The skylight hatch on the roof, painted and ready for winter.
My weekend goal was to install lights in the newly reconfigured closets, but the weather was beautiful and I realized I needed to make priorities. The skylight hatch needed painting, and I wanted to install outdoor lights during non-freezing weather.
So during a gorgeous fall day, I spent the afternoon outside on the roof, priming and painting the skylight window box. As I did, I was able to appreciate details of the construction that would have eluded me if I had made an attempt to build it myself. The seals, the exterior panels, the flashing, the overhangs, were all features designed to prevent water (and snowmelt) intrusion.
Some projects are labor-expensive compared to the materials. I think this is one of them, which makes it a strong candidate for a do-it-yourselfer to take it on. What isn’t factored in to that decision is the know-how that you get when hiring someone that has done this type of work a hundred times before. In the absence of that expertise, the amateur makes mistakes, or misses some important step, or ends up with a product that doesn’t meet its requirements. In the worst case (when the homeowner can recognize and admit it), the entire project needs to be redone, this time by a professional.
That’s not to disparage those brave and skilled do-it-yourselfers that take on such projects; I admire them immensely. I am simply acknowledging and recognizing the limits of my own skills and patting myself on the back for knowing how to make the “build versus buy” decision on this one.
Access to the skylight now includes handgrip bars, one of which is seen here (stainless rail below and inside the skylight window).
Flashing and shingles. I would not have known how to do this.
Mini “eaves”, with drip edges, part of the water management of the hatch. All of the intersects were caulked and sealed. And now they are painted.