Solve backwards
How much ridge will my bundles of ridge cap cover?
- 2 bundlesThe example worked below
- Roof Ridge Cap CalculatorEvery figure is its own
You have
How much ridge cap shingles?
Worked by the Roof Ridge Cap Calculator at the settings below.
The settings it uses
- Cut-End Allowance (%)
- 10
What it will do
Enough for 60 ft of ridge and hip.
One ridge and hip. Enough for 60 ft of ridge and hip.
Or several. About 1 ridge and hip of the size the Roof Ridge Cap Calculator opens on: 39 ft of ridge and hip.
Check it forwards
- Total Ridge & Hip Length
- 60 ft
- It asks for
- 2 bundles
- You have
- 2 bundles
The Roof Ridge Cap Calculator asks for 2 bundles at that size, and 3 bundles one step larger.
If you had more, or less
Around your amount
Each worked by the Roof Ridge Cap Calculator at the same settings.
Half
1 bundle
30 ft of ridge and hip
Yours
2 bundles
60 ft of ridge and hip
Half as much again
3 bundles
90 ft of ridge and hip
Double
4 bundles
120 ft of ridge and hip
Common amounts
What each amount of ridge cap shingles covers
The sizes it is usually sold in, each worked by the Roof Ridge Cap Calculator at the settings above.
| You have | It covers | As one ridge and hip | Average ridge and hips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 bundle | — | 30 ft of ridge and hip | under 1 |
| 2 bundles | — | 60 ft of ridge and hip | 1 |
| 4 bundles | — | 120 ft of ridge and hip | 2 |
| 6 bundles | — | 180 ft of ridge and hip | 3 |
About thirty-three feet a bundle
A standard bundle of ridge cap shingles covers about 33 linear feet, 10 metres, laid at the exposure the maker intends — the single figure the calculator uses. Your own wrapper may rate it differently, and caps laid tighter than intended cover less, so read the bundle before relying on the length here.
Every run starts and stops with a cut
Each separate run begins and ends with a cut cap, and every hip meeting the ridge takes a mitred or overlapped piece. One long ridge loses little; a hipped roof with several short runs loses a cap or two at every junction. The calculator carries ten per cent, and a roof of many hips needs more.
Measure hips along the slope
Hip lines have to be measured along the slope and added into one total — no pitch is asked for, so a hip scaled off a plan drawing comes up short, and so does the ridge a bundle count is read against. Nails for the caps are a separate count from the same length.
How the answer is worked
Nothing here is a second formula. The Roof Ridge Cap Calculator runs forwards — a size in, a quantity out — and this page grows its own starting ridge and hip in proportion until the quantity it asks for is what you have. Where it rounds up to whole containers, the answer is the largest size before the next one would be needed.
Where the calculator adds an allowance for cuts or breakage when you order, the same allowance comes off here, because it is the same calculator: a stack you already own finishes less than its face value. Where it adds none, neither does this page — the settings beside the answer say which.
Roof Ridge Cap Calculator
runs it forwardsEstimate how many bundles of ridge cap shingles you need for a roof's ridge and hip lines.
Work out what to buy insteadSolve backwards
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Solve backwards
Start from what is already in the yard
Paint, sheets, rolls, bags and pieces, each read the other way by the calculator that orders it.
The calculator's own figures
Nothing is estimated twice: the page runs the same calculator you would order with.
The largest size that fits
Where a calculator rounds up to whole containers, the answer stops before the next one.
Both unit systems
Gallons and litres, square feet and square metres, side by side.
Frequently asked questions
- How much ridge and hip does 2 bundles of ridge cap shingles cover?
- At the Roof Ridge Cap Calculator's own settings: Enough for 60 ft of ridge and hip. That is about 1 ridge and hip of the size the calculator opens on: 39 ft of ridge and hip. Every figure follows the settings, which you can change in the calculator.
- How many linear feet does a bundle of ridge cap cover?
- About 33 linear feet (10 m) for a standard bundle at its intended exposure, the figure the calculator uses. With ten per cent for cut pieces at ends and hip junctions, plan on about 30 feet (9 m) of ridge and hip per bundle.
- Can I cut ridge caps from regular shingles?
- With 3-tab shingles, yes — each 3-tab shingle cuts into three caps. Architectural shingles are laminated and usually cannot be cut into caps, which is why dedicated hip-and-ridge bundles exist; check the shingle maker's instructions.
- How do I measure a hip for ridge cap?
- Along the slope, from the eave to where it meets the ridge — a hip is longer than it looks on a plan drawing because it climbs as it runs. Add every hip to the ridge length for the total the bundles have to cover.