One name, two products
| Figure | CertainTeed Landmark (composition asphalt) | Brava Old World Slate (synthetic slate) |
|---|---|---|
| Piece | 13 1/4 x 38 3/4 in | 22 × 12 × 1 in |
| Exposure | 5 5/8 in | up to 10 in |
| Bundles per square | 3 (65 shingles, 98.4 sq ft) | 11.5 |
| Weight per square | 211–225 lb, by plant | 311 lb |
| Accessories with their own coverage | Not on the sheet read | Starter 10 lf, solids 4.1 lf, hip and ridge 8.3 lf a bundle |
| Impact rating | UL 2218 Class 3 (data sheet) | Class 4 (Brava product page) |
Search for a composite roof and the pages that come up do not agree on what it is. Some mean the composition shingle, the asphalt shingle sold by the bundle. Others mean a synthetic tile made to look like slate or shake. Both get called composite; their weight, bundle count and installation rules differ, and a quote that says only “composite” can mean either.
The calculator keeps one named product for each. CertainTeed’s technical data sheet for Landmark gives 3 bundles of 65 shingles to a square, and that square covers 98.4 sq ft rather than 100. Brava’s specification table for Old World Slate gives 11.5 bundles to a square and separate coverage for each accessory. The impact ratings are the ones each maker prints: UL 2218 Class 3 on CertainTeed’s sheet, Class 4 on Brava’s product page.
Bundles for your roof, accessories included
For Landmark the calculator divides the sloped area by 98.4 and multiplies by 3. On 2,000 sq ft that is 60.98, ordered as 61 bundles. Using 100 sq ft per square would give 60 and leave a bundle short. Starter strip and ridge caps for Landmark are separate CertainTeed products whose sheets were not read, so they are not counted.
For Brava, the field is 11.5 bundles a square: 20 squares make 230. Then each edge has its own piece. Starter runs along the eaves at 10 lineal feet a bundle: 100 ft of eave takes 10. Solids line the rakes and the valleys at 4.1 lineal feet a bundle, and Brava says to double the bundles at valleys: 80 ft of rake takes 20. Hip and ridge pieces cover 8.3 lineal feet a bundle: 60 ft takes 8. Those 38 accessory bundles are easy to leave out of a first estimate.
The extra weight of synthetic slate
Per square, Brava’s 311 lb sits above Landmark’s 211–225 lb. On 20 squares that is 6,220 lb against 4,220–4,500 lb, so 1,720–2,000 lb more on the roof, field only. Brava’s table checks out against itself: 11.5 bundles of 10 pieces at 2.7 lb make 310.5 lb, the 311 lb it prints.
Whether a frame carries that is a structural question, and this page does not answer it. What it gives you is the figure to bring to whoever does, and the weight that will later come off the roof. The roof tear-off worksheet takes the same weights per square, decides whether the code lets a new roof go over the old one, and turns the old layers into tons for the dumpster.
Slope and underlayment rules
R905.2.2 Asphalt shingles shall be used only on roof slopes of 2 units vertical in 12 units horizontal (17-percent slope) or greater. For roof slopes from 2 units vertical in 12 units horizontal (17-percent slope) up to 4 units vertical in 12 units horizontal (33-percent slope), double underlayment application is required in accordance with Section R905.1.1.
R905.6.2 Slate shingles shall be used only on slopes of 4 units vertical in 12 units horizontal (33-percent slope) or greater.
Composition shingles have a floor. Under 2:12 the code does not allow them, and the calculator says so instead of counting bundles for a roof they cannot go on. From 2:12 up to 4:12 the underlayment doubles. Table R905.1.1(2) describes how: a 19-inch strip along the eaves, then 36-inch sheets each lapped 19 inches over the one below, which leaves 17 inches exposed. That is 36 ÷ 17 times the roof area, plus the strip. At 3:12 on 2,000 sq ft with 100 ft of eave: 4,393.63 sq ft of underlayment before end laps. From 4:12 one layer, lapped 2 inches, covers the roof once.
Synthetic slate is not covered by the same sentence. Section R905.6.2 sets 4:12 for slate shingles, meaning natural slate; it does not name a synthetic product, and Brava’s product page read here gives no minimum slope. The calculator flags the natural-slate line for information and leaves the synthetic slope to the maker’s installation instructions. Roll counts are not computed: the only underlayment sheet found was a 2016 dealer copy, too old to price from, so the result stays in square feet.
