Best Staples for Roofing Felt: Top Picks for Durable Roofing Projects
Roofing felt acts as a fundamental underlayment layer, protecting houses from moisture while improving overall roof longevity. Choosing the right staples or fasteners ensures a secure seal and long-term performance. This guide highlights five reliable staples and staplers that excel with roofing felt, insulation, and related underlayment tasks, based on common contractor needs in the United States.
| Product | Brand | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Surebonder #6 Heavy Duty Wide Crown Staples | Surebonder | Roofing paper, felt stripping |
| Freeman 16-Gauge 2″ Glue Collated Staples | Freeman | Roofing felt, underlayment |
| CH38-2 Cap Staple Hammer Tacker | STINGER | Roofing underlayment and insulation |
| Meite 16 Gauge 1-Inch Wide Crown Staples | meite | Roofing subflooring, house-wrap |
| Metabo HPT Cap Stapler (N3808AP) | Metabo HPT | Roofing felt, foam insulation, house wrap |
Below are five carefully chosen products that balance compatibility, holding power, and ease of use for roofing felt installations.
Surebonder #6 Heavy Duty Wide Crown Staples
Surebonder’s heavy-duty staples feature a 0.485-inch wide crown and a 1/2-inch leg length, designed for roofing paper, canvas, and felt. They are compatible with multiple staple guns including Surebonder and Craftsman models, offering strong, consistent fastening for underlayment tasks. The durable steel construction supports long-term performance in challenging roofing environments. Applications include roofing paper and felt stripping, with reliable clamping pressure on OSB, plywood, or other substrates.
Freeman 16-Gauge Glue Collated Staples, 2″ Leg
Freeman offers 1,000-count cartons of 16-gauge staples with a 7/16″ crown and 2″ leg length. These galvanized, glue-collated staples are designed for use in heavy-duty staplers during sheathing, siding, insulation, and roofing felt work. The glue collation helps maintain a smooth, jam-free feed in typical construction staplers, enabling steady performance on large roofing projects and underlayment installations.
CH38-2 Cap Staple Hammer Tacker Plus Two StaplePacs
The STINGER CH38-2 delivers cap staples and standard staples in a single tool, enhancing efficiency for roofing underlayment and insulation tasks. Its easy-to-use trigger mechanism allows quick drive-in of caps and staples, delivering a cost-effective alternative to pneumatic cap staplers. Ideal for applications requiring a cap and staple combination in one pass, reducing tool changes on-site.
CH38-2 Cap Staple Hammer Tacker (1″ Caps, 3/8″ Staples)
This variant of the CH38-2 model emphasizes versatility with 1″ caps and 3/8″ staples. It remains a cost-effective, simple-to-use option for roofing underlayment, housewrap, and insulation projects, offering rapid engagement without requiring pneumatically powered equipment.
Meite 16 Gauge 1-Inch Wide Crown Staples, 1-1/2″ Leg
Meite’s pro contractor-pack includes 10,000 staples with a 1″ wide crown and 1-1/2″ leg. These galvanized, P-type staples deliver strong holding power for roofing felt, house-wrap, and subflooring, with designed-in efficiency for wind-resistant installations. The thick crown helps distribute load across larger contact areas, reducing tear-through risk in underlayment materials.
Metabo HPT Cap Stapler for Roofing Felt
The Metabo HPT cap stapler is designed for roofing felt, foam insulation, and house wrap, featuring a compact 18-gauge design. It accepts up to 7/16″ crown staples and is capable of delivering consistent performance with less fatigue, thanks to its lightweight construction (about 4.8 pounds). It is a solid option when cap-stapling is preferred for weatherproofing and quick installation of underlayment materials.
Metabo HPT 16 Gauge Roofing Staples
Metabo HPT’s 16-gauge galvanized roofing staples are sized 1 inch by 1-1/2 inches, with a 10,000-count quantity for large-scale projects. These staples are oriented toward secure roofing felt and underlayment applications, offering strong pull-out resistance and reliable seating in typical OSB or plywood substrates. The galvanized coating helps resist corrosion in humid or coastal environments.
Buying Guide: Key Purchase Considerations
- Material compatibility: Check crown width and leg length to match your stapler model and roofing underlayment thickness. Wider crowns help prevent tearing of thin felt layers, while longer legs secure thicker substrates.
- Coating and corrosion resistance: Galvanized or coated staples resist rust when exposed to moisture or roof edge conditions, extending service life.
- Tool compatibility: Confirm whether you need standard staples, cap staples, or a cap-stapler combo. Some projects benefit from cap staples for better weather sealing and fastener visibility.
- Feed and jam resistance: Glue-collated staples can reduce jams in glue-driven staplers, improving installation speed on long runs of roofing felt.
- Application environment: For high-wind areas or coastal climates, choose staples designed for wind resistance and load-bearing performance.
- Availability and pack size: Contractors often prefer bulk packs (5,000 – 10,000+ per carton) for continuous work without frequent reorders.
- Ergonomics and fatigue: Lightweight staplers and compact cap staplers reduce operator fatigue during extended roofing projects.