Heya all, I'm back from retirement holidays and looking forward to getting back into contributing under my new persona.
So I had a solar battery installed recently. Part of the install was to put in a "protection" panel, which is Fibro attached to the house.
This is a work in progress, so bear with me.
Unfortunately, the whole thing including the panel and the battery was all installed on one day. Unfortunate because I didn't get to paint the fibro cement panel before the batttery.
The battery and inverter are on the southern part of the house, so it's all fine, and protected mostly from the sun. Rain, not so much. Obviously, these things are designed for Australian conditions, so it's dust and waterproofed.
Panel with the bollards - no driving the trailer down the driveway anymore 🤣
However, I wanted to protect it from too much rain (and the panel from water drips)
We had a bit of rain, so I bought an Alamonte Awning
Surprisingly easy to assemble from the flat pack (TIP - no need to bend the perspex to match - just start with a mallet and begin tapping it in from 1 end and it bends to fit). One person job.
Mounting it is a 3 person job😂 at least for me.
Yes, I should have painted the panel first, but I just wanted to get started.
You can see the rain stain - a bit disconcerting as we had quite a bit of rain
Canopy
Sealed the edges of the panel with rubber strips to just top the water getting in behind, and the awning doesn't quite fit flush with the wall, so rubber strip there as well.
PAINTING.
So I had the same paint in the shed from previously painting, and painted to match. I was advised to start with a layer of Crommelin then undercoat and finally paint.
Still a work in progress, so ignore the painter tape in the picture.
So the next part of the project is the mural. I have tasked my wife and eldest son to create something "Electrical". They have started desiging a mural of Frankenstein's monster and his bride, with electrical bolts coming from the battery to the bolts in theit necks, and some other background. I wanted Uncle Fester with a lightbulb in his mouth, but I'll let them create.
Has anyone else done anything or had ideas to make the battery either less obvious or even make it a point of interest?
When the mural is finished, I'll upload the image or video.
