How Many Shingles In A Bundle? [With Examples and Calculator] (2024)

I’m starting to think about re-shingling my roof as it’s got some age and the shingles are looking a little rough. Since my roof is a couple of rectangles, it’s easy to calculate the surface area. I figured I could estimate how many shingles I needed and the total cost. But before I calculated the cost, I still needed to know – how many shingles in a bundle?

For traditional asphalt 3-tab roof shingles, there are 26 pieces in a bundle. Architectural shingles will have around 21 shingles per bundle for similar square footage, as they are larger than standard 3-tab shingles.

Depending on the shingle manufacturer, the number of shingles in a bundle can vary widely. Since shingle dimensions vary so much, it is often helpful to have a shingle calculator to determine the number of pieces and bundles you’ll need for your project.

In this article, we’ll take a look at a shingle calculator that helps you with precise estimates for your roofing material, as well as various examples of roofs and how to determine shingle bundles and squares for a new, shingled roof.

What Is A Bundle Of Shingles?

A bundle of shingles is one package of shingles. Shingle manufacturers will package their bundles so that several – usually 3 or 4 – will add up to 100 square feet. A bundle of shingles will contain anywhere from 15 to 29 shingles, depending on the type and size.

It is important to note that there is not a uniform number of shingles per bundle. The number of shingles in a bundle will vary tremendously depending on if you have typical 3-tab versus laminated or other specialty shingles.

A bundle can only be so big. They are designed so that the average person can pick them up and move them, so you will never have one bundle drastically larger or heavier than a bundle for a different type of roof shingle.

Initially, a bundle of shingles was supposed to cover one piece of roof sheathing – 32 square feet. And three bundles would add up to 100 square feet. The advent of laminated shingles, which are much thicker than standard 3-tab, have created bundles with a total area that is less than the original 32 square feet.

How Many Shingles In A Bundle?

The number of shingles in a bundle varies anywhere from 15 up to 29 shingles. Since some manufacturers of asphalt shingles make thicker shingles, they sometimes opt to have 4 bundles per 100 square feet of roof. Therefore these bundles will contain fewer shingles.

We’ll go through a couple of the more well-known shingle manufacturers and how many shingles they include in a bundle, including architectural and 3-tab.

Owens Corning

Primarily found at Lowe’s, Owens Corning is one of the major shingle manufacturers in North America. A pack of 3-tab shingles from Owens Corning contains 26 shingles, which will cover exactly 33.33 square feet.

Architectural shingle bundles run from 20 – 23 shingles per bundle. Why do they vary? According to the company, it takes 64 shingles to make a square – or 100 square feet – of the finished roof. Since 64 doesn’t divide by three, some packages will contain 21 and some will contain 22. The package itself says 20 shingles minimum.

GAF

GAF is another massive shingle manufacturer and is sold in all big box home reno stores. A bundle of GAF 3-tab shingles contains 26 shingles.

A bundle of architectural GAF shingles has 21 shingles. GAF architectural shingles are slightly larger than Owens Corning of the same type, which enables them to have a uniform number of shingles per bundle.

Both types require 3 bundles to add up to one full square – 100 square feet – of roof area.

3 Tab Shingles

A bundle of 3-tab shingles can range from 21 up to 29 shingles. While 26 is a common number of shingles per bundle for 3-tab shingles, there are 3-tab varieties that are wider and taller, which results in bundles with a smaller number of shingles.

Architectural Shingles

A bundle of laminated architectural shingles is typically a smaller number than 3-tab shingles. They will have anywhere from 15 to 24 shingles.

“Laminated” means that the shingles have more than one layer, making them thicker. Laminated is used interchangeably with the term “dimensional” because the laminated look of the shingle gives off the appearance of dimension to the shingle as it makes it look like every other tab “pops” out.

Also, not only are architectural shingles thicker, but they are also larger in terms of length and width. Thus a bundle of architectural shingles will have fewer than standard shingles to maintain a weight that can still be handled by the average person.

Hip and Ridge Cap Roofing Shingles

A bundle of hip and ridge cap roofing shingles has between 20 and 24 shingles. GAF hip and ridge shingles have 30 pieces per bundle. Owens Corning hip and ridge shingles have 24 shingles per bundle.

