best ways to mount satellite dish on house or avoid

[1 FMF]

going to be moving. House is in immaculate condition, any recommendations on how to mount a directv dish to a house? I am considering this

from http://www.hometech.com/video/dssacc.html#RS-COMMDECK

they also have a chimney mount kit.
With the dish on the roof like above, I get a straight and very short access to existing coax cable and also able to run RG6 to any room from attic. Has anybody used this that can give me some feedback? I prefer not to mount it on the side of the house.

 

[TheLoneRanger]

FMF, I have mine mounted on a 4' post next to the house. With a run of about 20' of cable, there's no degradation of the signal. This works well if there are no trees in the 'line of sight'.

Keep in mind when choosing a location, that periodic adjustment may be necessary, and you will want it fairly accessable. Also, where I live, snow sometimes has to be brushed away to regain the signal.

Congrats on the new house!

 

[andrews]

Just an opinion, but anytime you put holes in a roof, you risk leaking. The dish will vibrate in winds and move slightly....this is a concern. If I was in your position, mount it on outside wall. You can still mount it high and possibly obtain the same benefits as the roof mount, without risking the roofing. Chimney mount may be fine also, as long as no holes are drilled into brick. Remember, technology changes nearly completely every five years or so, and you want to do as little drilling as possible. Remember those giant dishes that people used to think was high-tech and cool? Now they can be found in junk yards or thrown out into the woods.

 

[michaelc80]

I chose not to mount mine on the roof for the very reason LoneRanger stated-we get both snow and ice here and on occasion I need to brush it off to get a good signal. I put mine on the SW corner of the house-high enough so it won't get bumped accidently but low enough to reach if I need to.

 

[goodoleboy]

Go with a wall mount or mounted on a pole in the ground.

 

[BigDenCCMD]

I agree with wall or pole mount. If you put it on the top of the roof you're asking for wind problems. Ours is mounted on the wall.

 

[k1xv]

I have three dishes, two for TV and one for 2 way internet. I have them all mounted on a stout post sunk in the ground. This allows access for adjustments/repairs without having to climb on the house, and totally avoids holes in the roof.

I think this is preferable if possible.

 

[1 FMF]

http://www.rstcenterprises.com/dishmountingsystem.htm


here is the homepage for the product. They show how it installs, one side fits underneath a shingle.

there's a distributor around the corner from me, gonna see if I can pick one up at lunch to check it out.

I have trees in backyard, so the dish will have to go on top of the house to clear them.

 

[andrews]

Well, since you've since decided for the roof mount, good luck and I hope it all works out for you.

 

[eljefino]

I see you've got a single LNB dish. At the very least, string at least two RG6s to your dish location, to leave room for expansion. If you get a 2nd receiver, you'll need two cables for both polarities. Four might be better in case you want a roof terrestrial broadcast antenna or some other new-fangled technology yet unforseen.

 

[Hirev]

Sure hope you do not have any windy days where you live cause that photo is a good example on what not to do. Eventually it will start leaking and take out many sheets of plywood down stream $$$.

 

[andrews]

Very good point Hirev, but I think he's already made up his mind. We'll need to wish him luck, eh!?

 

[XS650]

I agree with the others. Maybe it would be OK if it used through bolts and big washers on the attic side, but it doen't look like it does.

Looks iffy to me.

Whatever you do, run at least 2 RG6 cables for future growth.

 

[1 FMF]

update:
installed this thing last sunday, of course it was 85-90 F with humidity being higher.
It's the commdeck one, where the cable runs through the roof underneath it. It's a nicely thought out piece, and it works. Took about an hour or so to get it installed to our liking, mostly because of the heat.

here's the review:
They give you all the installation hardware, minus the screwdriver, razorblade, and sealant. The only downside is, per their instructions only 1 of the #8 wood lag screws will bite into the truss of the roof (underneath the shingles and plywood). Per instructions, a total of 5 #8 screws are used to secure the plate to the roof. Fortunately, I never follow instructions to the letter.

The plate gets centered over a truss (the 2x6 or 2x8 you see in the attic) and the hole for the cable is off to the side of that. So the other screws around the plate will only hit plywood. I guess this is to please the contractors who want to install this thing in less than 5 minutes.

There are only holes in the top half of the plate for the screws, because when you install it you have to cut out some shingle and slide the plate under them. The shingles lay over only the top half of the plate, where all the mounting holes and screws are. So if you want a second screw in the center of the plate, it'll have to be on the bottom side and it will be exposed and be more likely to cause a problem in the future.

The way to do it is get at least 2 1/4x20 bolts, 4 at the most, 2" long or however long is needed to reach the inside, and some large fender washers for the bolts on the inside. Use these on the sides of the plate for additional holding power. Now for the overkill part, pick up one of the aluminum (maybe zinc coated steel) pieces of metal from home depot, I think 1/8" thick or 18 gauge, 6' long, 1" wide with 3/8" holes all down it. It's easily bendable, so that was used to wrap around the truss in the attic to the 1/4 bolts coming in on each side of truss. We only used 2 bolts, and used the included lag screws for the other 2 side holes. There is no way this thing is coming off the roof. We also used rooftop sealant/caulk to glue the shingles back down and also seal the whole plate, in addition to the neoprene washers that come with the mounting screws. I "know" this thing will not leak.
And you can also remove the dish. The commdeck is a 2 piece thing, where the mount gets fixed to the roof and the dish gets fixed to the cover of the mount. Then the cover gets bolted to the mount. Just take the dish off the cover and plug the wholes with the neoprene inserts that come with it. Then you're left with a small black, or brown, box on the roof 2" high which looks like a typical vent.