Roofing

Sizing a Dumpster for a Roof Tear-Off in Katy

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 Katy two-storey is somewhere between 25 and 40 squares depending on footprint and pitch; the larger houses in Cinco Ranch, Cross Creek Ranch and Sugar Land 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 32 square architectural shingle roof at 350 lb per square is roughly 11,200 pounds — over five and a half tons before underlayment. That is 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 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 turns up on barns, outbuildings and agricultural property out toward Brookshire, Pattison and Sealy, and on an increasing number of new residential builds. It flips the usual logic.

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.

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.

The second layer problem

Plenty of older houses 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.

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 far cheaper than an overloaded container that cannot be hauled.

Decking and the surprises underneath

Rotten decking. Roofs that have leaked, particularly around valleys and penetrations, often need sheathing replaced. Budget headroom.

Wet insulation. After a long-term leak, saturated attic insulation may come out too. Heavy, bulky, and in Gulf Coast 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.

Hail season and the insurance queue

This is the biggest scheduling factor in Texas roofing and it is worth planning around.

The Houston region gets serious hail, and a significant storm can damage thousands of roofs across a few subdivisions in twenty minutes. What follows is entirely predictable: adjusters get overwhelmed, roofing contractors book out for months, out-of-state storm-chasing crews appear, and every hauler in the region is at capacity.

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

• 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 live oaks on the older Katy streets all dictate how close we can get.
• On boards, and on ground that will carry the weight.
• Check the HOA before delivery day. In the master-planned communities a roofing container sitting over a weekend attracts attention.

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.