Owens Corning hip and ridge shingles come as a 36×12 “3-tab” shingle, with pre-cut perforations that allow you to tear off each hip and ridge shingle. So one “shingle” is 3 hip and ridge shingles. They sell packs of 24 shingles, but each shingle contains 3 hip ridge shingles, so you get 72 in all. This will cover 33 linear feet of your hip or ridge.

GAF hip and ridge shingles are 12 x 12, and it takes 30 of them to make 20 linear feet. If you use them to make hip joints to your peaks, then the linear length may be less as you’ll use more shingles to bridge the peak to hip transition.

Synthetic Slate Shingles

Synthetic slate shingles – often called “tiles” – come in bundles that range around 25 per bundle. Typically around 18” long and 12” wide, these shingles are roughly half the length of standard asphalt shingle and not as wide. However, their thickness necessitates a smaller bundle.

Synthetic slate is designed to be less weight than regular slate, which is incredibly heavy and provides a unique look for a roof. It takes about 6 or 7 bundles of synthetic slate to make a square of synthetic slate roofing, depending on the manufacturer.

How Many Square Feet Does A Bundle Of Shingles Cover?

One bundle of shingles covers roughly 33 square feet of roof. Some manufacturer bundles will cover slightly less and will range from 28 up to 33 square feet.

For some brands and types, the square feet per bundle may vary. A bundle of one type of shingle may have one extra than a bundle of the same type and brand. Some bundles will indicate a shingle “minimum” on the package. If that is the case, the square footage of the bundle will also vary, but not by much and it will always be at or around ⅓ of 100 square feet.

What Is a Square in Roofing?

A roofing square is the amount of roofing material required to cover 100 square feet of roof. When calculating the number of shingles you need to cover your roof, you’ll calculate the area in terms of squares. Therefore if you have 2100 square feet of roof, you’ll need 21 squares of roof material.

A square of shingles is the number of shingles needed to cover a square of roofing. Whereas a bundle of shingles can vary in square footage, a square of shingles is always 100 square feet. This makes it easier when purchasing roofing materials since manufacturers will package 3 or 4 bundles of shingles to add to an even square.

A square in roofing is always 100 square feet. This refers to the square footage on the roof surface. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a perfect square and is a quick way to calculate the quantity of roofing material that you’ll need for your job.

You’ll always need more shingles than you’d think to cover a square of roofing. Even if a shingle is 12” wide, some of that is covered by the shingle on top of it. Therefore, only about 6 to 8” of each shingle is showing. Thus, for standard 3-tab shingles, you may end up with 80 or more shingles in one square of roofing.

How Many Shingles In A Square?

For regular 3-tab, non-laminated shingles, you’ll have around 78 shingles per square. Some older styles of 3-tab shingles will have up to 87 shingles per square. Architectural shingles will have anywhere from 57 to 66 shingles per square.

The number of shingles in an architectural – or laminated – shingle bundle vary since there are many, many different varieties of these types of shingles available for purchase. Sizes are different and therefore the number of shingles in a square differs from square to square for that type of shingle.

How Many Bundles Of Shingles Are In A Square?

There are 3 bundles of asphalt roof shingles per square. Some specialty styles of asphalt shingles that are larger or thicker may require 4 bundles per square, but the overwhelming majority of roof shingles are three bundles to cover 100 square feet of roof.

3 Tab Shingles

One of the most common types of shingles over the past several decades, 3-tab shingles always have 3 bundles per square.

These shingles are notable because they are not laminated and will have a greater amount of shingles per bundle than laminated shingles.

Even though they will have more shingles per bundle, they still cover the same square footage, roughly, due to their smaller size. The weight will also be similar to an architectural bundle since the 3-tab shingles are not laminated.

Architectural Shingles

Architectural shingles also nearly always come in squares made up of 3 bundles. Some architectural shingles may require 4 bundles to achieve a square of roofing area. However, most use only 3 to make a square of the finished roof.

Also known as laminated or dimensional shingles, architectural shingles are longer and a bit wider than standard 3-tab shingles. Since they are wider and longer, there are fewer individual shingles per bundle. Even with the reduced number of shingles per bundle, they still only require 3 bundles since each shingle is somewhat larger.

Synthetic Slate Shingles

Synthetic slate shingles come in bundles of 25. However, this roofing product is highly dependent on which type you purchase since there is no uniform number between manufacturers.

