$180 a little high for a pole install?

[Claude Greiner]

You just got a Lazy installer because the easiest way to blow off a Job is tell the customer there will be additional charges!

Depending on the pole, a reasonable price should be no more than $50

 

[Jimbo]

Why dont you just install the pole on your own?

Pole $15 and Home depot
Quick setting cemet $8

Takes about half hour.

Then call the installer out.

That is what I plan on doing

Jimbo

 

[grydlok]

You just got a Lazy installer because the easiest way to blow off a Job is tell the customer there will be additional charges!

Depending on the pole, a reasonable price should be no more than $50

depends on where you live. 50 dollars won't get you anything around here.

 

[bsilvertab]

In northern Michigan a 10 ft pole with 2 inch diameter was $60. Crazy.

 

[iafirebuff]

That's not too bad, as their is drive time and labor involved.

 

[Stargazer]

The 2" poles are harder to find and would probably be more expensive. I know that I have had others in my area price pole mounts at $70 and I have tried getting $50 but they complain saying that a pole does not cost $50. By the time one has to figure out the price of the pole, concrete, extra wire and extra labor I think $50 is very reasonable. I have put some in for less or nothing in some circumstances though. Usually when I put one in, what causes the pole mount is if the dish is far away from the house and a lot of burying is required which causes the extra fee for the pole mount. If the pole is real close the house then it is due to the fact that they choose to have it on the pole instead of the house and I tell them to just pay for the pole or I just put it in for free.

 

[srs913]

If you are ordering dish from dish network its self then a pole mount is included with up to 50 feet of burial free of charge, if its a local retailer you ordered from, then its their discresion of what to charge. When the installer shows up, ask him to look at the paperwork you are going to be required to sign after the install, if he has whats called an rsp which stands for regional service provider work order, then somewhere on there will say pole mount with up to 50 feet of burial.

 

[iafirebuff]

$50-$75 in my area I would consider reasonable Shoot, you have about $25 in parts, not counting coax. THen labor/travel time. Adds up

 

[IndyTech]

Well, i would have to say, WOW 180.00 ???. I'll put Dishes on poles all day long, it's easier, the HSP i work for, tells us not to charge the cust, because putting it on a pole actually saves us time, Who Wants to climb up and down a ladder, it you can work right on the ground at waist level? My Suggestion, Call D* tell them, that 180.00 seems a little steep and ou're not exactly happy, they'll turn it into an escalation and if that guy ripped you off, you might get some cash back.

 

[iafirebuff]

I just put up a Primestar dish on a post a 4' above ground, and it was much easier than the dishes I have put up on roofs and mounted to sides of houses

 

[damaged]

For $180 bucks, there better be a stripper or 3 dancing on that pole.

 

[iafirebuff]

Hehe!

 

[FED UP INSTALLER]

A pole mount by far is the easiest install, and I have put in 50% of my jobs on a pole mount FREE OF CHARGE. Not sure what this installer is trying to do but make some extra cash. I would question Dish directly about this. It takes 15 min. to install a pole and maybe 20 mins to bury the wire, your getting ripped off in my opinion. I am a dish network installer. If this is Direct tv you may need to purchase one but your talking about maybe 10.00, they go for 8.99 here at home depot.

 

[charper1]

A pole mount.........

What kind of pipe and how much/how deep in concrete; what is the set time on the concrete?

 

[WTT0001]

Amazing...

We are installers in the Upstate NY area.

#1 - DTV (PIII) / Dish (500) Pole is $75 - $125 depending on the amount of work
#2 - DTV (5 Lnb) / Dish (Superdish) is $100 - $150 depending on the amount of work
#3 - Wildblue / Hughesnet Standard Dishes is $175 - $200 depending on the amount of work (WB also has a pole adapter that is covered in that)
#4 - VSAT / HN .98 and larger are $200+ depending on what we need.

You figure in our area 1-2 hours to dig the hole (3 ft in our area), modify it so it doesn't twist, Pour the concrete (dries in 15 - 30 min), and trenching the cable across to the house (depending on the distance that can add 1 - 2 more hours). Now the pole is $10 for #1, $20 for #2, $30 - $35 for #3 and can be as much as $75 for #4 depending on the size, Concrete @ $7 a bag x 2 - 4 = $14 - $28, Angle iron + Self Tappers for #3 and #4 is another $5

So the material cost is: #1 - $25, #2 - $35, #3 - $55 - $70, and #4 - $65 - $105
Labor @ $65 an hour = $130 - $260 or Labor @ $35 an hour = $70 - $140

Total cost @ $35: #1 = $95, #2 = $105, #3 = $135 - $150, and #4 = $145 - $175
Total cost @ $65: #1 = $155, #2 = $165, #3 = $185 - $200, #4 - $195 - $235

And thats if it is just 2 hours (I've run as long as 5 depending on the ground I have to dig).

