Purpose-made hip and ridge cap covers roughly 20 to 25 linear feet per bundle at a 5-inch exposure, and three-tab shingles cut into caps yield about 33 linear feet. Brands differ, so read the wrapper. Measure every ridge and every hip, then add 10% for cuts.
The Ridge Cap Shingles Calculator tells you how many bundles of hip-and-ridge cap shingles you need to finish the peak of your roof. Measure the total linear feet of all ridges plus all hips and enter the value — the tool returns bundle count using standard coverage of about 22-25 linear feet per bundle. Always order one extra bundle for cuts and capping the ends. Combine this with our Shingles and Starter Strip calculators for a complete roof estimate.
Ridge cap is sold by the linear foot of ridge and hip. A bundle of purpose-made hip and ridge covers roughly 20 to 25 linear feet depending on the exposure, and cutting three-tab into caps yields about 33 linear feet per bundle.
| Ridge + hip length | Caps needed at 5 in exposure | Purpose-made bundles | Cut three-tab bundles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 ft | 48 | 1 | 1 |
| 40 ft | 96 | 2 | 2 |
| 60 ft | 144 | 3 | 2 |
| 80 ft | 192 | 4 | 3 |
| 100 ft | 240 | 5 | 4 |
| 140 ft | 336 | 7 | 5 |
Measure every ridge and every hip. Hips are easy to forget and on a hip roof they are often longer than the ridge itself.
These come up constantly when ordering, and the answer is different for every material — some figures are fixed by definition and some are printed on the wrapper and vary by brand.
How many sheets of plywood are in a bundle? · How many sheets of OSB are in a bundle? · How many linear feet does a bundle of ridge cap cover? · Every coverage figure in one table
If the ridge is vented, the cap is doing two jobs — weatherproofing and holding the vent down — and the vent sits between the deck and the cap. That raises the cap line, so the cap needs to be long enough to cover the vent flange and still lap the course below. Purpose-made hip and ridge is usually thicker and more flexible than a cut three-tab, which is why manufacturers specify it over a vent.
Order cap for the full run of every ridge and hip, add 10% for the cuts at the ends and the overlap at hip-to-ridge junctions, and buy the same brand as the field shingle so the colour and granule blend match.
Purpose-made hip and ridge covers roughly 20 to 25 linear feet per bundle at a 5 inch exposure. Three-tab shingles cut into caps yield about 33 linear feet per bundle.
Yes, and on a hip roof the hips are often longer than the ridge. Every hip and every ridge needs cap.
It is common and it works on lower pitches, but purpose-made hip and ridge is thicker, pre-bent and far less likely to crack over a sharp ridge in cold weather.
Around 10%. Cap gets cut at the ends of every run, hips overlap where they meet the ridge, and the last cap on each run is trimmed. Ten percent covers that on a normal roof without leaving you with a spare bundle.