof.

When it comes to estimating the weight of roofing materials for an existing roof, field verification of the in-place construction is necessary in order to see what materials are actually present on the roof. There also may be more than one roof system in place.

Don’t forget to add all roof assembly materials when calculating total roof weight. Depending on what you are using this information for, this can include the roof deck and the supporting structure (typically roof trusses and/or rafters) as well as the roof system itself.

Manufacturers Know the Exact Weight of Roofing Materials

Manufacturer technical data sheets (with the precise material weights) are almost always made available on the manufacturer’s website. If you can’t find the information you’re looking for on their website, remember that almost every reputable manufacturer will provide a phone number on their website so you can contact their technical department. The weight of a roofing material is an important piece of information, lots of people ask about it, and they should be able to tell you pretty quickly.

The staff in the technical department can usually answer any other question you might have, too, and they always seem happy to talk to someone! For links to the websites of many, many roofing manufacturers, organized by roofing material and product type, see my roofing manufacturers directory.

About These Material Weights

The following table provides typical values for the weight of roofing materials and related building products. These values can be considered the dead load values or self-weight of roofing materials.

Where possible, the values for the weights of roofing materials were taken directly from manufacturer technical data sheets and are the actual weights of specific, representative products. In a few cases, the weights I provide were calculated using more general manufacturer data, or taken from a non-manufacturer source that I consider reasonably authoritative.

In all cases, these values are meant to provide a general idea of what the various roofing materials weigh, and should not be used if precise values are needed for critical engineering calculations. When precision is necessary, always refer to the data sheets for the actual, specific product that you’re dealing with, or contact the technical department of the product manufacturer or material provider.

Table: Weight of Roofing Materials

Note: The values in the table are for the installed weight of roofing materials. Shingles, tiles, and panels overlap; the weights for these materials as installed on a roof will be higher per square foot than for the uninstalled weights of the same materials.

Since the table gives the weights per square foot for pretty much every material you might find on a roof, you should be able to use this table as a sort of roof weight calculator by adding up the total weights by area for the different materials that are in place on the roof.

As I mentioned, these are the actual weights for actual products according to the manufacturer data sheets (mostly). I chose the representative products whose weights I’m using because they are typical or standard. You should be aware that the weights of other actual products in the same category may vary somewhat from the weights in the table.

About the Author

Jack Gray spent 20 years as a principal roof consultant with the Moriarty Corporation, an award-winning building enclosure consultant firm founded in 1967. Mr. Gray has worked in the roofing industry for over 25 years, with training and practical experience in roof installation, roof inspection, roof safety, roof condition assessment, construction estimating, roof design & specification, quality assurance, roof maintenance & repair, and roof asset management. He was awarded the Registered Roof Observer (RRO) professional credential in 2009. He also served as an infantry paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division and has a B.A. from Cornell University.