A bundle of shingles refers to a package or grouping of individual roofing shingles. Shingles are thin, rectangular pieces usually made from materials like asphalt, wood, metal, or slate. They cover and protect a building’s roof.
Shingles are typically sold in bundles when purchasing a roofing project. The number of shingles in a bundle can vary depending on the size, type, and manufacturer. Bundles are convenient for transportation, handling, and estimating the material needed for roofing.
The number of shingles in a bundle can vary depending on the size and type. Asphalt shingles, commonly used for roofing, typically come in bundles. A standard bundle of asphalt shingles typically contains around 21 to 29 shingles. However, this number can vary based on factors such as the size, thickness, and manufacturer of the shingles. It’s always best to check the packaging or consult the manufacturer to determine the exact number of shingles in a bundle for a specific product.
Understanding Asphalt Shingles
Asphalt shingles are a popular roofing material used in residential construction. They are known for their affordability, ease of installation, and various styles and colors. Here’s a comprehensive guide to understanding asphalt shingles:
Calculating Shingles in a Bundle for a Roofing Project
To calculate the number of shingles needed for your roofing project:
- Measure the roof area.
- Calculate the total roofing squares.
- Include a waste factor.
- Determine the total number of shingle bundles required
- How Many Shingles Do I Need?
- To calculate the number of shingles you need, measure the roof area, taking into account the slope and complexity of the roof.
- You’ll also need to consider the type of shingles you use, as architectural shingles may cover a larger area than standard asphalt shingles.
Shingles in a Bundle Quantity and Roofing Square
How Many Bundles Are in a Roofing Square?
- A roofing square is equal to 100 square feet of roof area.
- Typically, there are 3 bundles of shingles in a roofing square, but this can vary depending on the type of shingles and the roof’s complexity.
Factors Affecting Shingle Quantity
Roof Slope and Complexity
- Steeper roofs require more shingles to ensure a watertight seal, so you’ll need to factor in the roof’s slope when calculating the number of bundles needed.
- Complex roofs with multiple valleys, hips, and ridges may require more shingles than a simple gable roof.
Architectural Shingles and Coverage Area
- Architectural shingles, also known as laminated shingles, may cover a larger area than standard asphalt shingles, so check the manufacturer’s specifications.
Planning and Ordering Shingles
Ordering the Right Amount of Shingles
- It’s a good idea to order a few extra bundles of shingles to account for waste and damage during installation.
- Consider hiring a professional roofing contractor to ensure a successful and stress-free roofing project.
- Don’t forget to order other necessary roofing materials, such as underlayment, nails, and flashing.
Most roofs in America are covered with either dimensional shingles, asphalt, shingle types, or fiberglass shingles. The two look extremely similar, the only significant difference being that fiberglass shingles use a fiberglass mat as the base. In contrast, more traditional asphalt shingles use a paper base. But that one difference makes the asphalt shingles more water- and fire-resistant than dimensional shingles, which can work well in hotter climates. However, fiberglass shingles won’t last as long in colder climates.
Looking at the most common types of the roofing material available, we find:
- Composition shingles last 12 – 20 years
- Asphalt shingles last 15 – 30 years
- Wood shingles last 20 – 25 years
- Fiberglass shingles last 25 – 50 years
- Rubber roofs last 30 – 50 years
- Metal roofs last 50 – 75 years
Even so, the biggest factor in how long architectural shingles on any roof lasts is the weather it is subject to. Any form of weather impacts, including the summer sun. Hail is a bid destroyer of roofs, allowing many homeowners to get a new roof paid for by their homeowner’s insurance. But the biggest factor in roof life isn’t the weather or even the architectural number; it’s ventilation in the attic.
Whatever shingles are installed on a home, they are installed over roofing felt (or paper) and plywood or OSB sheathing. The roof shingles protect the home from rainwater by providing a path for the rain to flow off the roof while preventing it from getting through the roof shingles onto the sheathing inside. But that doesn’t mean that attics are totally without moisture.
Humidity
If there isn’t adequate ventilation, humidity can be trapped there. This will encourage mold and fungi to grow on the bottom of bundles of shingles and the sheathing, weakening the roof. If allowed to go far enough, the roof will become wavy, with the flexing causing cracking in the metal shingles below.
