The Industry Standard vs. Our Standard
The Florida Building Code sets the floor: every shingle gets the number of nails its manufacturer requires, and never fewer than 4 (Florida Building Code, Residential, Section R905.2.6). That is the rule across Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties. Our high design wind speeds decide how wind-rated the shingle has to be, not how many nails it gets, and the only part of Florida where the code itself demands 6 nails is the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone (Miami-Dade and Broward counties). Most roofers default to 4 nails everywhere — it's faster and cheaper, and it meets code.
At Complete Roofing, we install 6 nails on every shingle, on every roof — 50% more fasteners than the code asks for. Here's why.
"Doesn't Florida Require 6 Nails?"
You'll often read that Florida requires 6 nails wherever wind speeds top 110 mph. That is an outdated rule, retold. From 2002 to early 2009, the Florida code required specially tested fastening wherever the design wind speed was 110 mph or more, and shingle manufacturers usually passed that test with a 6-nail pattern. The 2007 Florida Building Code, in force since March 2009, replaced that rule with wind-rated shingle classes. Six nails is still required where the manufacturer's instructions call for it, typically on very steep or mansard roofs and on a few specialty shingles.
Six nails also won't earn you an insurance discount on its own. Florida's wind-mitigation form grades the roof covering's code compliance, roof-deck attachment, roof-to-wall connections and a secondary water barrier, not the shingle nail count. Here's how wind mitigation insurance credits actually work.
The Wind Resistance Difference
Six nails spread the wind's uplift across 50% more fastening points, so each nail carries a smaller share of the load, and there is margin built in if a single nail is driven crooked.
Real-World Performance
After the 2004 hurricanes, the roofing industry's wind investigation program (RICOWI) inspected damaged roofs across Florida. As the Florida Building Commission's training on those findings puts it: "In higher wind areas, newer shingles with six nails had less damage on hips or ridges." The same investigators photographed shingles that tore loose from six nails driven through the seal strip instead of the nail line, which is why placement matters as much as the count.
What 6-Nail Installation Looks Like
Each shingle gets nailed in the manufacturer's designated "nail zone" — the reinforced strip where nails achieve maximum holding power. With 6 nails:
- The load is distributed across more fastening points
- Each nail bears less stress during high winds
- Edge and corner shingles get extra security where uplift is highest
Why Don't All Roofers Do This?
Simple: time and cost. Six nails takes 50% more fastening time than four. Over a full roof, that's hours of additional labor. Most contractors optimize for speed to maximize daily revenue.
We optimize for hurricane performance. The extra labor cost is built into our pricing — and it's a fraction of what a blown-off roof costs to replace.
Questions to Ask Your Roofer
Before signing any contract, ask:
1"How many nails per shingle do you use?"
2"Is that consistent across the entire roof, including field and edges?"
3"Will you put the nail count in writing in the contract?"
If they can't answer clearly, keep looking.
Get a 6-Nail Installation Quote
Every Complete Roofing project in Navarre, Gulf Breeze, the Pensacola area, and the surrounding communities includes 6-nail installation at no extra charge. Use our satellite estimator for a 30-second quote, or call us directly at (850) 220-3965.
Prefer to talk now? Call (850) 220-3965.