Pricing without a published price
Neither CertainTeed nor Brava prints a price per bundle or per square on the pages read, and the big-box listings were not read. The calculator therefore prices nothing on its own. Give it the bundle prices from your quotes: it multiplies by the bundles above and divides by the squares. With test prices of $40 a Landmark bundle, $70 a Brava field bundle, $25 starter, $45 solids and $40 hip and ridge, the 20-square example gives $2,440 against $17,570 in material, or $122 and 878.50 dollars a square.
Installed quotes go through the same division. A $30,000 quote on 20 squares is $1,500 a square, whatever product it names. Owners in the 2023 American Housing Survey reported a weighted median roofing job of $10,000, all materials and sizes together, which says little about a slate look-alike on a large roof but gives a frame for the whole job. A metal roof is another option; its quote worksheet keeps installed and billed area apart.
Composite roof questions
What type of roof is a composite roof?
It depends on who says it. Roofers and makers use the word for two products: composition shingles, the asphalt shingle sold as CertainTeed Landmark among many others, and synthetic slate or shake made to look like stone or wood, such as Brava Old World Slate. Ask the seller which one the quote means before you compare prices.
What types of composite roof shingles are there?
Two families under one name: composition asphalt shingles and synthetic composite tiles that imitate slate or shake. This page reads one product of each, CertainTeed Landmark and Brava Old World Slate, from the makers’ own sheets. Other synthetic lines, DaVinci or CertainTeed’s own composite slate among them, were not read, so their figures are not here.
Is an asphalt composite roof the same as composition shingles?
Yes, in the trade the two names mean the same product. Under the 2021 IRC it is an asphalt shingle, so R905.2.2 applies: not below 2:12, and two layers of underlayment between 2:12 and 4:12. CertainTeed’s data sheet rates Landmark UL 2218 Class 3 for impact resistance at the time of manufacture.
What is on the roof with composite shingles?
For Landmark, the data sheet gives a shingle of 13 1/4 x 38 3/4 in laid at a 5 5/8 in exposure, 65 shingles and 3 bundles to a square that covers 98.4 sq ft, and 211–225 lb per 100 sq ft. For Brava, a 22 × 12 × 1 in piece at up to 10 in exposure, 11.5 bundles and 311 lb per square.
How do composite roof shingles compare with asphalt on cost?
Neither maker publishes a price, so this page compares what can be counted. On a 20-square roof Brava needs 230 field bundles plus starter, solids and caps, Landmark 61 bundles. Brava puts 1,720–2,000 lb more on the roof. Enter the bundle prices from your quotes and the calculator gives each option’s material cost per square.
What does a composite roof cost per square foot?
Divide the material total or the installed quote by the roof area. The calculator does it per square of 100 sq ft; divide by 100 again for a square foot. With test prices of $40 a Landmark bundle and $70 a Brava field bundle plus accessories, the 20-square example comes to $122 and 878.50 dollars a square in material. Those are arithmetic examples, not prices.
How does a composite roof cost estimator work here?
It starts from the roof, not from a national rate. Enter the sloped area, the rise per 12 and the eave, rake, ridge and valley lengths. It returns bundles of each product, the weight on the roof, whether asphalt is allowed at your slope and how much underlayment the IRC table asks for. Prices are the last fields, and only yours are used.
How much is a composite roof for a 1,000 square foot home?
Measure the roof, not the floor: overhangs and slope make the roof larger than a one-story footprint. For 1,000 sq ft of roof, Landmark takes 31 bundles and weighs 2,110–2,250 lb; Brava takes 115 field bundles and weighs 3,110 lb, before accessories. Multiply by the bundle prices on your quote.
Is $30,000 too much for a roof?
Compare it per square first: $30,000 on 20 squares is $1,500 a square. Then set it against what owners reported. In the 2023 American Housing Survey a quarter of roofing jobs cost more than $15,000, across every size and material. Ask for the quote by square and by product before you judge it.
What does a composite roof cost in Florida?
Florida builds under the Florida Building Code, which this page has not read, so its wind and underlayment rules are not applied here. For money, the 2023 American Housing Survey reports a weighted median roofing job of $8,900 in the South region, which includes Florida, all materials together. Price your own roof with local quotes.
Where the comparison stops
- Two named products, not composite roofing in general. Other makers’ figures differ.
- Landmark starter and ridge caps are not counted: their sheets were not read.
- The code text is the 2021 IRC as adopted in four states; Florida and California codes were not read. Your building department decides.
- Underlayment is given in square feet, end laps not included, with no roll count.
- No structural check of the added weight, and no price of any kind is stored.