One of the big questions homeowners face is knowing when an asphalt roof needs replacing. There are several signs which can indicate this:
- Water stains on the ceiling of the home
- Missing or loose shingles; probably blown away by the wind
- Shingles are curling, cracking, or blistering
- The roof is sagging (this is different than the edges curling up)
- Dark or dirty-looking areas on the roof indicate that the gravel is coming off
- Gravel from the roof in the gutters
- Visible exposed nail heads
- Water damage in the attic
- Flashing becomes damaged or is missing
Of course, hail or hurricane damage can greatly accelerate the destruction of roof shingles, lowering their lifespan.
Even specialty shingles, bundles, or brand-new roofs can be destroyed by severe weather events. Tab shingles on most roofs need replacement. Failure to replace the shingles on time invites further damage, increasing the cost of eventual repair and replacement.
Here’s a general chart outlining the number of shingles typically found in a bundle for different types of asphalt shingles:
| Shingle Type | Number of Shingles per Bundle |
|---|---|
| Three-Tab Shingles | 21 to 29 |
| Architectural Shingles | 16 to 22 |
Remember, these numbers are approximate and can vary depending on factors such as the manufacturer and the specific product line. Always check with the manufacturer or supplier for the exact number of shingles per bundle for your specific product.
How Much Roofing?
Most homeowners will hire a roofing contractor to replace their roofing squares, as they are uncomfortable doing the job themselves. However, the roofing square itself is rather simple for those who don’t mind working on the same roofing square themselves.
The one big problem is the quantity of work. Replacing the many bundles of shingles used in a bundle of roofing products requires a lot of man-hours due to the size of the area that has to be done. The shingles’ weight requires a significant amount of stamina.
Even so, one person can re-roof a home if they decide to dedicate the time to do so, or they could talk a few of their buddies into coming over and helping.
Before anything, it’s necessary to calculate how many bundles or much material is needed. Roofers calculate the number of “squares” of a roof and how many bundles there are to replace. One square equals 100 square feet.
Since the bundle or the square sells shingles, this is an important number to calculate. Shingles are packaged in packs of 33.3 square feet of finished roof (not of how many shingle bundles or by area, which will be higher due to overlap), so every 100 square feet of roof requires three packages of the shingles needed.
A standard package of shingles contains 29 – 12”x 36” shingles. That works out to how many square shingle bundles, full square amount of shingles, and 87 square feet of material.
However, because the shingles in a square normally overlap by more than 50%, it is considered to have 33.3 square feet of shingle.
However, due to the roof’s slope, the number of squares of roofing can’t be calculated by dividing the home’s square footage by 100. Besides, the same roofing crew will usually overhang areas not included in the total square footage of other home materials, like the garage, porches, and eaves.
These make the roof’s size bigger than the home’s. However, with a two-story home, the roof’s many square feet will be smaller than the home’s 100 square feet of footage, as the floor space will be divided between the first and second floors.
To calculate the square footage of the roof’s area, start by measuring the home’s dimensions. But don’t just take flat roofs; measure the walls and the edges of the eaves, as that’s what you need to know.
In the diagram below, if only the yellow rectangle representing the walls is measured, then it will be as if the whole roof and area covered were only the part represented by the pink triangle. But in reality, we also have to add the blue square footage of the roof area. If the home’s perimeter isn’t an exact rectangle, don’t worry; measure it as if it were. That might cause the purchase of too many bundles, but they can always be returned.
The challenging part is measuring the roof peak height above the eaves. That usually means climbing a ladder with a buddy to hold the lower end. If that’s impossible, estimate, erring on the high side.
As with the roof dimensions and outer perimeter of the home, erring high will mean buying three bundles of shingles, more shingles per bundle than needed, but three bundles, once again, the unused three bundles, can be returned.
From that information, it is about how many square bundles it is possible to calculate 100 square feet of total square footage of the whole roofing project using the Pythagorean Theorem. Let me see if I can simplify that.
Roofline
To start with, we need a right triangle. If you remember, a right triangle is any triangle with a right angle of 90 degrees. Since your roof area probably doesn’t have that, we will cut the triangle in half vertically at the roof peak. That will give us two mirror-image triangles of the same size, shown as “A” and “B” above.
We can give the three sides their names when we pull one of those triangles out, as in the diagram below. Remember, the dimensions of triangle B will be the same, except that the triangle is a mirror image.