These shingles are individual shingles, not tabbed or laminated. They look like plates – similar to actual slate roofing. They are roughly half the length of a 3-tab shingle and the same width. Therefore you’ll need about double the amount – over 150 – to make a square of roofing.

How Many Square Feet In A Square Of Shingles?

There are 100 square feet in a square of shingles. The number of bundles required to cover a square of roofing may differ between manufacturer and type of roofing material, but a square of shingles is always 100 square feet.

How To Measure A Roof For Shingles

There are several different methods to calculate the square footage of your roof. If you remember back to grade school, you’ll recall that you’ll multiply the length times the width to find the area of a rectangle.

If you are lucky enough to have a simple roof, say a gabled roof with two identical sides or even a single sloping roof, then calculating your roof area will be a breeze. On the other hand, if you have a roof with hips and multiple gables, then you’ll need to spend a bit more time calculating your roof square footage.

Here are several ways to measure roof area for shingles.

Count the Sheathing Pieces

The easiest method to figure your square footage is to estimate using the exposed roof sheathing. If you’re shingling over your old shingles, then this method won’t work. But if you are completely removing your old roofing or completing a new build, then this method works for you.

A complete piece of roof sheathing is 4’ x 8’. Thus, the square footage of one piece is 32 feet squared. Count up all the sheets on all sides of your roof. Add them up. Then account for half or quarter pieces on the edges and roughly add them up to make complete pieces.

Once complete, you can multiply the number of sheathing pieces you have by 32’, which will give you a fairly accurate picture of the square footage of your roof.

Count the Shingles

Another way to measure the square footage of your roof from the ground is to calculate the number of shingles – or tabs – to calculate the square footage of the roof.

This technique works best with standard, 3-tab shingles since each tab has a uniform length and width. To find the length of the roof, count the tabs starting at one end to the other. Each tab is 12” long, so the number of tabs is how long your roof is in feet.

Next, count the number of tabs from the gutter to the roof peak. Each tab is about 6” tall, so calculate the number of tabs and then divide by two. This answer will tell you the width of your roof. Then multiply the length and width for the square footage of one side of your roof. Multiply times 2 for the total square footage.

This method also works with a hip-style roof. Remember that the square footage of a triangle is measuring the base times height, then dividing that number by two. Calculating either side of the hip roof is trickier, but one method is to measure the top and the bottom, then take the median of that number before you multiply by the width of the roof.

If your roof is L-shaped or a more complex shape, then you might consider another method, such as getting up on your roof and measuring each section yourself.

How Many Bundles Of Shingles Do I Need?

Determining the number of bundles of shingles you’ll need depends on the type of shingles you are installing, as bundle size depends on shingle type. However, the vast majority of shingles require only 3 bundles per 100 square feet.

For most shingle types, you’ll need 3 bundles to make a square of finished roof, which is 100 square feet. If you have a roof area of 3000 square feet, you’ll need 90 bundles of shingles. Shingles with 4 bundles per square will require you to purchase 120 bundles for a 300 square foot roof.

How To Calculate Shingles

To calculate the number of shingles you’ll need, you’ll need first to measure the square footage of your roof, which is covered above.

Once you have the square footage, divide that number by 100. This will tell you how many roofing squares you have. If your roof is 4500 square feet, divide this number by 100 and you’ll get 45.

Since we know that most shingles require three bundles to make a square, you’ll multiply 45 times 3 to find out how many bundles you will need. In this case, you’ll need 135 bundles of shingles.

If you want to take it a step further and calculate the amount of individual shingles you’ll need for your project, multiply 135 by the number of shingles indicated on the bundle.

Shingle Bundle Calculator

A much simpler way to calculate the number of shingle bundles you’ll need is to use a shingle bundle calculator.

At the very least, using a shingle calculator can help you check your calculations. If you have a roof that has more faces than just two rectangles, a shingle bundle calculator will be more accurate and could save you money and time, ensuring you buy only the amount of shingles you need.

How Many Bundles Of Shingles Do I Need For A 10X12 Shed?

To calculate the amount of shingle bundles needed for a 10×12 shed, you first have to calculate the square footage of the roof.

Let’s say this shed has a gable roof running parallel to the long end of the shed. The shed also has a roof overhang of 1’ all around. Therefore the length of one side of the roof is 14.

