Measuring sheds, garages and small buildings
Last updated: August 8, 2026
Every detached building on a property is measured separately, with its own roof faces and its own pitches. You click the house, then you click the garage, then the shed. Structures too small or too hidden for the satellite are added by entering their length and width, and they join the same quote.
The building everyone forgets
A detached garage is not a rounding error. On a real property in Deux-Montagnes, Quebec, the house measured 1,969 sq ft across seven faces and the garage added 440 sq ft across four more — 18 % of the job, on a building the estimator can forget in thirty seconds.
| Building | Faces | Pitches | Roof area |
|---|---|---|---|
| House | 7 | 6/12 to 13/12 | 1,969 sq ft |
| Garage | 4 | 6/12 and 7/12 | 440 sq ft |
| Total | 11 | — | 2,409 sq ft |
Notice the garage has its own pitches, and they are not the house's. Quoting it at the main roof's 13/12 would have overbilled it by nearly a fifth.
Click each building in turn
After the main house, Add a shed or building puts you in aiming mode: you click the structure on the satellite image and it is measured like any other building — faces, areas, pitches. Each one appears in the running total with its own name, so the quote shows House, Garage, Workshop rather than one anonymous number.
If a building sits outside the frame — common on rural lots where the shed is sixty metres behind the house — you can widen the view without spending another measurement. It is the same measurement, looked at from further away.
When the satellite cannot see it
Some structures genuinely defeat satellite imagery: a shed under a mature maple, a lean-to against a fence line, a structure built after the imagery was taken. Pretending otherwise would be worse than admitting it.
For those, Add by dimensions takes the length and width you measured on site — or that the customer gave you on the phone — plus the pitch, and adds the building to the quote alongside the satellite-measured ones. You can also set a flat price for it instead, which is what most contractors do for an 8 × 12 garden shed.
| Situation | What to use |
|---|---|
| Detached garage, visible from above | Click it — measured like the house |
| Shed under a tree | Add by dimensions |
| Structure newer than the imagery | Add by dimensions |
| Small shed you price at a flat rate | Add by dimensions with a flat price |
| Building far from the house | Widen the view, then click it |
Each building carries its own roof type
A house in asphalt shingle with a flat-roofed workshop behind it is two different jobs on one property: different materials, different waste factors, different labour rates. Each building keeps its own roof type, and the quote prices each one accordingly rather than applying the house's rates to everything.
On the phone in your truck, or the screen in your office
Roof Border runs in the browser on phone, tablet and desktop. Nothing to install, no app store, no download. The same account, the same measurements, whichever screen you happen to have in your hand.
That matters more than it sounds. Measuring from the truck in front of the house means the customer gets a price before you drive away, instead of that evening — and the contractor who answers first signs more often.
All of the United States, all of Canada
Roof Border covers all fifty US states and every Canadian province and territory. City lots, suburbs and rural properties alike — if the address geocodes, it measures.
The interface and the quotes come in English, Spanish and French. A US account works in English and Spanish, so a Spanish-speaking roofer can measure in Spanish and hand the customer a quote in English — same roof, measured once. A Canadian account works in French and English.
Frequently asked questions
Does it measure detached garages and sheds?
Yes. Each detached building is measured as its own structure, with its own roof faces, areas and pitches, and appears separately in the quote.
What if the shed is hidden under a tree?
Add it by dimensions — length, width and pitch — and it joins the quote with the satellite-measured buildings. You can also give it a flat price instead of a measured one.
Can each building have a different roof type?
Yes. A shingled house and a flat-roofed workshop on the same property are priced with their own materials and labour rates rather than sharing the main building's.
Does adding a second building cost another measurement?
Buildings added by dimensions consume no satellite measurement. Widening or moving the satellite view to reach a distant structure does not either.
Why does the garage matter that much?
On the example above the garage was 440 sq ft of a 2,409 sq ft job — 18 %. Forgetting it is the difference between a profitable job and an argument with the customer halfway through.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes — phone, tablet and desktop, in the browser, with nothing to install. Most contractors measure from the truck in front of the property.
Where does it work?
All fifty US states and every Canadian province and territory. The interface and the quotes are available in English, Spanish and French.