How Many Roofing Nails Per Bundle of Shingles?

84 nails per bundle on a 4-nail pattern, 126 on a 6-nail high-wind pattern.

How many roofing nails per bundle of shingles?

About 88 nails per bundle of architectural shingles on a four-nail pattern, or 132 on a six-nail high-wind pattern. Architectural shingles run about 66 per square over three bundles, which is 22 shingles per bundle.

Quick answer: a bundle of architectural shingles holds ~21 shingles, and the standard 4-nail pattern uses ~84 nails per bundle. The 6-nail high-wind pattern bumps that to 126 nails per bundle. Use the calculator below to convert bundles → exact nail count, weight, and box count.

A bundle of shingles covers about a third of a square, so the nails per bundle follow directly from the nails per square divided by three. What changes the answer is the shingle type and the nailing pattern.

Nails per bundle by shingle and pattern

Roofing nails needed per bundle
Shingle typeShingles per bundle4-nail pattern6-nail high-wind
Architectural (3 bundles/square)2288132
Three-tab (3 bundles/square)26104156
Heavyweight designer (4 bundles/square)166496

Architectural shingles run about 66 to the square and three-tab about 80, which is where the per-bundle figures come from. Check the wrapper — bundles per square varies by product line.

Nails per square, for ordering

Roofing nails and weight by roof area
Roof area4-nail patternWeight6-nail high-windWeight
1,000 sq ft2,64018.9 lb3,96028.3 lb
1,500 sq ft3,96028.3 lb5,94042.4 lb
2,000 sq ft5,28037.7 lb7,92056.6 lb
2,500 sq ft6,60047.1 lb9,90070.7 lb
3,000 sq ft7,92056.6 lb11,88084.9 lb

Weights assume roughly 140 nails to the pound for 1¼ inch roofing nails. Longer nails weigh more each, so a 1¾ inch nail runs nearer 105 to the pound.

Buying practicalities

Frequently asked questions

How many nails are in a bundle of shingles?

None — nails are bought separately. What you need per bundle is about 88 nails for architectural shingles on a four-nail pattern, or 132 on a six-nail high-wind pattern.

How many nails per square of shingles?

About 320 on the standard four-nail pattern and 480 on the six-nail high-wind pattern, assuming architectural shingles at roughly 66 per square.

How many pounds of roofing nails will I need?

Roughly 140 one-and-a-quarter inch roofing nails to the pound. A 2,000 square foot roof on a four-nail pattern needs about 5,300 nails, which is around 38 pounds.

When should I use six nails per shingle?

In high-wind zones, on steep slopes, and wherever the shingle manufacturer requires it for the wind warranty to stand. The extra nails cost a few dollars a square.