Skylight Installation in Richmond, RI — Roof Windows on a Gambrel Cottage

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

Pinnacle makes every project affordable with monthly financing options, including 0% interest for 18 months.

A gambrel-style cedar-shingle cottage in Richmond, RI has the kind of steep, room-filled upper story that gambrel roofs are prized for — and with a brick chimney and dormer windows already in place, the owners wanted to pull even more sky into the top-floor rooms. Pinnacle installed a set of VELUX skylights across the architectural-shingle gambrel, turning that broad upper slope into a source of overhead daylight for the spaces tucked beneath it.

Scope of Work

A gambrel’s steep upper pitch is a natural home for skylights, but the geometry demands careful layout, so our crew set the openings where the slope and the rooms below lined up best. We cut between the rafters to preserve the framing, squared each opening, and mounted the VELUX units on their engineered curbs. Ice-and-water membrane wrapped every curb, the manufacturer’s flashing kit was lapped over the shingle courses, and the interior light-wells were finished to channel daylight down into the rooms. On a slope this steep, we take extra care staging and securing the work so every unit is set true. Our Skylights service walks through how we plan placement on steep and complex roofs.

What We Installed (And Why)

We set a set of VELUX skylights into the gambrel’s architectural-shingle field. VELUX offers both fixed units, which are sealed for pure daylight, and venting roof windows that open to release warm air — and on a gambrel’s tall upper story, where heat naturally collects, the ability to choose venting units makes the top floor noticeably more comfortable. Every unit was mounted on a curb for a solid, reliable flashing base, so the same steep slope that makes the rooms feel dramatic does not become a weak point.

The lasting performance comes from the wrap beneath the glass: membrane around each opening, flashing kits lapped correctly downslope, and light-wells finished so the daylight spreads rather than pooling in one bright square. The steep gambrel slope sheds water quickly, and with the skylights flashed to match, the roof stays a single tight system while the rooms below fill with light. It is a combination of daylight and airflow that a gambrel roof is uniquely positioned to deliver.

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: What’s the difference between a fixed and a venting skylight?

A fixed skylight is sealed — pure daylight, no moving parts. A venting roof window opens to let hot, stale air escape, which is especially useful on a gambrel’s warm upper floor. We help homeowners choose the right mix for each room, and both types are installed with the same curb-and-flashing detailing that keeps them watertight. Often the best answer is a combination: fixed units where you only want light, and venting units where you also want to move air. Either way, the flashing and membrane work is identical, so comfort choices never come at the cost of a watertight roof.

Why This Approach Works

Gambrel roofs create generous upper rooms, but those rooms can feel closed in and run warm without help. Skylights answer both problems at once — they bring in overhead daylight and, when vented, let rising heat out the top of the house. By curb-mounting each unit and flashing it into the steep slope, we unlock that comfort without compromising the roof. The upper story becomes brighter, cooler and far more inviting, and the cottage keeps the cedar-and-gambrel character that makes it distinctive in the first place.

Why Pinnacle

Since 2012, Pinnacle Roofing & Skylights has installed skylights throughout Rhode Island as a VELUX 5-Star Skylight Specialist — the manufacturer’s highest installer credential, and the reason we can guide homeowners confidently between fixed and venting units. With 100+ five-star Google reviews, a BBB A+ rating and full RI licensing, plus NRCA and RIBA membership, we install skylights that perform on even the steepest, most complex roofs.

Richmond, RI

Richmond’s rural, wooded character and its mix of cottages and older homes make it a place where charm and craftsmanship matter. We understand the town’s building styles and the weather that tests them through every season, from heavy summer rain to winter snow load. Distinctive rooflines like this gambrel are common here, and they reward a crew that knows how to work with the geometry rather than around it. See how we can help through our Richmond roofing services.