Roofing

Sizing a Dumpster for a Roof Tear-Off in the Purchase

Roofing is where sizing goes wrong most often, and it is always the same mistake: sizing by how the pile looks instead of what it weighs.

The one number that matters: squares

Roofers measure in squares. One square is 100 square feet of roof surface. A typical single-storey house around Paducah is somewhere between 20 and 32 squares depending on footprint and pitch; larger properties out toward the lakes can run well past 50.

If you do not know your square count, your roofer does, and it is the first thing to ask. Everything downstream — container size, weight allowance, whether you need a swap — follows from it.

What a square of roofing weighs

Run the arithmetic. A 28 square architectural shingle roof at 350 lb per square is roughly 9,800 pounds — just under five tons before underlayment. That is already at or past the included allowance on a 20 yard.

Shingle sizing table

Note the wording on the 25-35 row. A 20 yard has the volume for that job comfortably. It is the weight allowance you need to watch, which is why we quote the overage rate and often suggest the 30 for the top end of that band.

Metal roofs are a different problem

Metal roofing is everywhere across rural western Kentucky — barns, machine sheds, farmhouses and an increasing number of new residential builds. It flips the usual sizing logic completely.

Metal is light. A 30 square metal roof might weigh under two tons. But the panels are long, awkward and full of air, so a container of loose sheeting fills up astonishingly fast while weighing almost nothing. Size by volume, not weight — go bigger than the tonnage suggests.

Two practical notes. Flatten or nest the panels as you load, or you will waste half the container on empty space. And if the volume is substantial, metal roofing is scrap with real value — pulling it out as a separate stream can offset a meaningful part of the job cost.

The second layer problem

Plenty of houses around here have a second layer of shingle laid over the original. It roughly doubles the tear-off weight, and people often do not know until the crew is up there.

Two practical steps: look at the rake edge from the ground, where a double layer is frequently visible as a thicker band, and ask your roofer to confirm during the inspection. If it turns out on the day, call us — a swap-out mid-job is straightforward and far cheaper than an overloaded container that cannot be hauled.

Decking and the surprises underneath

Three things routinely add volume nobody budgeted for.

Rotten decking. Roofs that have leaked, particularly around valleys and penetrations, often need sheathing replaced. You will not know how much until the old material is off. Budget headroom.

Wet insulation. After a long-term leak, saturated attic insulation may come out too. It is heavy and bulky, and in this humidity it will be mould-affected by the time you get to it.

Old flashing, vents and boots. Small individually, meaningful in aggregate on a complex roof.

Storm season and the insurance queue

Western Kentucky gets serious weather, and it drives roofing demand in waves rather than evenly.

After a significant hail or wind event, the pattern is entirely predictable: adjusters get overwhelmed, roofing contractors book out for months, out-of-area storm-chasing crews appear, and every hauler in the region is at capacity. The December 2021 tornado and the January 2009 ice storm are the two events people locally still measure against, and both produced roofing demand that ran for a long time afterwards.

Two pieces of practical advice. If your neighbourhood has been hit, get your claim in early — the queue is real and it is first come. And if you are a roofing contractor, set up a standing arrangement with a local hauler before the season rather than joining the phone queue after the storm. We hold capacity for contractors who work with us regularly, and we are honest during those weeks about what we can and cannot deliver.

Placement and site cleanup

A tear-off crew carrying material an extra thirty feet loses real hours over a day.

• Tight to the drip line on the elevation being torn off, so material can be dropped or chuted directly in.
• Doors facing the approach so ground crew can walk material in.
• Clear of the eaves overhead. The truck bed needs roughly twenty-two feet of vertical clearance to tip, so low eaves, power drops and the mature shade trees common on our older streets all dictate how close we can get.
• On boards, and on ground that will carry the weight.

One thing that is not about the container at all: a tear-off sheds an enormous quantity of nails. A magnet sweep of the driveway, lawn and street at the end of the job is twenty minutes well spent, and it is the single most common complaint homeowners have about roofing work.

More on our roofing containers here, or just call and tell us the square count and the material.