Phase I complete

Two months I've been stalling, and do you think I'd get to what's been waiting on the roof while it's been cool? Not a chance. I had to wait for out first near-90 degree day to climb up and fabricate a door into the solar box.

Because I am going to sheath the box in siding left over from the work on the house I didn't want to simply cut a small door into one of the sides -- I couldn't figure out how to hinge such an opening, secure it against unwanted opening, and make it look good with minimal work and material. My plan was therefore to hinge the entire east (uphill) side of the box.

That meant I first had to attach the two plywood pieces making up that side of the box together so they moved as one unit. I also had to attach hinges. That worried me -- how to attach them so they were in line and wouldn't bind. The latter bit proved easy to solve -- lay the hinges against the corner and attach to the door side (the north side I assumed to be square). Both pieces were then removed and taken to the ground where a piece of scrap plywood was cut for backing for the joint.

A run to the hardware store was made for the screws and washers to bind everything together. Of course, the first set of screws were too short necessitating a return for longer ones. When it was all done the two pieces of the east wall were firmly attached and behaved as one. A brief wrestling match got the wall back up onto the roof and attached to the box via the hinges. It pretty much holds itself closed through gravity, but I will be putting in a stopper to prevent unwanted opening when the wind blows.

Tomorrow I plan to paint the box just for a bit of waterproofing (Phase II) before hanging the siding (Phase III).

Wish me luck -- I'll need it!