Roofing

Sizing a Dumpster for a Roof Tear-Off

Hail drives more roofing work here than age does, and it arrives for everyone in the same week.

The one number that matters: squares

Roofers measure in squares. One square is 100 square feet of roof surface. A typical house across Sioux Falls and the surrounding cities runs somewhere between 20 and 32 squares — the older city houses at the lower end, the newer suburban builds in Harrisburg, Tea and Brandon higher.

If you do not know your square count, your roofer does, and it is the first thing to ask.

What a square of roofing weighs

Almost every residential roof here is composition shingle, which keeps the arithmetic simple — until you find two layers.

Composition sizing table

Add a size if the decking is coming off too, and step down one in deep winter when snow banks narrow the driveway.

The second layer problem

The most common sizing mistake on roofing work anywhere.

A great many houses across this region have had a second layer of composition laid directly over the original rather than a full tear-off. It was normal, permitted practice for decades. It also roughly doubles the tear-off weight.

How to check before you book:

• Look at the rake edge from the ground. A double layer usually shows as a noticeably thicker band at the roof edge.
• Look at the flashing and drip edge. Two layers often sit proud of them.
• Ask your roofer to confirm at inspection. They will know within a minute of getting up there.

If it turns up on the day, call us. A swap mid-job is far cheaper than an overloaded container that cannot legally be hauled, and the crew keeps working while the truck is on its way.

⚠️ Hail season and the insurance rush

The defining feature of roofing in this market, and the thing that separates it from most.

Eastern South Dakota sits in genuine hail country. A single severe storm can damage thousands of roofs across the metro in twenty minutes, and what follows is a months-long surge of insurance work in which every roofer and every container in the area is spoken for.

What that means practically:

• Photograph everything before anything moves. The adjuster will want it, and once the shingles are in a container they are gone.
• Do not dispose of damaged material until the claim is settled unless your adjuster has confirmed you can. This is the single most expensive mistake in storm work.
• Check whether your policy covers debris removal — it is often a separate line.
• Book the container early. After a major hail event containers genuinely run out across the whole metro, and "next week" can become "in a month".
• Separate siding, fencing and gutters if the same storm took those down. Different streams, different weights, and metal is worth pulling for scrap.
• Emergency tarping is different from clearing up. Do it, and keep the receipts.

Impact-resistant shingle is increasingly common on re-roofs here for exactly this reason. It is a little heavier per square, which is worth knowing when you size the container for the tear-off after the next one.

Ice dams and soft decking

You do not know the condition of the decking until the shingles are off, and it is the most common reason a roofing container runs over.

South Dakota winters produce serious ice damming. Snow melts higher up the roof where the attic is warmer, runs down, and refreezes at the cold overhang. Water then backs up under the shingles rather than running off — and here the cycle repeats for months rather than weeks.

• The eaves are where damage concentrates. Expect soft decking in the first few feet above the wall line.
• Fascia and soffit often need work at the same time — extra material in the container.
• Plywood and OSB run 40 to 60 pounds a sheet. Widespread replacement adds a ton or more.
• Attic ventilation and insulation are usually the underlying cause, and if they are not fixed the new roof will do the same thing.

If your roof has had ice dams, assume decking replacement is likely rather than possible, and size accordingly.

Snow in an open container

A tear-off is exactly the material that soaks, and an open container collects whatever falls into it.

Disposal is charged by the ton, so several inches of wet snow across a load of shingle is weight you are paying for that has nothing to do with your roof. If it thaws and refreezes it becomes ice, which is heavier still and does not drain.

Two answers: ask for a cover if the job runs across several days in winter, and schedule the swap so the container is not standing open for a week between loads.

Placement, canopy and the nail problem

Roofing containers need to sit close to the house, and here there are three recurring constraints.

Winter. The big one. Snow banks narrow the drive and plow banks can block the approach, so a 15 yard with a swap is often the workable shape between November and March.

Overhead branches. Twenty-two feet of clear height to raise the bed, and the mature canopy over the older streets is genuinely low in places. On a job with a mid-course swap it has to work twice.

New concrete. Across the newer subdivisions the driveways are young, and fresh concrete needs to cure properly before it takes a loaded container. Boards go down regardless.

Everywhere: a tear-off sheds an enormous quantity of nails. A magnet sweep of the drive and the street at the end is twenty minutes well spent, and it is the single most common complaint homeowners have about roofing work.