High-nailed shingles are shingles fastened above the manufacturer’s nailing zone, or with nails driven into the sealant strip. Both cut wind resistance: a high nail may miss the shingle’s second layer or the course underneath, and a nail in the sealant strip can keep the tab from bonding. The result is blow-offs and slipping shingles on roofs that should still be young. The fix is adding correctly placed nails and hand-sealing the affected courses, or replacing slopes when the problem runs through the whole roof. This page is general information; your roofer makes the final call on your home.
On this page: Signs · Causes · What to check · Repairs · Basis · When to call
Signs of high nailing
- Shingles blowing off a roof only a few years old, often in winds the roof should handle.
- Shingles that slip down the slope or hang crooked.
- Nail heads visible after a tab lifts, sitting high on the shingle or in the sealant line.
- Damage spread over many slopes rather than one exposed corner.
How nails end up in the wrong place
- Speed. Nailing by eye across a long course drifts upward.
- Not following the line. Laminate shingles have a defined fastening band; nails above it miss the lower layer.
- Nails in the sealant strip. They can stop the tab above from bonding to that spot.
- Bad driving. Over-driven nails cut the mat, under-driven nails stand proud and can wear through the shingle above, and angled nails do both.
- Too few nails. Four is the code minimum per strip shingle; some manufacturers and local codes require six.
How high nailing gets confirmed
- You note the pattern from the ground: young roof, scattered blow-offs, slipping shingles.
- A roofer lifts sample tabs on each slope, carefully, and photographs nail location against the manufacturer’s diagram.
- The roofer checks nail count, depth and angle, and whether nails sit in the sealant strip.
- Results get written down by slope, since high nailing often comes from one crew member or one day of work.
Do not pry up your own shingles to look. Breaking the seal causes the damage you are trying to prevent.
Repairs
| Repair | When it fits |
|---|---|
| Add correctly placed nails and hand-seal the affected shingles | A limited number of courses are high-nailed |
| Replace shingles that were cut by over-driven nails | The mat is damaged at the nail |
| Replace the affected slopes | High nailing runs across a slope |
| Replace the roof | The defect is systemic and shingles keep blowing off |
Fixes that fail: face-nailing through the exposed tab with a dab of sealant on the head, and gluing down lifted tabs without adding nails where they belong.
Manufacturer and code basis
The 2024 IRC, section R905.2.6, requires at least the manufacturer’s number of fasteners and never fewer than four per strip shingle, and R905.2.5 requires nails that reach at least 3/4 inch into the deck or through it. Owens Corning’s laminate nailing tolerance bulletin (Pub. 10023710-B) keeps nails within the SureNail strip, toward its center or lower half, so they pass through both layers, and never closer than 2 inches to a joint in the course above or below. InterNACHI’s inspection course calls high nailing improper installation that reduces wind resistance and notes that nails in the adhesive strip can keep shingles from sealing. Some Front Range jurisdictions require six nails per shingle; our Littleton roofing code page is one example.
When to call
Call if a roof under about ten years old is losing shingles, or if you bought a home and want to know how the roof was nailed before the next windy season. Related guides: creased and unsealed shingles, nail pops and the roof problems guide.
Ask us to check the nailing
Integrity Roofing and Painting is veteran-owned and family-run since 1990, an Owens Corning Platinum Preferred contractor with 650+ Google reviews. We lift sample tabs, photograph nail placement on each slope and give you the findings in writing. Colorado Springs area: (719) 488-2800 or a free inspection. Denver metro: (303) 209-0152 or a free Denver inspection. Austin: (512) 610-5897 or a free Austin inspection. Same-business-day reply.
Sources: 2024 IRC Chapter 9, sections R905.2.5 and R905.2.6 (UpCodes); Owens Corning, Laminate Shingle Nailing Tolerances (Pub. 10023710-B); Owens Corning Duration installation instructions; InterNACHI, Mastering Roof Inspections: Asphalt Shingles, Part 26.
