Why Old Things Are Worth Saving...
Sometimes, a problem demands both creativity and sacrifice.
The interior frames of our skylights needed refinishing. Since the roof was already stripped bare, I was able to choose removing the skylights, and asking the Woman-Child to sand and refinish them with polyurethane, while I did other deck-prep.
Getting the skylights DOWN, was pretty easy: unscrew, attach a rope, wrap it around a ladder rung for friction, and lower away. Getting them over the eaves drip-edge without damaging either part was a LITTLE tricky, but overall? Cake.
UP, fighting gravity, is another story. Two "prussic" loops to center a caribiner, which serves as a crude pulley, gives a 2-to-1 lifting advantage. However, since I had to be on the roof to pull, align, and attach the skylight, I had to have the girls help lift and guide the skylight over the drip-edge, without damaging either.
Enter a pair of old cross-country skis, purchased for $1 from the Swap-shack for their bindings. By screwing the skis onto the skylight brackets, the skylight slid smoothly over the drip-edge, and straddled the slightly raised frame protruding from the mounting hole in the roof. I only had to line up the skylight, unscrew the skis, and screw the brackets into the new plywood. The curvy tips of the skis even held them onto a ladder rung while I finished the job.
Definitely an honorable retirement for an old pair of skis.
The interior frames of our skylights needed refinishing. Since the roof was already stripped bare, I was able to choose removing the skylights, and asking the Woman-Child to sand and refinish them with polyurethane, while I did other deck-prep.
Getting the skylights DOWN, was pretty easy: unscrew, attach a rope, wrap it around a ladder rung for friction, and lower away. Getting them over the eaves drip-edge without damaging either part was a LITTLE tricky, but overall? Cake.
UP, fighting gravity, is another story. Two "prussic" loops to center a caribiner, which serves as a crude pulley, gives a 2-to-1 lifting advantage. However, since I had to be on the roof to pull, align, and attach the skylight, I had to have the girls help lift and guide the skylight over the drip-edge, without damaging either.
Enter a pair of old cross-country skis, purchased for $1 from the Swap-shack for their bindings. By screwing the skis onto the skylight brackets, the skylight slid smoothly over the drip-edge, and straddled the slightly raised frame protruding from the mounting hole in the roof. I only had to line up the skylight, unscrew the skis, and screw the brackets into the new plywood. The curvy tips of the skis even held them onto a ladder rung while I finished the job.
Definitely an honorable retirement for an old pair of skis.