The pitch of this roof is 4:12. A rough estimate of the width of one side of the roof is just a bit over 5’ – say 5’3”, which is 5.25 feet. Add a foot of overhang and you get 6.25’. Multiply this by 14

Multiply the two and you get 87.5 square feet. Multiply that number times two and you get 175 square feet – your total roof area.

Now you need to find out how many bundles of shingles is required for 175 square feet of roofing. Divide 175 by 100 to find out how many squares of roofing you have. This equals 1.75. We know that each square of roofing requires 3 bundles of shingles, so 3 bundles of shingles times 1.75 roofing squares equals 5.25 bundles of shingles.

You still have .25 of roof leftover. It would be prudent to purchase one extra bundle of shingles to ensure you cover your entire area and to replace any damaged shingles in the future.

Thus, it takes 6 bundles of shingles to properly cover the roof of a 10×12 shed with a gabled roof and a 1’ overhang around all sides.

How Many Shingles Do I Need for a 24×24 Garage?

For this example, we’ll use the same type of roof – a simple gabled roof. For our purposes, we’ll say that the roof extends 1.5’ around each side.

We’ll first calculate one face of the roof. The length of the roof is 24+1.5+1.5, which equals 27’. The roof pitch is 4:12, which means the width of the roof is about 12.5’. Add 1.5’ of overhang to this number and you get 14’ of roof width on one roof face.

Multiply 27’ by 14’ and you get 378 square feet for one roof face. The total roof area is 756 square feet. Divide this number by 100 to determine the amount of roof squares you’ll need, which equals 7.56 roofing squares.

Multiply 7.56 roofing squares by 3 bundles per square. Thus, 23 bundles of shingles are required to cover a 24×24 garage with 1.5’ overhangs on all sides.

How Many Bundles Of Shingles On A Pallet?

The number of bundles per pallet depends on the weight and size of individual shingles. In most cases, there are between 33 and 42 bundles per pallet. Architectural laminated shingles are bulkier and physically larger; therefore, these pallets will have fewer bundles than 3-tab shingles.

How Much Does a Bundle of Shingles Weigh?

A bundle of shingles weighs anywhere from 60 to 80 pounds. Most bundles are in the 70-pound range. A bundle must be light enough to be handled by your average-sized adult. Therefore, you will not find bundles that way anywhere beyond 80 pounds.

Very thick laminated architectural shingle bundles may weigh less if it requires 4 bundles to make a square of roofing. In that case, each bundle will cover a smaller area and will thus weigh less. However, the majority of shingle bundles will have a similar weight.

3 Tab Shingles

A standard bundle of 3-tab shingles is just above 60 pounds. 3-tab shingles are the lightest of nearly all asphalt shingles as they are a single layer and of a smaller size than architectural shingles.

Architectural Shingles

Architectural shingle bundles weigh around 70 pounds per bundle. They weigh more than 3-tab shingles because they have a greater surface area and also are multi-layered, so each shingle is bulkier. Even though there are fewer shingles in each bundle, they still weigh more than a 3-tab bundle with more shingles in a bundle.

Synthetic Slate Shingles

A bundle of synthetic slate shingles weighs around 40 pounds. Many slate shingles that are synthetic come in bundles of 25. Each tile weighs about 1.5 pounds, so calculating bundle weight is 1.5 times 25.

There are many different manufacturers of synthetic slate, so bundle weights may vary widely.

Hip and Ridge Cap Roofing Shingles

A bundle of standard hip and ridge cap roofing shingles weighs around 60 pounds. As they are usually thicker than standard shingles, they also weigh more.

Conclusion

Calculating the number of shingles in a bundle is only one part of determining how many shingles you’ll need for your next roofing project. Once you understand what a square of roofing is and that it takes – usually – 3 bundles of roofing shingles to cover a square will help you easily determine how many shingle bundles you’ll need in total.

Also, be sure to use a roofing calculator to double-check your calculations to determine the square footage of your roof. One miscalculation could lead you to lots of leftovers, or not enough, shingles, which is a headache no matter which way you look at it.

When roofing, be sure to always take appropriate safety precautions when moving around on your roof. Thanks for reading this article and I hope it’s shed some more light on the specifics of roof shingles and bundles.