Skylight Installation in Cranston, RI — Georgetown Gray Cape Cod

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

This project was handled through an insurance claim; Pinnacle documented everything and worked directly with the adjuster — see how our storm/insurance process works.

This Cape Cod in Cranston, RI already had classic New England presence — brick and gray clapboard, gabled dormers, a central chimney and an attached garage tucked into mature foundation plantings against a backdrop of fall foliage. What it lacked was daylight in the rooms beneath the rear slope, where low eaves and modest wall windows left the space dimmer than the owners wanted. Pinnacle set new VELUX skylights into a fresh Georgetown Gray CertainTeed Landmark roof, opening bright interior light-wells that carry the outdoors in while the units sit clean and flush on the finished field above.

Scope of Work

Cutting a skylight into a roof is precision work, not an afterthought, so our crew treated it as its own build within the larger job. We located each opening between the rafters to avoid altering the framing, squared the rough openings, and set VELUX no-leak units on their engineered curbs. Every skylight was tied in with the manufacturer’s own flashing kit, then wrapped in ice-and-water membrane so the head, sides and sill shed water back onto the shingles rather than trapping it. The Georgetown Gray field was woven around each unit for a seamless look, and the interior light-wells were framed and finished to spread daylight into the rooms below. Before we left, each unit was checked for a clean seal and smooth operation. See our full Skylights service for how each install is planned.

What We Installed (And Why)

The roof itself is Georgetown Gray CertainTeed Landmark shingle — a warm, dimensional gray that suits the brick-and-clapboard exterior and gives the skylights a crisp, uniform surround. VELUX units were chosen because their curb-and-flashing systems are engineered together, not pieced from generic parts, which is what keeps a hole in the roof watertight for the long run. On a Cape Cod, where the roof does so much of the visual work, that clean integration matters as much as the daylight itself.

Under every skylight and up each slope, the assembly matters more than the glass. Ice-and-water membrane wraps the openings and the eaves, the flashing kit laps water correctly over the shingle courses, and the light-wells are finished so the interior reads as a designed feature rather than a patched-in box. The result is bright, even daylight in the rear rooms and a rear slope that looks like the skylights were always meant to be there. It is the kind of detail that separates a skylight that lasts decades from one that becomes a maintenance headache.

Project Photo Gallery

New skylight brings natural light into the finished roof

Deck-mounted skylight with clean flashing

Interior daylight from the new skylight

Good To Know: Will a new skylight leak down the road?

A skylight leaks when it is flashed like an afterthought — caulk instead of a kit, no membrane, water forced uphill. We install VELUX units with their matched flashing and wrap every opening in ice-and-water shield, so water is directed back onto the shingles by design. Done that way, the skylight is one of the most watertight parts of the roof, not the weak point. The units themselves are also built to shed water and resist the freeze-thaw cycles a Rhode Island winter throws at them, so the seal holds up long after installation day.

Why This Approach Works

Daylight from above reaches deeper into a room than any window in a wall, and it changes how a space feels through a gray Rhode Island winter. A Cape Cod like this one tends to have low eaves and modest wall windows, so the rear rooms rely on whatever light the roof will give them — which is exactly what makes a skylight such a natural fit here. By setting the units on engineered curbs, wrapping them in membrane and weaving the Georgetown Gray field cleanly around each one, we get the brightness without the callbacks. The roof stays a single continuous system, and the homeowner gets rooms that feel open and lit rather than closed and dim, with the skylights reading as a designed part of the slope rather than an addition.

Why Pinnacle

Pinnacle Roofing & Skylights has served Rhode Island since 2012 and is a VELUX 5-Star Skylight Specialist — the credential that means our skylight installs are done to the manufacturer’s exact standard, curb to flashing to finish. We back that with 100+ five-star Google reviews and a BBB A+ rating, plus full RI licensing and membership in the NRCA and RIBA. On this Cranston project the work was handled through the homeowner’s insurance claim; we documented everything and worked directly with the adjuster so the process stayed straightforward from first inspection to finished roof.

Cranston, RI

Cranston blends dense, tree-lined neighborhoods with classic Capes and Colonials, and its mix of older homes means skylights and roof upgrades are a natural fit here. We know the housing stock and the way weather moves across this part of the state, from summer downpours to winter ice. Explore our Cranston roofing services to see how we help local homeowners.

Frequently Asked Questions