Shingles are a common top surface to roofs. Their purpose is to provide a water barrier to keep water from entering a building.  Asphalt shingles with a fiberglass base are the most common shingles used in the United States and can last for decades.  Shingles are commonly fixed to a roof using roofing nails.

The number of Roofing Nails for a Square of Shingles in normal conditions is 348.  This puts four nails on each shingle, where a square covers 100 ft².  In high wind conditions, extra nails are often used (see image).  This results in 522 roofing nails per square for high wind environments.

Shingle Math

• 100 ft² coverage in a square of shingles
• 3 bundles in one square (33.3 ft² per bundle).
• one architectural shingle covers 32.8 ft² per bundle.
• 29 standard shingles (12"x36") per bundle.
• 4 roofing nails per shingle under normal wind conditions.
• 6 roofing nails per shingle in high wind environments.

Roof Layers

The most common layers for a roof are (top down):

• Ridge Roofing Shingles
  • Common Shingles
    • Starter Strip or Starter Shingles
      • Underlayment
• Flashing
• Plywood or OSB
• Rafters or Trusses

Shingle Price Survey Data

The Roofing Shingles Cost Survey list the observed price of a bundle of shingles. A bundle is equal to roughly (33.33 ft²) or one third of a square (100 ft²). The survey includes a date, the name of the store. the five price points for shingles: economy, low, median, high and premium.

One  should use the pricing for roofing materials that can be bought locally.  However, the following prices are for different quality grades of shingles in the United States:

• Shingle Price Survey Online Source : Lowes
• Shingle Price Survey Date: 12/22/22
  • Cost of Premium Shingles: $90.0 USD.
  • Cost of High Grade Shingles: $52.34 USD.
  • Cost of Medium Grade Shingles: $43.32 USD.
  • Cost of Low Grade Shingles: $37.98 USD.
  • Cost of Economy Grade Shingles: $36.0 USD.

All prices are for one bundle of shingles which cover 33.33 ft². 

The Roofing Ridge and Starter Shingle Cost Survey list the observed linear foot price for ridge shingles, starter shingles and starter strip. Unlike a bundle of three-tab shingles, which is equal to roughly (33.33 ft²) or one third of a square (100 ft²), ridge shingles and starter shingles and starter strips are sold in various lengths.  For this reason, this survey data provides to the cost in U.S. dollars per linear foot. The survey includes a date, the name of the store and three price points for ridge shingles, starter shingles and starter strips.  The three price points are HIGH, MEDIUM and LOW.  Since starter shingles and starter strips serve the same purpose, they are combined.  

One  should use the pricing for roofing materials that can be bought locally.  However, the following prices per linear foot for different price points of asphalt ridge and starter shingles in the United States:

• Ridge and Starter Shingle Price Survey Online Source : Lowes
• Ridge and Starter Shingle Price Survey Date: 12/28/22.
  • Cost of High Priced Ridge Shingles: $3.51 USD / ft.
  • Cost of Medium Priced Ridge Shingles: $2.4 USD / ft.
  • Cost of LOW Price Ridge Shingles: $1.42 USD / ft.
  • Cost of High Priced Starter Shingles: $1.47 USD / ft.
  • Cost of Medium Priced Starter Shingles: $0.93 USD / ft.
  • Cost of LOW Grade Starter Shingles: $0.4 USD / ft.

The Roofing Underlayment Cost Survey pricing is meant to be useful when estimating the cost of underlayment for a roof. The underlayment pricing data contains the following information in each survey record with all pricing in U.S. dollars per square foot.

• Survey Date: 1/2/23
• Survey Store: Lowes 
  • Price of Felt: $0.12 USD/ft²
  • Price of Polypropylene: $0.36 USD/ft²
  • Paper (red rosin): $0.03 USD/ft²
  • Rubber: $0.95 USD/ft²
  • Rubberized Asphalt: $0.61 USD/ft²
  • Synthetic: $0.08 USD/ft²