Hi Guys,
Please forgive me for not posting before this, but a lot has happened since my last post. But before I get into that, let me just answer MrFail's question (its been answered actually) but yes, its ok to put the battery in the cabin, as long as its in an enclosure (battery box is ok) whether lead acid or gel, and must be properly restrained - the rear bins qualify as an enclosure in this case.
So, since May....
I was made redundant from my job at RSL Care
. My contract with them was due to expire June 30, but they decided to finish me up on May 17th, 6 weeks earlier than planned. And, to boot, it was really poorly done - None of this "Thanks for your service mate, but gotta let you go", it was more like "Times up, get out!!". And to boot, I was only two weeks from my Long Service date, so it was very strategic the date they finished me up. They are still to this date, refusing to pay out my accumulated Long Service!!
I have never been made redundant before, and I took it pretty hard (not just me, but there was a plethora of people shown the door in the last few months including my Executive Manager), so it took a couple of weeks to get my head space right (believe me I went through the whole gamut of emotions - disbelief, denial, anger
, frustration and finally acceptance!). I did get a payout from RSLC, but it was mediocre at best.
So, I was at a crossroads with my life, and unemployed in my 40's!!
After some long discussions with my wife, and close friends, I have decided to take the redundancy payments and invest it in....me!!! I have decided to go full tilt into working for myself, and doing conversions, resto's and performance upgrades. To this end, I have just invested over $60k in a new shed and equipment, and I will get more into that in a minute. So, big gamble, but it gives me a certain amount of flexibility to dovetail in with family commitments and also pick and choose the jobs and clients. Small business - its gonna be tough, but they say if you can make a living out of doing something you love, then you should not miss that opportunity!!
Anyway, on to the shed - here are some pics of the progress of the shed to date. Basically, its a 12m x 12m barn style, three doors and a mezzanine storage area at the rear. It has some areas divided off with walls - a clean machine room, and a full end-draught AS4114 compliant paint booth, and of course a 4000kg car hoist. The paint booth will go in a bit later, and I intend to have a full CNC gantry bed-mill later on as well - just to give that ability to design and manufacture anything custom at will.
So, the existing shed up behind the house (72m2) will mainly be for storage of cars and parts etc and the big shed (144m2) will be for the disassembly, design, manufacture and reassembly of customers cars. I also intend to do a bit of interior design (custom fibreglass and composites fabrication) and upholstery work too, just on the side for myself and select customers (wife is a seamstress).
Anyway, without further adue, here are some pics...
Slab down (notice cast-in brackets, one reason we went with Southern Cross Sheds):
And while I was waiting for the kit to be delivered, I decided to do all the drainage - shovelling 4m2 of gravel (we dont want a flooded shed like the last one!!):
I ordered a 5000L water tank and pump, so I could have water at the shed without tapping into the mains, good for wet-sanding and the occasional wash-up:
Had to recess it into the bank to get the clearance for the shed guys to fit the sheets off:
And then the kit arrived - hard to believe that this is a 12m x 12m shed:
And this week they started the erection, after some rain delays. Frame going up:
Once the shed is finished, the epoxy floor can go down, and then I can start moving the machines in. Then, the holiday is over and its back to work.
Cheers,
Tricky
Or is there different rules for gel batteries?
