Hip / Ridge Cap Bundles and Roofing Nails by the Pound
The two accessories the shingle field takeoff leaves open.
Example
You enter
- Ridge length (ft) 40
- Cap coverage per bundle (lf) 20
- Cap exposure (in) 5
- Field squares 24
- Field shingles per square 64
- Nails per shingle (4 / 6 high-wind) 4
- Roofing nails per pound 150
You get
- Cap len (LF) 40
- Cap bundles 2
- Field nails 6,144
- Cap pieces 96
- Total nails 6,336
- Nail weight (lb) 43
Checked against published worked examples from: GAF.
Details, formula, and sources
ScopeThe hip-and-ridge cap bundles from the ridge and hip linear feet, and the roofing nails by the pound. IRC R905.2.6 sets a floor of four nails per strip shingle and defers to the manufacturer, whose high-wind and steep-slope instructions call for six -- which moves the order by half again -- and a pre-formed hip/ridge product covers far less per bundle than field-cut 3-tab caps. Cap pattern and nail density come from the product wrapper and the adopted wind zone. A material takeoff, not a nailing schedule.
Formula or tablecap_len_lf = ridge_lf + hip_lf; cap_bundles = ceil(cap_len_lf / cap_lf_per_bundle); field_nails = squares x shingles_per_sq x nails_per_shingle; cap_pieces = ceil(cap_len_lf x 12 / cap_exposure_in); cap_nails = cap_pieces x 2; total_nails = field_nails + cap_nails; nail_lbs = ceil(total_nails / nails_per_lb).
Source and editionIRC R905.2.6 (asphalt-shingle fastening: at least four nails per strip shingle, and the manufacturer's count where it is higher; six in the manufacturer's high-wind / steep-slope instructions) and the shingle manufacturer's application instructions, by name; the cap-bundle and nail relations are first-principles arithmetic.
Free accessThe fastening pattern is stated in the published IRC R905.2.6; the cap-bundle and nail relations are public roofing-takeoff arithmetic. The cap coverage and nails-per-shingle are the product wrapper's values.
What governsEstimate. AHJ and licensed professional govern.
API field namesridge_lf, cap_lf_per_bundle, cap_exposure_in, squares, shingles_per_sq, nails_per_shingle, nails_per_lb, cap_len_lf, cap_bundles, field_nails, cap_pieces, total_nails, nail_lbs
- Cap bundles cap length = ridge + hip; cap bundles = ceil(cap length / lf per bundle): a pre-formed hip/ridge product (~20 lf) covers far less per bundle than field-cut 3-tab (~35 lf)manufacturer wrapper
- Field nails field nails = squares x shingles per square x nails per shingle: IRC R905.2.6 sets a floor of four nails per strip shingle; the manufacturer's high-wind / steep-slope instructions call for sixIRC R905.2.6
- Nails by the pound cap pieces = ceil(cap length x 12 / exposure), two nails each; nail lbs = ceil(total nails / nails per pound): roofers order nails by the pound, not the eachfirst principles