Home maintenance: Skylight Replacement

One of the joys of being a homeowner is doing maintenance.  When we first bought the house we knew that the original owners had removed a skylight in the bathroom over the garden tub.  Unfortunately, after the first winter, the skylight in the kitchen started to leak.  We patched it, knowing that in the future we'd have to either replace the skylight or remove it altogether.  I really like the additional light in the kitchen and it saves on energy, which is important to our off-grid lives.  We would forget about the leak in the dry months, only to be wetly reminded once fall came around again and the bucket came out to catch the drips.  For a time, we would cover the roof with a tarp (and some tires and concrete blocks to hold it down)....oh yeah....we looked pretty tacky!

Finally this summer, my hubby decided to remove it and I convinced him to install a solar tube in it's place.  

 

My feeble attempt to contain the mess.

 

When he removed the skylight, he discovered that the roof was badly damaged and a large area would have to be replaced.  Also, that night it decided to rain for the first time in weeks, so out came the tarp again!  I felt like I had OCD trying to keep up with the falling drywall and dust, along with keeping the baby out of the kitchen. 

After replacing the roof, he installed the solar tube, but he declined to tackle the drywall.  For some reason in our area it's incredibly difficult to find a contractor to do work, even the simplest project is a hassle trying to find someone. 

After a few weeks of contacting drywall installers, we finally were able to have one out for an estimate.  The crew came back the next day and finished it up beautifully in less than 4 hours. 

After a quick coat of paint, it looks perfect and like there never was anything different in that space!