East Coulee Skylight

Last weekend I headed down to East Coulee to work on the skylight replacement at my shop.  Margarit and the two older girls had headed off to Kananaskis to meet up with my sister-in-law and my niece.  Helena and our dogs were staying with my Mom.  I headed out from Edmonton on Saturday morning, after dropping off Helena.  I had the trailer in tow, all emptied out and packed up for the season.  

I had been down in East Coulee a couple of weeks prior and undertaken the construction and temporary waterproofing of a new roof curb for the skylight.  This past week the skylight was shipped down, after manufacturing had been completed here in Edmonton.  I was unable to bring the skylight down myself as it was too large to fit in the back of my truck, and I had my travel trailer in tow.

I arrived in East Coulee just after lunch and set to work on the skylight.  My business partner Frank had already hoisted the new skylight to the roof of the building, and temporarily set it in place.  I set about to undertake the installation of all the new sheet metal flashings around the skylight.  The skylight itself was pushed back, one side at a time, while I fitted, sealed and attached all the flashings.  Later in the afternoon Frank showed up and gave me a hand to wrap up the installation.  We lifted the skylight itself out of the way so that the last of the counter flashings could be installed.  The skylight was then permanently sealed and secured in place.  This new triple glazed skylight, on a properly waterproofed roof curb will be a lot better than the old single skin fiberglass sheet that had previously been screwed in place over the roof opening.  It was somewhat of a disgrace that the owner of a skylight company would have such a poorly designed and installed "skylight" on my own building so the changeover to this proper unit was inevitable.  It is nice that it is finally looked after as I don't think the old panel would have made it through another winter.

After the skylight was all buttoned down, I moved my travel trailer into the building for winter storage.  I ran some antifreeze into the plumbing lines, just in case the heat goes out over the winter, or if the shop space is needed and the trailer needs to be relocated to the yard.  I also disconnected the battery, and tidied up the last of the camping supplies.  I stayed in the trailer for one last night before my return trip to Edmonton.  This past year was so busy that we only got out with the trailer three times.  Once for the Spring Fest in East Coulee, then for the May Long Weekend at Red Rock Coulee, and finally for a few days back here at East Coulee in late August.  In a typical summer I usually spend about 25 nights in the trailer, and we are out two or three weekends per month from mid-May to early October.  This was the first time in at least two decades that my summer travels were so limited.  Next year will be different...

I woke up on Sunday morning and packed up my gear.  I headed out for a day of exploring and photography, before eventually making my way back home in the evening.  My next blog posts will include some photos from this day trip.  For now, here are a couple of snap shots of the completed skylight installation.