How much siding do I need — and what will the siding job cost?

Free, no-signup calculators for homeowners, DIYers and small siding contractors planning a new-siding or re-siding job — figure out how much siding to buy (wall & gable square footage, squares, boxes/bundles by material, waste, house wrap, trim, door/window/garage deductions), how much a siding job costs (installation, per square foot, replacement, by material, whole house, labor), and how to sanity-check a contractor’s quote. Every tool runs on the walls you measure and the prices you enter, and shows its formula, a worked example and a reference table.

How much siding do I need?
Siding to buy15 squares
Net siding area1,336 sq ft
Gross (walls 1,400 + gables 240)1,640 sq ft
Openings deducted304 sq ft
With 10% waste1,470 sq ft

Example: a 140 ft perimeter with 10 ft walls, two 30 × 8 ft gables, less two doors, ten windows and a double garage, at a 10% waste factor — about 15 squares (1 square = 100 sq ft). Round up to whole squares, and allow extra for corners, gables and complex layouts.

Planning estimate: this is a planning estimate from the numbers you enter — not a bid or a contract. Siding quantity and price depend on your wall and gable geometry, the material and exposure, waste and trim, tear-off and disposal, house wrap and insulation, complexity and local labor. Get itemized written quotes from licensed, insured siding contractors before you commit.
Measure your actual walls and gables and follow the manufacturer’s exposure and installation instructions. Complex layouts, many corners and gables, and shingles or diagonal patterns all use more material — allow extra for waste and trim, and round up to whole squares/boxes/bundles. Coverage per box and exposure vary by product; read the manufacturer’s stated coverage.

Where do you want to start?

The whole siding job, in one hub

Quantity → installation cost → cost by material → whole house → trim & specialty → selection & planning — a focused hub in US units, in the order a careful estimator works.

Siding Quantity & Material

Start here: how much siding do I need (net wall + gable area × waste ÷ 100 = squares), siding square footage, wall & gable area, siding squares, waste factor, boxes/panels/bundles by material, and house wrap — from the walls you measure.

Siding Installation Cost

Budget the install: siding installation cost, cost per square foot, replacement (tear-off + install), labor cost to install siding, and cost to reside a house — on the prices you enter from your own quotes.

Cost by Material

Compare materials: vinyl, fiber cement / James Hardie, wood / cedar, engineered wood / LP SmartSide, steel / aluminum, and a by-material selector — with labeled installed cost bands, on your own quoted $/sq ft.

Whole-House & Project Cost

The whole job & quote check: cost to side a house, siding cost by home size, a siding contractor quote checker, a labor cost estimator, old-siding removal & disposal, and cost by number of squares.

Trim, Soffit & Specialty Siding

Adjacencies: board & batten and cedar shake / shingle siding cost & quantity, soffit & fascia cost, insulated siding cost, and a trim & accessories estimator (J-channel / starter / corner posts).

Siding Selection & Planning

Choose and plan: a material selector, a lifespan & maintenance reference, how to measure for siding (smallest of three), an exposure / reveal reference, and a coverage-per-square reference.

The siding coverage-by-material reference

Our own neutral matrix: the LABELED siding coverage / exposure per square by material — from vinyl double-4″ at ~200 sq ft/box (2 squares) to cedar shingle at ~25 sq ft/bundle — with a companion waste-factor-by-layout chart, one place instead of a dozen single-brand cut sheets. It powers the how-much-siding calculator, the boxes-by-material calculator and the coverage-per-square reference; see how it’s built in the methodology.

Open the coverage reference →

Built for the whole siding job — and to stay correct forever

SidingCalcs gathers the calculations homeowners, DIYers and small siding contractors reach for when a house gets new siding or a re-side — how much siding a job needs (net area = perimeter × height + gables (½ × base × height) − openings; squares = ceil(area × (1 + waste) ÷ 100); boxes = ceil(area × (1 + waste) ÷ coverage)), how much an installation, by-material, whole-house or trim job costs, and how to sanity-check a contractor’s quote — quantity → material → cost → by-material → selection, in one focused hub, in US units, without signup, with transparent formulas. Every tool shows not just the answer but the underlying formula, a worked example and a reference table.

Because the tools rest on timeless wall/gable-area geometry (wall area = perimeter × height; gable = ½ × base × height; net area = gross − openings; squares = ceil(area × (1 + waste) ÷ 100); boxes = ceil(area × (1 + waste) ÷ coverage); house wrap = ceil(area × (1 + overlap) ÷ roll); cost = net area × your $/sq ft [or squares × your $/square] + labor + add-ons − discount, ×(1 + contingency)) and stable, labeled conventions (coverage & exposure per square by material, waste factor by layout, door/window/garage deductions, cost bands, lifespan), they stay correct with no maintenance — no live material or labor price list, no regional cost index, no product catalog, no contractor directory. Cost tools use the prices you enter from your own quotes and bills; labeled cost bands are only a sanity guide. More at Sources & formulas, Methodology and About.

Estimates, not bids. Every result is a planning estimate from your own prices, or a siding quantity / material guide — not a bid, an installation procedure, or moisture/flashing, structural, lead-abatement or code-compliance advice. Get itemized written quotes from licensed, insured siding contractors; measure your actual walls and gables and follow the manufacturer’s exposure and installation instructions; allow extra for waste, trim and complex layouts; and follow the EPA RRP rule with a certified firm for pre-1978 lead paint on old siding.