Triangle from roof
We need to know the length of side Z, but we have the measurements of the length times sides W and Y. To get the length of side X, we merely need to divide the length of side W in half. Then, it’s time to apply the dreaded Pythagorean Theorem. Here it is.
X2 + Y2 = Z2
Let’s walk through that slowly for those who don’t like math. You will want a calculator that can do square roots for this. For convenience’s sake, I will apply some numbers to those letters to better see how it works. So:
- W = 24
- Y = 6
- A (the length of the roof, which isn’t shown) 30
- That means that X =12
StepAction Shown as FormulaShown as ExampleStep 1Put numbers in formulaX2 + Y2 = Z2122 + 62 =?Step 2Square the numbers (multiply them by themselves)X X =Y Y =12 12 = 1446 6 = 36Step 3Add the squared numbers together Z2144 + 36 = 180Step 4Find the square root of that, using a calculator (the calculator included in Windows OS will do it)Z13.4Step 5Multiply the result by the length of the roof Z A = Sq. Ft. 13.4 30 = 402Step 6 Multiply that by 2 to account for the other side of the roofs. Ft. 2 = Total roof402 2 = 804Step 7Divide by 100 to get squares Total roof ÷ 100 = Squares804 ÷ 100 = 8(add an extra package)
In our example, the “Z” side of the roof is 13.4’, which gives us a roof square footage of 804 square feet. Since we can only buy whole packages of laminated shingles per bundle, it means buying an extra package for those four square feet. But then, it’s a good idea to have some extra shingle bundles on hand anyway, as there’s always something that makes using one bundle of more laminated shingles more than expected.
Some situations might require using an extra bundle of ridge shingles, such as dormers, valleys, and the roof peak. So keep that in mind when buying your ridge shingles, and make sure you buy enough shingles to account for the extra bundle of shingles material and extra scrap those situations will cause.
One final point on this measurement: if the whole roof slope and roof pitch of the house is L-shaped, it makes sense to cut it into two pieces and calculate them separately, adding them together. Otherwise, the area calculated for the whole roof pitch and slope will be too big, as most of it will include filing inside the L.
A Few Notes on Shingling the Roof
Most homeowners who shingle their roofs will remove the existing roofing shingles first. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it may not be necessary.
Building code
The building code requires three roofs on the house, so unless the building code in your municipality is more restrictive or there is such extensive damage to the other roofing shingles in a bundle or the roof sheathing that removing a layer of the old roofing shingles first is required, putting the new two roofing shingles on over the old one can save a lot of labor.
How many shingles
The trick to how many shingles to use when doing this is using the existing how many shingles in a bundle as a guide for how many shingles are on the new ones, butting the shingles up against the existing overlap tab shingles. That helps prevent unsightly humps in tab shingles on the roof, which can lead to leaks.
Lay asphalt or fiberglass shingles
While not common, laying asphalt or fiberglass shingles in a square over cedar shakes or even shingles in a bundle is possible. This is tricky, as the old shingles roof won’t be as smooth as the new one. If this is the decision, getting help from a professional is best.
It isn’t necessary to lay a new layer of shingle or roofing felt over the existing shingles when installing a second roof over the first shingle. It’s better not to, as it makes it easier to see the edges of the existing shingles. However, some professionals will add a single-row layer of waterproof shingle underlayment at the eave ends of tab shingles to help prevent ice dams.
New flashing
New flashing, including a drip edge, should always be installed to help prevent leaking at that point. Ensure the flashing is for re-roofing, as the dimensions and roof area will differ. Flashing in valleys should also be replaced, even if it looks good. That flashing is going to have to last another 30 years.
Roofing job
Any roofing job is done from the bottom up. Special care must be taken at any point where the roof is pierced, as that is a prime location for a leak. This piercing is usually by some vent, with flashing built into it.
Always ensure that the flashing overlaps the bundle number of shingles downhill of it and is overlapped by more than how many shingles are above it. As for the exact number of shingles online with it, to either side, that’s up to personal discretion, but overlapping the shingles over the flashing will look better and be easier to seal.
Replace Vents
It’s a good idea to replace vents while the roof is being replaced. All vents, regardless of the type, are affected by weather. So unless they look like new, they should probably be replaced. The additional cost of the vents is minor in the total cost of the roofing project budget.