Weight of Roofing Materials • Complete Reference Chart

By Jack Gray, Roof Online Editor • Last updated January 16, 2023

Table of Contents

• How Much Does a Roof Weigh?
• Roofing Manufacturers Know the Exact Weight of Roofing Materials
• About Our Roof Weight Chart
• Table: Weight of Roofing Materials
• Related Pages

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.

Roofing 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 so you can contact their technical department. The weight of roofing materials is important, lots of people ask for that information, 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 a huge directory of roofing manufacturers, organized by roofing material and product type, see our Roofing Manufacturers Directory.

You can also look at roofing materials on the Home Depot website. Both the weight of roofing materials and the square footage they cover are typically given in the product description, which allows you to figure out the weight per square foot of actual roofing products.

About Our Roof Weight Chart

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 weight 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 weight of roofing materials we provide was calculated using more general manufacturer data, or taken from a non-manufacturer source that we 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 of the actual, specific product you intend to use, 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.

About the Author

Jack Gray is a principal roof consultant and vice president at the Moriarty Corporation, an award-winning building enclosure consultant firm founded in 1967. He is also the editor of the Roof Online website.

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 82^nd Airborne Division and has a B.A. from Cornell University. Read full bio.

Related Pages

1. Complete List of Roofing Types
2. How to Find the Area of a Roof
3. Roof Decks
4. Weight of Dimensional Lumber
5. Weight of Metals
6. Weight of Pavers
7. Weight of Plywood and OSB
8. Weight of Pressure-Treated Lumber
9. Weight of Sheet Steel