What Is a Shingle High Wind Nailing Pattern and How Do I Do It?

When preparing for a
roofing job, whether it be a complete re-shingle or simply a repair, you’re
bound to hear talk about a “high-wind nailing pattern”. This is
especially true in hurricane-prone areas where high-wind nailing patterns are
mandated by local building codes. This came about (officially, at least) in
2003 when the International Building Code required shingles be fastened by six
nails properly placed in front of the seal line, or that a rated product be
utilized on the roofs in wind regions rated at or above 110 mph. Shingle
manufacturers now produce products that are rated somewhere between 60 and 130
mph, using two-hour duration tests.

So what does this
nailing pattern look like? On traditional 3-tab shingles it would look like
this:

Red marks the nail holes for a 6-nail high wind pattern

Note that the nails are just below the tar line. Keep your nails on either side
of the gap and away from the middle of each individual shingle so that the gap in
the shingle above doesn’t expose the nail head. Here is a visual example of
what you don’t want:

Note how nails (marked as red dots) in the middle of a 3-tab shingle will be
exposed when the next layer is applied.

For architectural or
dimensional shingles, the nailing pattern would look something like this:

Red marks the nail holes for a 6-nail high wind pattern.

With architectural
shingles you don’t have to worry about nails poking through the gaps (since,
unlike a 3-tab shingle, there are none). As a result, the idea is simply to
space out the nails evenly across the width of the shingle, being sure to keep
around 1-inch in from the sides and ensure the nails don’t interfere with the
tar line or appear below the level of the shingle which will rest on top of the
nails.

Some roofing coil
nailers have an adjustable shingle guide which automatically sets the position
of the nail with respect to the bottom of the shingle. This is extremely handy,
though after a while it is likely that you will find yourself, guide-free,
nailing away quickly and accurately once you’ve done a couple of rows.

We recommend a 6 nail
pattern regardless of whether or not you live in a high-wind area. It simply
doesn’t take all that much more effort (if you use a roofing nailer) and the
cost certainly isn’t much more either. Take into account the hassle associated
with any kind of early roofing material failure and you’ll probably agree that
a little extra time and money spent up front can save a lot of hassle down the
road.

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