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About 264 for architectural shingles on a four-nail pattern and 320 for three-tab, because architectural shingles are larger and there are fewer per square. Six-nail high-wind patterns are 396 and 480. That is roughly two pounds of 1¼ inch nails per square.
Quick answer: a roofing square = 100 sq ft of roof. Standard 4-nail pattern uses 320 nails per square; 6-nail high-wind uses 480 per square; 8-nail Florida HVHZ uses 640 per square. The mini calculator below converts roof squares → nail count, weight (lbs), and box count instantly.
Nails per square follows from the shingle count, not the area directly. Architectural shingles run about 66 to the square and three-tab about 80, and each shingle takes four nails as standard or six in a high-wind zone.
| Shingle type | Shingles per square | 4-nail pattern | 6-nail high-wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Architectural | 66 | 264 | 396 |
| Three-tab | 80 | 320 | 480 |
The commonly quoted "320 nails per square" is the three-tab four-nail figure. Architectural shingles are larger, so there are fewer of them and the count is lower.
| Roof area | 4-nail pattern | Weight | 6-nail high-wind | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 sq ft | 2,640 | 18.9 lb | 3,960 | 28.3 lb |
| 1,500 sq ft | 3,960 | 28.3 lb | 5,940 | 42.4 lb |
| 2,000 sq ft | 5,280 | 37.7 lb | 7,920 | 56.6 lb |
| 2,500 sq ft | 6,600 | 47.1 lb | 9,900 | 70.7 lb |
| 3,000 sq ft | 7,920 | 56.6 lb | 11,880 | 84.9 lb |
Guns misfire, coils jam, and the last course always eats more than the arithmetic says. Roofing nails keep indefinitely in a dry box, so the surplus is not wasted money — whereas running out on the last afternoon costs a trip and the rest of the day.
About 264 for architectural shingles on a four-nail pattern and 320 for three-tab, because architectural shingles are larger and there are fewer of them per square. Six-nail high-wind patterns raise both by half.
Roughly two pounds per square on a four-nail pattern with 1¼ inch nails, at about 140 nails to the pound. Longer nails weigh more each, so the figure rises with length.
That is the three-tab four-nail figure, at 80 shingles per square. Architectural shingles run about 66 per square, so the same pattern gives a lower count.
About 10% over. Guns misfire, coils jam and the last course always eats more than expected. Roofing nails keep indefinitely in a dry box, so the surplus is not wasted money.
Driving them by hand? The best roofing hammers have a gauge for shingle exposure built into the head.
Choosing length and shank? The roofing nails guide explains coil, ring-shank and galvanised options.
Need the whole roof at once? The free roofing calculator works out roof area, squares, shingle bundles, underlayment, drip edge, ridge cap and installed cost from one set of measurements.