Victory !

Chuck was here to check out the soffit. He cut a hole in the belly of the beast.

And it's empty !! Yahoo, I could have been in
trouble if there was plumbing or HVAC in it.

So now I need to figure out what kind of ceiling do I want. I have been eyeing the drop coffered ceiling. Chuck told me he could do an actual coffered ceiling or a tray ceiling. The world is my oyster...ceiling wise.