Ventilating a Mixed Metal-and-Asphalt Roof in Glocester

This Glocester home has two kinds of roof — a standing-seam metal roof on one section and CertainTeed XT 25 asphalt shingles in Weathered Wood on another — and both have to breathe. Ventilating a roof that mixes materials takes a plan that carries airflow through the whole attic regardless of what covers it, which is exactly what this project built. Pinnacle roofs go on fast — often as a one-day roof replacement — and flexible financing keeps a project like this within reach, with plans as low as 0% interest for 18 months.

A Glocester home with both a metal roof and CertainTeed XT 25 asphalt shingles in Weathered Wood was built over a balanced ventilation system that carries airflow through the attic beneath both roof types. This project is in Glocester, Rhode Island using CertainTeed XT 25 — Weathered Wood.

Scope of Work

The re-roof handled two roof coverings over one attic and tied their ventilation together. On the asphalt section, intake was opened at the soffits and exhaust set high near the ridge; the metal section was detailed with its own appropriate exhaust so warm air can escape beneath it too. Underneath, the attic is one connected space, so the plan made sure air can enter low at the eaves and exhaust high across both roof types, keeping the whole deck dry. Whether the covering above is metal or asphalt, the air beneath has to move the same way, and building the intake and exhaust to serve the entire attic is what keeps a mixed roof from developing a stagnant, damp section under one of its materials.

What We Installed (And Why)

A roof that mixes metal and asphalt is really two roofing systems over one attic, and the ventilation has to serve the attic, not just each covering. The attic beneath does not care what is on top of it — it fills with the same warm, moist air rising from the house, and it needs the same continuous flow of outside air to clear it: intake low at the soffits, exhaust high near the ridge. Each roof type handles its exhaust a little differently. Asphalt shingle sections take a standard ridge vent or box vents finished into the shingle courses. Metal roofs use their own compatible ridge or exhaust venting detailed to the panel profile so warm air escapes without letting weather in. The CertainTeed XT 25 here is a dependable three-tab asphalt shingle in Weathered Wood, a soft gray-and-tan blend, covering one section; the metal roof covers another. The key is that both connect to the same balanced airflow underneath. If one section’s ventilation is neglected — a common mistake when a roof is done in phases or with mixed materials — the attic develops a warm, damp pocket beneath it that ages the deck and shingles or panels early and can rot the sheathing. Building the intake and exhaust to serve the entire attic, under both the metal and the asphalt, is what keeps a mixed-material Glocester roof breathing as one system rather than failing in the section that was left to stagnate.

Project Photo Gallery

The asphalt shingle section of the Glocester roof with its vents

Where the metal roof meets the home

The standing-seam metal roof section

Good To Know: Does a metal roof need ventilation like a shingle roof?

Yes. The roof covering — metal or asphalt — changes how the exhaust vent is detailed, but it does not change the attic’s need to breathe. The attic beneath any roof fills with the warm, moist air that rises from the house, and if that air cannot escape it superheats in summer and condenses on the cold deck in winter, aging the roof and rotting the sheathing. That is true whether the roof above is metal panels or asphalt shingles. What differs is the hardware: a metal roof uses ridge or exhaust venting made to match its panel profile and shed weather, while an asphalt section uses a standard ridge vent or box vents finished into the shingles. On a home like this Glocester house that has both a metal roof and an asphalt roof over one connected attic, the important thing is that both sections tie into the same balanced airflow — intake at the soffits, exhaust high on each roof type — so the whole attic clears. The mistake to avoid is ventilating one section well and neglecting the other, which leaves a warm, damp pocket in the attic beneath the neglected roof that quietly damages the deck. A metal roof is not exempt from needing ventilation; it just needs its own compatible vents tied into the same system.

Why This Approach Works

A roof that mixes metal and asphalt covers one connected attic, and that attic needs the same balanced airflow regardless of what is on top. Each covering uses its own compatible exhaust venting, but both must tie into the same intake and exhaust so the whole attic breathes and no section is left to stagnate.

Why Pinnacle

A mixed-material roof rewards a contractor who ventilates the attic as one system, detailing compatible exhaust for both the metal and the asphalt so the whole deck stays dry. As a roofing and ventilation specialist, Pinnacle qualifies our customers for CertainTeed’s full SureStart™ PLUS extended warranty — coverage most contractors cannot offer. We’ve served Rhode Island since 2012, hold a 5.0-star Google rating across 100+ reviews and an A+ BBB rating — see our full credentials.

Glocester, Rhode Island

Glocester is a large, rural town in Rhode Island’s northwest corner, wooded and hilly, with older homes and outbuildings that often carry a mix of roof types added over the years — a metal roof on one wing, asphalt shingles on another. Tying the ventilation of those mixed roofs together matters especially here, where shade and damp press moisture against a roof. Ventilating a mixed metal-and-asphalt Glocester roof as one system keeps the whole attic dry. Explore our work across Glocester roofing services.