Skylights? Oh yea, I can do that in one weekend...

A hail storm blew through our neighborhood back in June, so just about every house on our street has received new shingles and new siding on one end.  It took a few months, but the roofers showed up on Friday.  Time for some new skylights! (they are about to be installed in the plywood square you see by the top of the ladder).

The empty pool pad in front of the deck will be the big spring project (also damaged by the hail)

Even with the sofit lights, it has always been a bit dark in the kitchen - and my wonderful wife spends many hours making some Food Network-worthy creations, so it was time to add some additional natural light.
I made a hole in the drywall ceiling before the roofers arrived so I could poke a hole through the plywood to mark the rough opening.

  

 Once the skylights were in (props to Countryside Roofing in Strasburg, PA) it was time to make the hole a little bigger (Ziptool - messy but effective) so I could figure out how to frame up the shaft.

 The cathedral ceiling in the main part of the house is built with scissor-trusses, so cutting the 2x4 that runs through the middle of the shaft was out of the question.  Consulting an engineer and reinforcing the adjacent trusses was more than I wanted to invest in this project.  The bottom of the truss will be wrapped in drywall or sanded and painted (have not decided yet).  Here you can see the framing pieces I added to box-out the shaft and give the drywall some support. The dirty/gray studs are the "new" framing.  The 2x4 web in front of these will be removed with a miraculous tool  - the  Sawzall.

 The shaft was lined with 1/2" foamboard insulation and then the drywall puzzle pieces were screwed into place.  The wire you see in the middle of the framing will be for a light fixture (once we decide on what will look right up there).

This is as far as I got before I had to clean up for the Thanksgiving holiday.  I ran out of corner bead, so I need pick up another piece and  start mudding next weekend.

Friday started with me staring at the hole in the ceiling planing out the drywall and trim.  Sunday ended with cornerbead.  Not a bad weekend.

 Too many projects, not enough time.

What I learned today.  As you approach middle age, you need bi-focals to use a hammer properly (so frustrating!).

Well, it took a while to get the taping and mud work done, but here is the finished project.  Worked slowed considerably during the Christmas holiday.  My lovely wife was very patient when I would regularly get drywall dust all over everything in the kitchen.

It is now much brighter over the prep area in the kitchen.  The natural light and the two spots we put up in "the hole" certainly help.

More drywall work in the lower level, a pool deck, laminar fountains and a hot rod grocery cart are still on the project list.  Stay tuned...

A few more parts...

 Well, after moving the Crown Vic front suspension and the Dodge Van rear into the barn, we still needed an engine and a transmission.  On Saturday we trucked over to Hanover PA to pick up a Chevy 350 engine and 350 TH transmission that used to live in a 1976 Chevy Malibu.  It was being prepped for next years demolition derby season.  I hope it finds a less jarring life in our Grocery Getter. 

What I learned today - cast iron engines are very heavy so keep an eye on your toes and fingers.

We are looking for a Edelbrock four barrel to sit on top of the aluminum intake.  This engine should fit nicely mounted behind the from cross member with enough clearance between the cart frame to add a nice set of headers.  Trying to keep the budget reasonable for a project like this is always a challenge.  Each detail seems to cost just a little bit more than I expected.

Next on the cart agenda - cleaning up the engine and buying some 2" tube.

The cart project begins...

Always a little to slow to post progress, but the hot rod grocery cart has officially begun.  We combed several local salvage/junk yards to find a suitable front suspension.  The candidates were Mustang II (too narrow and too rare/expensive), a Dodge Aspen/Plymouth Valero, a late 80/early nineties Ford Aerostar or a 2003-2007 Ford Crown Victoria.  The favorite amongst the group of guys building this monster was the Crown Vic front.  The local yard (shout out to State Line Salvage in Peach Bottom, PA) was great to work with and gave us a good deal on the whole sub-frame.  It is from a relatively low mileage 2006 police car from Anne Arundel County MD that was rear-ended a few years ago.  Super clean.  We might rebuild the calipers since they have been outside for so long, but the bulk of the suspension it ready to be bolted up to our frame.