What Is a Square in Roofing? The South Florida Homeowner's Complete Guide

In South Florida, roofing contractors operating under the Florida Building Code (FBC) High-Velocity Hurricane Zone standards use the term 'square' as the baseline unit for measuring, ordering, and pricing every roofing material — from asphalt shingles to concrete tile to standing-seam metal panels. One roofing square equals exactly 100 square feet of roof surface area. That's it. The term has nothing to do with the shape of your roof and everything to do with the total surface area that needs to be covered.

The reason the industry standardized on 100 square feet rather than a single square foot is simple practicality. Roofing materials — shingles, underlayment, tile, metal — are all manufactured, packaged, and sold in quantities designed to cover one square. A bundle of three-tab asphalt shingles, for example, typically covers about one-third of a square, so you need three bundles per square. Concrete tile coverage per square varies by profile, but the math always anchors back to that 100-square-foot unit.

Understanding this definition immediately helps you decode contractor quotes. When a roofer tells you your Coral Gables home is a '28-square roof,' they mean your total roof surface is approximately 2,800 square feet — not your home's floor footprint, but the actual angled surface area of every slope, hip, and valley on your roof.