Clayville Skylight Installation — Bringing Daylight Into an A-Frame Cabin

Like most Pinnacle roofing projects, the work was completed efficiently — minimizing disruption for the property owner.

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An A-frame cabin off George Washington Highway in Clayville had the soaring cathedral ceiling that begs for overhead light but not the openings to deliver it. Pinnacle changed that, installing new skylights into the steep roof to flood the interior with natural daylight while keeping the roof completely watertight.

Scope of Work

Cutting a hole in a roof is only safe when the crew rebuilds around it properly, so the work followed a careful order: lay out and frame the openings on the A-frame’s steep slope, set each skylight on a sound curb, then weave in the flashing kit and wrap the perimeter with ice-and-water membrane before the surrounding shingles were closed back in. The result is a clean interior light well with no compromise to the roof. See more on our skylights page.

What We Installed (And Why)

The cabin received new roof skylights set into its steep front slope, positioned to pour daylight down onto the open cathedral ceiling inside. On an A-frame, the roof is the wall for much of the living space, which makes skylights the natural — often the only — way to bring in overhead light, and the payoff is dramatic: the interior shots show the ceiling washed in bright, even daylight.

The watertight detailing is where the real craft lives. Each unit sits on a proper curb and is sealed with a manufacturer flashing kit, and the crew wrapped the surrounding roof with ice-and-water shield before re-shingling so wind-driven rain and snowmelt are stopped at the source. Done this way, a skylight becomes a permanent, leak-free feature of the roof rather than a future weak point — daylight coming in, weather staying out.

Project Photo Gallery

Interior cathedral ceiling with daylight from new skylights, Clayville

Roof-mounted skylight and chimney, Clayville skylight installation

Installed skylight detail, Clayville skylights

Good To Know: Do skylights leak?

A skylight only leaks when it’s installed poorly — and that’s exactly what proper detailing prevents. The unit has to sit on a sound curb, be sealed with the correct flashing kit for its model, and have the surrounding roof wrapped with ice-and-water membrane so any wind-driven water is caught before it ever reaches the opening. Installed to that standard, a skylight stays watertight for the life of the roof. The old reputation for leaks comes from shortcuts, not skylights.

Why This Approach Works

The difference between a great skylight and a leaky one is entirely in the curb and flashing detail. By framing each opening cleanly, setting the unit on a solid curb, integrating the flashing kit, and wrapping the perimeter with ice-and-water shield before closing the shingles, the crew makes the skylight part of the roof’s water management rather than a hole punched through it. On a steep A-frame slope that also means aligning the openings so the light lands where the homeowner wants it while the shingles above shed water cleanly around each curb. That’s why this cabin gained flooding daylight without giving up a watertight roof.

Why Pinnacle

Skylights are a specialty, and Pinnacle installs them as a VELUX 5-Star Skylight Specialist — a qualification that reflects trained, factory-standard installation and proper flashing detail. We’ve served Rhode Island since 2012 with a 5.0-star Google rating, 100+ five-star reviews, a BBB A+ rating, and RI Residential License #39446. When you want daylight added without any worry about leaks, that combination of roofing skill and skylight expertise is exactly what the job calls for.

Clayville, RI

Clayville is a small historic village straddling Scituate and Foster in Rhode Island’s rural, wooded interior, dotted with older homes and tucked-away cabins along routes like George Washington Highway. It’s the kind of place where an A-frame in the trees is right at home — and where a well-placed skylight makes all the difference indoors. Pinnacle is glad to serve homeowners throughout Clayville.