Roofing Nails vs. Staples Which Fastener to Use

Quick comparison

Pull-Through and Wind Resistance

A roofing nail has a round-ish head (~3/8 in class) that bears on the shingle mat. A crown staple bears on a narrow rectangular crown. In a wind uplift test, the staple can pull through the mat at a lower load because the crown cuts a slot. That is the mechanical reason manufacturers tightened staple language after decades of mixed field use.

Nails are not magic. An overdriven nail that cuts the mat is also a pull-through start. The difference is the default geometry: a properly seated nail head is a bigger washer than a staple crown. High-wind listings (ASTM D3161 Class F, ASTM D7158 Class H, Florida TAS 100) are typically run with the manufacturer’s specified nail pattern — often 6 nails, specific length, specific shank.

Staples can still perform on a calm inland 4:12 roof when they are the right crown, the right length, and driven flush. The argument is not “staples never hold.” It is that the published wind performance most people are buying was measured with nails.

What Codes Still Allow vs What Has Moved Nails-Only

The IRC has historically allowed corrosion-resistant nails or staples complying with ASTM F1667 for asphalt shingles, with penetration through the sheathing or 3/4 in into plank (R905.2.5 in the 2018 IRC). That sentence is why staple guns were never “illegal” as a class.

What changed is the stack above the IRC:

• Manufacturer instructions (which the IRC also tells you to follow) increasingly say nails only, or staples only in limited low-wind, low-slope notes, or they void wind coverage if staples are used.
• Florida Product Approval / Miami-Dade NOA listings for laminate shingles are typically nail patterns. A staple install may not be the listed assembly.
• Local amendments in high-wind counties often specify nails, ring-shank, and a pattern. The model IRC is the floor, not the coastal county’s book.

So you can have a job where the model code still mentions staples and the product you bought does not allow them. The stricter document wins if you want the listing and the warranty.

Insurers and Warranties

After hail and wind claim years, several carriers and program administrators started asking what fastener was used. Some will not write or will surcharge a staple-fastened asphalt roof. Manufacturer enhanced wind warranties almost always assume the nail pattern in the installation manual.

This is still uneven by state and carrier. It is not true that “no insurer allows staples.” It is true that you should not assume staples are fine because the 2015 IRC mentioned them. Ask the carrier and read the shingle warranty’s fastener section before the first coil hits the deck.

Cost and Speed Tradeoffs

Staple coil roofing guns are fast. A good operator can outrun a nailer on a simple 4:12 gable. Staple coils can also be cheaper per thousand than comparable nails. That is why staples survived in production residential work in some regions long after the marketing shifted to nails.

The hidden costs:

• Warranty / listing risk on laminates and high-wind products.
• Pull-through in wind, especially with overdriven crowns.
• Inspector and adjuster pushback that turns a fast install into a callback.
• Two tool ecosystems on a shop that also has to nail cap, flashing, and drip edge anyway.

Nail coil guns closed most of the speed gap. Depth-of-drive on a modern roofing nailer is as fast as a stapler when the air is right. The remaining staple argument is mostly habit and coil price on low-wind 3-tab commodity roofs.

When to Pick Which

• Use nails (and count them with the calculator) for architectural laminates, any high-wind or steep-slope listing, coastal work, enhanced warranties, and any job where the carrier asked. Default to nails if you have to ask.
• Staples only where the manufacturer explicitly allows them, the AHJ accepts ASTM F1667 staples, the insurer is fine on the record, and the roof is a low-wind commodity 3-tab. Get that in writing. It is a shrinking set of jobs, not the 2026 default.