Antipodean Bucket Farmer wrote:
Hi, Everybody,

I am considering mounting a small solar panel to the
outside of my (rented) flat. The neighbours have
satellite teevee dishes, so there shouldn't be any
objections.

I'm not sure of all the layers on top, but I think that
the building is basically made of concrete blocks.

Do I need a special drill bit?

And what sort of anchoring fixtures should be used?
The panel needs to be stable, and stay on in strong
winds, but is fairly light (maybe just a few kilos?)

Thanks...


If the wall is plastered then drill a small test hole first. Some new concrete
block buildings are plastered with about 40mm of a lightweight insulating
plaster containing polystyrene beads or sometimes perlite. It's not a super
strong material and mounting bolts will need to go through into the concrete
behind. If you live in Wellington the concrete blocks will be reinforced and
grout filled for earthquake resistance, so no worries there. Take a look at how
the neighbours TV dishes are mounted. Use proper galvanised dynabolts or
similar, 10mm will be about right, these will require about a 13 mm hole and you
will need a hammer drill and masonary bit. If all this sounds excessive then try
holding that panel up in a 60 knot gale or if you can't wait for that then try
holding the thing out the window of your car while someone else drives you
along the motorway at 120 Kph in the dead of night. If you want to be strictly
legal in NZ you need to design for a windspeed of 180Kph