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 6144
- Cap pieces 96
- Total nails 6336
- Nail weight (lb) 43
Details, formula, and sources
The hip-and-ridge cap bundles from the ridge and hip linear feet, and the roofing nails by the pound. IRC R905.2.6 steps the field pattern from four nails to six in the high-wind / steep rows, 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.
cap_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).
IRC R905.2.6 (the asphalt-shingle fastening pattern: four nails standard, six in the high-wind / steep-slope rows) and the shingle manufacturer's application instructions, by name; the cap-bundle and nail relations are first-principles arithmetic.
The 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.
Estimate. AHJ and licensed professional govern.
Field names used by the API: ridge_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 steps the pattern from four nails to six in the high-wind / steep rowsIRC 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