Fair, Yes, Expensive, Maybe depending on how work inclined you are If you want to do it yourself we will reschedule and come back another day (And we won't charge you for the extra trip either, are we nice or what)

Anyway, Thats my view on it

WTT

 

[charper1]

Exactly what I was getting at in my question above about the "15 min install" LOL! How could anyone dig the proper hole and have the concrete be set by then? YOU CAN'T; this guy is advocating an incorrectly installed "slam into the ground" of a cheap (incorrect) piece of fence pipe. I wouldn't want that 'freebie" over a proper install.

Thanks for the backup WTT. If I lived in that area it sounds like you would be my installer of choice!

 

[srs913]

Fed up dish installer, sorry to say but a pole taking 15 min to install is ludacris, also pole pounding a pole in the ground does not constitute as a proper mount which im guessing is your method along with not spading the pole so it does not twist. Proper way to do a pole mount is use the official dss pole for dishes, dig a 2 to 2 and a half foot deep hole, spade the pole so the cement has something to stick to so it will not spin a bit. And when pouring the cement, layer it. Put a layer in the hole, add some water and pack it tight so it will strengthen the pole even more.

 

[HCI]

#3 - Wildblue / Hughesnet Standard Dishes is $175 - $200 depending on the amount of work (WB also has a pole adapter that is covered in that)
#4 - VSAT / HN .98 and larger are $200+ depending on what we need.


WTT

You may want to read those Hughes installation specs again. $125 is the maximum you can charge a customer for a pole mount. A .98 dish has a free pole or non pen mount included free of charge for the customer and some VSAT sites are not suppose to be charged. Also a .98 dish and .74 dish pole mounting specs are the same why would you want to charge more?

This is directly form page 1 of the Dealer and Customer copy of HughesNet Installation Reference Sheet.

4) Type of Installation: Standard/NonStandard (check the appropriate box):

Standard Installation (no additional cost to be paid directly to the installer).
a) Antenna mounting & grounding to approved surface of facility, accessible with a 25ft ladder.
b) HW data system- Two exterior cable runs (transmit and receive lines), single entry point though exterior wall (with exterior seal) to interior wall, wall jack on interior wall:
c) If HW data + video option ? One additional 100ft exterior cable run (video receive line), one additional exterior entry point interior wall jack with in 25ft of an existion telephone jack , and connection to one satellite TV receiver.
d) A standard installation includes travel mileage to and from installation location. No additional charge authorized.
e) For .98 antenna installations, a pole mount (at least 6 feet of the pole must be above ground) or a standard Hughesnet supplied non-penetration roof mount.

Non Standard Installations (The customer must approve itemized cost before work begins. )

a) For. 74m antenna installations a pole mount with 25ft or less of soft ground trenching. Cost to customer not to exceed $125.00
b) Pole mount greater than 25ft from the facility. Cost to customer not to exceed $3.50 per each additional foot w/trenching.
c) Custom installation including (but not limited to ) one or more of the following: wallfish, multiple entry points, additional cabling, etc.


How do you guys get to go beyond what Hughes says?

 

[Stargazer]

You always get what you pay for. Some luck out and get good service for free (DNSC!!!). Many do not.

 

[WTT0001]

And In Reply...

Read it carefully, $125 including 25ft of "Soft Ground Trenching", In this area you are lucky if it isn't solid rock and if it is within 25ft of the house I'll be happy to drop the price for ya, less work for me, but out of 100+ Dway/Hughes Poles I have done about 5 could get that close to the house, most are on a pole for a reason so @ $3.50 a foot past the 25 we are generally giving a discount ($10 for 3 ft x ? adds up real quick)

Anyway, You are right on the .98 for hughesnet but we do a ton of different .98dishes for many, many different places so that still applies in some cases. Some companies are using different dish types so the "same as a .74" doesn't always apply (plus the .98 and larger are a pain to get up on the pole without help and you have to let the concrete sit longer (and possibly make another trip depending on the size and how quickly it is setting).

That being said, we actually don't install Hughesnet all that much anymore, WB is really a superior product in most respects compared to the normal 7000 (Havn't seen any of the HN (S) stuff yet and yes, superior includes the .98 stuff).

Anyway, See how following something to the letter can be lots of fun

WTT