How many shingles are in a bundle — and how many bundles do you need?

Roofing materials are sold by the square, and a square is 100 square feet of roof surface. Shingles come in bundles, and for the most common architectural (laminated) shingles three bundles make one square. The number of individual shingles in a bundle depends on the product — so the useful question is usually “how many bundles do I need?”, not “how many shingles?”

Squares, bundles and shingles

Term	What it means
Square	100 sq ft of roof area
Bundle	A wrapped pack of shingles, sized to be carried up a ladder
Bundles per square	Usually 3 for architectural shingles; some heavier products use 4 or more
Shingles per bundle	Varies by product — check the wrapper

Examples from manufacturers:

• Owens Corning says laminate (architectural) shingles are generally packaged three bundles per square.
• GAF says its Timberline HDZ shingles come three bundles to a square with 64 shingles per square, while its heavier Woodland line uses four bundles per square with 56 shingles per square. GAF notes some specialty shingles may need up to five bundles per square.

So for a standard three-bundle architectural shingle at 64 shingles per square, a bundle holds about 21 shingles. A four-bundle product holds fewer per bundle. Always read the coverage printed on the bundle wrapper — that figure is what you order from.

How to work out how many bundles you need

1. Measure the roof area, not the floor area. A pitched roof has more surface than the house footprint. Multiply the footprint (including eaves overhang) by the pitch factor: a 6/12 roof has about 12% more surface than its footprint, a 12/12 roof about 41% more.
2. Add an allowance for waste. Cuts at hips, valleys and edges, plus starter strips and ridge caps, use extra material. Roofers commonly add around 10% for a simple gable roof and more for complex roofs — ask your supplier what they recommend for your roof shape.
3. Convert to squares: divide the total area by 100.
4. Multiply by bundles per square from the wrapper, and round up.

Example: a 40 × 30 ft house with a 1 ft overhang on each side has a footprint of 42 × 32 = 1,344 sq ft. At a 6/12 pitch the roof surface is about 1,503 sq ft. Add 10% and you need about 1,653 sq ft, or 16.5 squares. At 3 bundles per square, that is 50 bundles.

Our roofing calculator does this for you. Enter the footprint, overhang and pitch (in degrees or rise per 12), and it shows roof area, squares and bundles.

Things the simple calculation leaves out

• Starter strip and ridge cap shingles are often separate products with their own coverage.
• Dormers, valleys and different pitches need to be measured separately and added.
• Underlayment, drip edge, flashing and nails are ordered by length or area, not by bundle.
• Weight: bundles are heavy, and many roofs are limited in how much material can be stored on them at once.

Safety

Roof work involves falls from height. For anything beyond a small repair, use a licensed roofing contractor. If you are adding a second layer of shingles or changing the roof structure, check local building codes and get the roof deck inspected first.