How to Measure Your First Roof in RoofStruct: Trace, Label, Export

Measuring your first roof in RoofStruct takes six steps: trace the outline, slice it into facets, label the edges, set pitch and waste, check the totals, and export the PDF. In a few minutes you'll trace a roof on a satellite image or your own photo, split it into its real facets, check the totals, and export a clean PDF report you can hand to a homeowner or a supplier. Measuring roofs yourself is free and unlimited on every plan, with no card, so open a property and follow along.

The 3D preview shown in the video is no longer part of RoofStruct, and a few button names have changed; the drawing steps are the same.

Step 1: Trace the outline#

Start a new measurement and search the address. In Position Roof in Frame, drag the map to center the roof, zoom in so it fills the frame, then hit Confirm Location and Start Measuring. What you frame is what you measure. Satellite measurements set their own scale. Working from your own drone or phone photo instead? Upload it, then use Set Scale (press R) on a distance you know, like a driveway or a ridge you've taped. A blurry upload can be sharpened with Enhance with AI first (more on imagery and uploads).

Grab the Draw Roof tool from the left toolbar (or press P) and click each corner of the roof, working your way around the outside. When you get back to where you started, click your first point again, or hit Close Shape in the hint bar. That's your main plane: one closed outline of the whole roof.

Don't sweat perfect clicks. You can nudge any point later.

Step 2: Slice it into facets#

A roof isn't one flat sheet, and your takeoff shouldn't treat it like one. With Draw Roof still active, click a point on the edge of the outline, click along a break line (a ridge, hip or valley), and click an edge again to split the plane in two. The hint bar above the canvas tells you which step you're on, and Esc cancels.

Keep going until every plane on the roof is its own facet. Now each slope carries its own area, so your squares line up with how the roof is actually built and cut, not one averaged rectangle. Both halves of a cut share one seam and keep any pitch and labels you already set; only the new cut edge starts unnamed.

Step 3: Label your edges#

Switch to Select & Move (press V) and click any edge. A small card asks "What is this edge?" Pick one of the five main types (Ridge, Hip, Valley, Eave or Rake), or open More types for step, headwall and sidewall flashing, transition, parapet wall, curb flashing and unspecified: 12 types in all. Each type takes its own color so you can read the roof at a glance. Shift-click to label several edges at once.

This isn't busywork. Nothing is named automatically, and the ridge, hip, valley, eave and rake footage in your report comes entirely from these labels. Every eave and rake also gets drip edge automatically, and ridges and hips drive the cap count. Watch the Edges labeled X of Y counter in the Layers tab on the right. When every edge is named, the card turns green and reads All edges labeled: your line footage is complete.

Step 4: Set pitch and waste#

Open the Setup tab; a dot on the tab means the scale or the pitch is still missing. Set your Predominant pitch. 6/12 is a common starting point. Confirm it on site or with the free pitch finder. If a section is steeper or flatter, select that facet: its row in the Layers list opens with a Pitch box and a Label picker (Two story, Garage, Porch and so on). Type the facet's own pitch and label it while you're there.

Still in Setup, set your Waste. Pick a preset (5, 10, 12 or 15%) or type a custom value that matches the roof's complexity. Waste adjusts your order quantities without changing the measured geometry. Not sure which bracket fits? Here's how much waste to add by roof type. On Pro, the Waste card also suggests a percentage based on the roof's complexity (Smart Waste).

Step 5: Check your numbers before you export#

A quick check here saves a short order on delivery day.

• Live totals. The pill in the top bar shows area and squares as you draw. Click it for squares on true area, squares with your waste added and the bundle count, then true area, plan area, pitch and perimeter. An amber dot on the pill means a pitch is still missing. On a phone, it's the last chip in the bottom row.
• Edges labeled X of Y. Anything short of green means some line footage isn't counted yet.
• Overlaps. If two facets overlap, a notice tells you about how much area is counted twice. Fix the shapes before you export. Lines drawn twice in almost the same spot get a Join button so they count once.
• Unpitched facets. The export dialog warns when facets have no pitch: their area is counted flat, which understates a pitched roof.
• Water flow. Press W to show the water-flow overlay, free on every plan. It needs a scale, pitch and labeled eaves, ridges and valleys, so if it won't draw, one of those is missing.

Step 6: Export the PDF#

Back on the top bar, hit Export. On Free you get the full PDF report with RoofStruct branding. Pro adds your logo and colors, plus CSV, XLSX, JSON and DXF exports. Send the PDF straight to the homeowner or the supplier.

Don't want to trace this one? Order it measured#

Blurry image, a cut-up roof, or no time before the appointment? Order a roof report instead: $14 for a residential roof ($10 on Pro), usually delivered within 4 hours (turnaround can vary with volume and complexity), measured by a RoofStruct technician and checked by a second one. It comes with a waste analysis, a material takeoff and all five file formats. Here's how report orders work.

Where you trip#

• Skipping the slice. One giant outline gives you a total area but useless facet data. Take the extra moment to cut the planes; everything downstream depends on it.
• Leaving edges unlabeled. If the Edges labeled counter isn't green, your line footage is short, and so are the drip edge and cap that come from it. Finish the edges.
• Forgetting waste. A perfect measurement still short-orders the job if waste is zero. Set it in the Setup tab before you export.
• One pitch for the whole roof. Predominant pitch is a starting point, not a law. Give the porch and the garage their own pitch, or your squares drift.

That's the whole loop: trace, slice, label, set pitch and waste, check, export. Measuring roofs yourself is free on every plan, so run three or four of your own until the loop is second nature. Open a property and trace your first one.