The square is an
Imperial unit
The imperial system of units, imperial system or imperial units (also known as British Imperial or Exchequer Standards of 1826) is the system of units first defined in the British Weights and Measures Act 1824 and continued to be developed thr ...
of
area
Area is the measure of a region's size on a surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an open surface or the boundary of a three-di ...
that is used in the construction industry in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and Canada,
and was historically used in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. One square is equal to 100
square feet. Examples where the unit is used are roofing shingles, metal roofing, vinyl siding, and fibercement siding products. Some home builders use squares as a unit in floor plans to customers.
When used in reference to material that is applied in an overlapped fashion, such as roof shingles or siding, a square refers to the amount of material needed to cover 100 square feet when installed according to a certain lap pattern. For example, for a shingle product designed to be installed so that each course has of exposure, a square would actually consist of more than 100 square feet of shingles in order to allow for overlapping of courses to yield the proper exposed surface.
Construction in Australia no longer uses the square as a unit of measure, and it has been replaced by the square metre. The measurement was often used by estate agents to make the building sound larger as the measure includes the areas outside under the eaves, and so cannot be directly compared to the internal floor area. Residential buildings in the state of
Victoria, Australia
Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of ; the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 7 million; ...
are sometimes still advertised in squares.
Conversions
1 square equals
* 100
square feet
*
See also
*
List of unusual units of measurement
References
{{Reflist
Architecture in Australia
Units of area
Customary units of measurement in the United States