Refurbishing Our Solar Collector, Part 3

This is what the solar collector looks like with the trim in place.  The vertical strips are strictly decorative; the top strip is roof edge that serves a useful function, sealing the top from rain.  Two tasks remain:  removing the ivy from the back of the collector, and hiring a tree service to remove two large pine trees that are shading the collector during part of the day.  There always seems to be something.

I'll never understand why Mother Earth News rejected my article about colorful solar collectors back in the early 80s.  It's a worthy concept.  As you have perhaps noticed, solar energy never really caught on during the critical 80s and 90s.  I think colorful collectors -- which look stylishly sharp to some people -- might have made some difference.