Skylights, Soffit Intake, and a NorthGate Driftwood Roof That Breathes — South Kingstown

This South Kingstown home wanted it all from its new roof: the daylight of VELUX skylights, the warm cedar look of NorthGate ClimateFlex in Driftwood, and an attic that actually breathes. The interesting part is that those goals work together rather than against each other — skylights and ventilation are both part of managing the air and light inside a roof, and here they were built as one coordinated system, right down to the perforated soffit intake that feeds the whole thing. 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 South Kingstown home received a NorthGate ClimateFlex roof in Driftwood with integrated VELUX skylights and a balanced ventilation system fed by perforated soffit intake, all built as one coordinated assembly. This project is in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, finished in CertainTeed NorthGate ClimateFlex — Driftwood.

Scope of Work

The roof was rebuilt as a complete air-and-water system. Ventilation came first: the crew confirmed and opened intake at the eaves — the perforated soffit that lets fresh air enter low — and set a continuous ridge vent at the peak for exhaust, establishing the balanced airflow the attic needs. Then the waterproofing: CertainTeed WinterGuard ice-and-water shield along the eaves and valleys and lapped up the skylight curbs, DiamondDeck synthetic underlayment across the field, and new drip edge and starter courses. The NorthGate ClimateFlex shingles in Driftwood were coursed up the slopes, and the VELUX skylights were set into the field as it was shingled — their engineered flashing kits woven course by course into the surrounding shingles so the glass is sealed as part of the roof. The ridge cap went on over the ridge vent to finish a roof that manages light and air together: skylights bringing daylight in, soffit-to-ridge ventilation moving air through, and a rubberized shingle keeping weather out.

What We Installed (And Why)

Three elements make this roof, and they are more connected than they look. The shingle is CertainTeed NorthGate ClimateFlex in Driftwood — an SBS-modified, rubberized-asphalt shingle built to stay flexible and impact-resistant through New England’s cold swings, with a Class A fire rating, StreakFighter algae resistance, and a warm, driftwood-gray blend that reads like weathered cedar. The skylights are genuine VELUX No Leak units, sealed and low-E insulated, set and flashed into the roof as it was built so daylight pours in without the leak risk of a unit cut into a finished roof. And tying it together is a balanced ventilation system fed by perforated soffit intake at the eaves. That soffit is easy to overlook, but it is half of what makes ventilation work: a ridge vent can only exhaust as much air as the intake below it lets in, so without open, perforated soffit vents drawing fresh air up under the deck, the ridge vent starves and the attic never really breathes. With both in place, air enters low at the soffit, washes up the underside of the deck — carrying away summer heat and winter moisture — and exits at the ridge. Skylights and ventilation belong to the same job of managing the air and light inside a roof, and building them together, over a properly-intaked soffit, is what makes a bright home also a healthy, long-lasting one.

Project Photo Gallery

The finished Driftwood roof with integrated VELUX skylights

Perforated soffit intake — the quiet half of a balanced ventilation system

Interior daylight from the VELUX units set into the new roof

Good To Know: Do skylights interfere with attic ventilation?

Not when they are planned as part of the same system — and in fact good skylights and good ventilation solve related problems. Ventilation manages the air inside the roof: intake at the soffit and exhaust at the ridge keep the attic cool and dry. Skylights manage the light, and modern VELUX units are sealed, insulated, and flashed into the roof so they add daylight without opening a hole in the air or water barrier. The place people go wrong is treating them separately — adding a skylight later that interrupts an airflow path, or venting a roof without confirming the soffit intake is actually open. Here they were coordinated from the start: the perforated soffit intake feeds the ridge vent for balanced airflow, and the skylights were set into the field with their engineered flashing so they sit within the system rather than breaking it. The soffit intake deserves special mention, because it is the quiet half of ventilation that most roofs shortchange — a ridge vent can only pull out as much air as the intake lets in, so open, perforated soffit is what actually makes the attic breathe. Get the intake, the exhaust, and the skylight flashing all right, and light and air work together.

Why This Approach Works

A roof manages both water and air, and skylights and ventilation are the air-and-light half of that job. Coordinating them — perforated soffit intake feeding a ridge vent, VELUX units flashed into the field — means the roof brings in daylight and moves out heat and moisture as one system, instead of one feature undermining another.

Why Pinnacle

Coordinating skylights, ventilation, and the roof as a single system rewards a contractor certified for both the shingle and the skylight work. As a CertainTeed ShingleMaster™ Premier contractor, 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.

South Kingstown, Rhode Island

South Kingstown spreads from the University of Rhode Island campus down to the Matunuck and Wakefield shoreline, a mix of coastal homes, wooded lots, and open farmland. Its homes see both coastal humidity and real summer heat, which puts a premium on roofs that manage moisture and temperature well — and its bright, open settings make skylights a natural way to bring daylight into the heart of a house. A roof that coordinates skylights with a properly-intaked ventilation system is well suited to the way South Kingstown homes are lived in. Explore our work across South Kingstown roofing services.