How many bundles of shingles per square in Canada
Most laminated shingles sold in Canada cover a square with 3 bundles; shake-look products often take 5. How to go from a measured Canadian roof to a bundle count you can order.
In Canada, most laminated asphalt shingles cover one square (100 ft²) with 3 bundles, so a bundle covers about 33.3 ft², or 3.1 m² on the metric side of the same data sheet. Shake-look products are the common exception: some take 5 bundles per square. Read the coverage off the wrapper or the Canadian technical data sheet before you order, because that number, not the rule of thumb, is what your supplier ships against.
Below: the arithmetic from a measured roof to a bundle count, and where Canadian jobs go short.
What the Canadian data sheets say
Manufacturers selling in Canada print coverage in both systems, because Canadian roofers order in squares while plans, specs and some customers work in m². IKO's Canadian technical data sheets are a good example (checked Oct 2026):
| Product | Coverage per bundle | Bundles per square |
|---|---|---|
| IKO Dynasty, Cambridge, Royal Estate, Nordic | 3.1 m² (33.3 ft²) | 3 (9.29 m² = 100 ft²) |
| IKO Armourshake | 1.86 m² (20 ft²) | 5 |
The point isn't the brand. It's that "3 bundles a square" is a property of the product, not a law of roofing. When a homeowner in Ontario or British Columbia moves from a standard laminate to a shake-look shingle at 5 bundles a square, the bundle count climbs by two-thirds on the same roof.
So the first step on any Canadian order is the same: find the coverage per bundle for the exact product, in the unit you're measuring in.
From a measured Canadian roof to squares
Bundles come last. Before them you need the true roof area, which is the plan area multiplied by the pitch factor for each facet:
| Pitch | Degrees | Pitch factor |
|---|---|---|
| 4/12 | 18.4° | 1.054 |
| 6/12 | 26.6° | 1.118 |
| 8/12 | 33.7° | 1.202 |
| 12/12 | 45° | 1.414 |
The factor is a ratio, so it works the same whether you measured in feet or metres. Then:
- Squares = true area in ft² ÷ 100 (or true area in m² ÷ 9.290).
- Squares to order = squares × (1 + waste %).
- Bundles = squares to order × bundles per square, rounded up.
If you measure from your desk, RoofStruct gives you free, unlimited self-serve measuring and PDF reports, no card: search the Canadian address, trace the facets on satellite imagery or your own drone or phone photo, set the pitch, and the squares come out in minutes. Measuring a roof covers the tracing. If you don't have the pitch yet, the free pitch finder gives you a starting number to confirm on site.
A worked example on a Canadian bungalow
A gable bungalow outside Ottawa: 1,800 ft² of plan area including the overhangs, one pitch of 6/12, two valleys where an attached garage ties in.
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| True area | 1,800 × 1.118 | 2,012.4 ft² |
| Squares | 2,012.4 ÷ 100 | 20.12 squares |
| With 12 % waste | 20.12 × 1.12 | 22.54 squares |
| Bundles at 3 per square | 22.54 × 3 = 67.6 | 68 bundles |
| Bundles at 5 per square | 22.54 × 5 = 112.7 | 113 bundles |
Check it in metric, the way an engineered drawing or a permit form might show it: 2,012.4 ft² ÷ 10.764 = 186.96 m². With 12 % waste that's 209.4 m², and at 3.1 m² per bundle you get 67.5, so 68 bundles again. The two systems agree, which is the check you want before you send the order.
Same roof, same waste: the product alone moves the order by 45 bundles.
Waste is its own judgement call. A simple gable sits at the low end, a cut-up hip roof with dormers much higher; the waste factor by roof type post has the ranges and the cuts people forget.
Starter, cap and eave protection on a Canadian order
The field count above covers the field only. A Canadian order has three more lines that come off lineal feet, not squares:
- Starter: eave length, plus the rakes if you run starter up the rakes. On the Ottawa bungalow that's 120 lin. ft of eave and 80 lin. ft of rake, so 200 lin. ft. Divide by the lineal coverage printed on the starter wrapper and round up.
- Hip and ridge cap: ridge plus hips, divided by the cap's lineal coverage. A gable roof with a 40 ft ridge needs far fewer cap bundles than a hip roof of the same area.
- Eave protection: Canadian winters make this a code item, not an option, in most of the country. It's measured along the eaves and up the slope, not in squares. Run it through the ice and water shield calculator and check the provincial code edition for the job.
Some crews cut starter from field shingles. If yours does, add those bundles to the field count, or the order runs short at the eaves.
If you'd rather not run the numbers by hand, the free shingle calculator takes squares, waste and the eave, rake, ridge and hip lengths and gives you shingle, starter and cap bundles together.
Where you trip
- Assuming 3 bundles on every product. Some shake-look lines cover 20 ft² per bundle, not 33.3. Look up the product before you count.
- Counting bundles from plan area. A 6/12 roof is 11.8 % bigger than its footprint; a 12/12 roof is 41.4 % bigger. Pitch first, then bundles.
- Rounding at the wrong step. Round once, at the bundle count. Rounding squares first and then multiplying adds bundles you didn't need, or hides ones you did.
- Mixing m² and ft² on one sheet. Canadian jobs often have metric plans and an imperial order. Pick one unit for the takeoff, convert once, and check the result both ways like the example above.
- Forgetting the winter. A roof traced on January imagery can hide a valley or a low-slope section under snow. Confirm the facets on site, or with your own photo once the roof is clear, before the count goes to the supplier.
Squares, bundles and Canadian units in RoofStruct
Settings › Localization › Measurement Units switches Imperial (ft, ft²) and Metric (m, m²) per user and carries into exports; pitch shows as rise over 12, degrees or percent. The app runs in English and Canadian French. For the wider picture, see roof measurement software for Canadian contractors.
FAQ
How many bundles of shingles are in a square in Canada?
Usually 3 for standard laminated shingles, which works out to about 33.3 ft² (3.1 m²) per bundle. Some shake-look products take 5. The wrapper and the Canadian data sheet are the final word.
How many bundles do I need for a 20-square roof?
At 3 bundles per square and 12 % waste, 20 squares becomes 22.4 squares and 67.2 bundles, so 68. At 5 bundles per square it's 112. Starter, cap and eave protection are extra.
Do I calculate bundles from the footprint or the roof area?
From the true roof area, after the pitch factor. The footprint understates every pitched roof, and the gap grows with the pitch.
Does the waste percentage go on before or after the bundle count?
Before. Add waste to the squares, multiply by bundles per square, then round up once.
Sources
Checked Oct 2026: