How Much Vinyl Siding For A 12’x16′ Shed? (Drawing Included)

You will need 3 to 4 squares of vinyl siding to cover the entire area of a 12×16 ft. shed, so you will understand where I got this number from, here is an example with drawings and measurements.
So, we have this shed as an example of 12’x16′ wide by length and 5′ 6″ high, it has a double door and two windows on each side, but don’t worry about the number of openings.
We will calculate the amount of siding needed on all sides so you can determine the amount of siding depending on the type of openings or windows your shed has.
The front face of this shed has a total area of 48 square feet, excluding the holes of the double door, in the drawing I put the dimensions of the door, but don’t worry, I will also put the number of square feet of the front face without holes, this way you can subtract the hole of your door if it is different from this example.
The front face of this shed has a total area of 81 square feet, without any door opening, if you have a door opening of a different size, just multiply the height by the width of the door to get the square footage of the opening and subtract it from the total front face.
The side of this shed has a total of 73 square feet, taking into account that it has two window openings, right and left sides are the same, so both sides have a total of 146 sq. ft. of siding.
Including the window openings, the side has a total of 88 square feet, if you have openings of different dimensions than this example perform the same exercise of getting the square footage of the opening and subtract it from 88.
The back side does not have any openings, so it is 81 sq ft (see the third image in the example).
In summary, for this shed example, we have:
Side | Square Feet |
---|---|
Front Side | 48 sq. ft. |
Right Side | 73 sq. ft. |
Left Side | 73 sq. ft. |
Back Side | 81 sq. ft. |
Total | 275 sq. ft. |
How much vinyl siding do I need to cover 275 square feet?
The amount of vinyl siding you need depends on the coverage provided by each unit of siding. Vinyl siding is often sold by the “square.” A “square” in construction lingo is a term used to measure siding and it equals 100 square feet.
Given that you need to cover 275 square feet, you would need 2.75 squares of vinyl siding. However, it’s usually not possible to buy .75 of a square, so you would typically round up to the nearest whole number.
Therefore, you would need to purchase 3 squares of vinyl siding to cover the entire area. If your personal example has fewer window and door openings than the example shown in this topic, you may need 4 squares of vinyl siding.
Remember, it’s always a good idea to purchase a bit extra to account for cutting and fitting or any future repairs.
What if your 12’x16′ shed has different doors and windows than the one in this example?
For this case, I will give you the total square footage of the 12×16 foot shed with no gaps, and with this information, you just subtract the square footage of the door and window gaps from your own project.
Of course, you must take into account the height of this example shed.
Side | Square Feet |
---|---|
Front Side | 81 sq. ft. |
Right Side | 88 sq. ft. |
Left Side | 88 sq. ft. |
Back Side | 81 sq. ft. |
Total | 338 sq. ft. |
The total area of all sides combined is 338 square feet, that is, without excluding any door or window openings.
How much area does 1 box of vinyl siding cover?
When you’re shopping for vinyl siding, you’ll often see it sold by what’s called a “square.” Now, in the world of construction and siding, a “square” is a term that’s used quite differently from how we might typically use it in everyday math.
It doesn’t refer to a square shape or a certain number of pieces.
Instead, a “square” in the context of siding is a unit of measurement that equals 100 square feet. So, if you see a box of vinyl siding labeled as covering “one square,” it means that one box should cover an area of 100 square feet.
This can be quite handy when you’re trying to figure out how much siding to buy. You just need to measure the total square footage of the area you want to cover, and then buy enough boxes of siding to cover that many “squares.”
So, if you have a wall that’s 200 square feet, you’d need two “squares” of siding, or in other words, two boxes of vinyl siding.
What are the dimensions of each panel of vinyl siding?
When it comes to vinyl siding, the dimensions of each panel can vary quite a bit. However, there are some common sizes that you’ll often come across.
For example, a standard piece of horizontal vinyl siding is usually about 12 feet long. Now, the width can vary, but it’s typically between 6 and 8 inches.
You might find some wider panels too, but these are the sizes you’re most likely to see.
Now, one thing that’s really neat about vinyl siding is how the panels link together. They have a sort of lip on the top and bottom, so they can hook onto each other.
This allows the panels to expand and contract with changing temperatures without warping or cracking, which is a huge bonus!
But remember, when you’re calculating how much siding you’ll need, the most important figure is the total square footage each box covers rather than the size of each individual panel.
This is usually clearly labeled on the box and takes into account the way the panels overlap. So, while knowing the panel size can be interesting and helpful in some ways, the coverage information is what you’ll really want to pay attention to for your project.
How are windows and doors accounted for?
Now, obviously, you’re not going to be putting siding over your windows and doors, right? So, when you’re calculating the total square footage of your walls, you’ll want to subtract the area of your windows and doors from that total.
Here’s how you might go about doing that: say you’ve got a window that’s 3 feet wide and 4 feet high. To find the area of that window, you would multiply the width by the height. So, in this case, you have a window that’s 12 square feet.
Now, let’s say your door is 3 feet wide and 7 feet high. Using the same method, you’d find that the door area is 21 square feet.
So, you’d add those two numbers together to get the total area you won’t be covering with siding, which in this case would be 33 square feet.
Then, when you’re working out how much siding to buy, you would subtract this total from the overall square footage of your walls. This way, you’re not buying and paying for extra material that you won’t end up using.