Can a 36" dish with motor be mounted on roof?

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samalex

samalex

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Jan 28, 2009
245
5
Waco, Texas
I'm starting to plan my FTA system, but just curious can a 36" dish with a motor be mounted reliably on a roof? I know it has to be completely plumb so with the slant of the roof I wasn't sure how simple it would be to get it setup... especially for a first time install. We already have a Dish 1000 on the house for DishNetwork, but isn't that smaller than a 36" dish?

Also there are a couple of dish pointing apps for Android, so any suggestions on which one works the best? DishPointerPro is $20 but Dish Pointing Calculator has Free and $4 version. I'm downloading the free one now, but I wasn't sure if any of you Pro's have used any of these.

Thanks for any advice on this.
 
Heres a few pics of mine! A strong thick pole and a tripod did the trick for me.I used around a 2" pole mast that i ordered when i bought the tripod.if i was to do it again i think i would use a 2.5 to 3 " pole for better support.With the 2" i added the extra support shown in the middle pic due to slight play in strong winds.I have had wind over 50 mph since i put it up in the spring and its still holding strong.
 

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What size is the OD of that pole?
Direct has a strong 2" mount with support arms and Hughes net has a really strong 2 3/4" mount that is pretty tall and designed to hold a large heavy dish. (bot have support arms for a triangulation of mount.

Don't know if they would work or not though.
I think the biggest issue would be if they would be tall enough (I don't know).
 
If a portion of your roof is flat, there are non-penetrating roof mounts that would work very well without having to put any holes in your roof. I am using three (soon to be four) such mounts on a flat area of my roof that is 9' x 5.5' These mounts survived 140 mph. winds during Katrina in 2005 (without the dishes attached).
 
i agree with TRON....a non penetrating roof mount is the best way to go....you can get ones that go on slanted roofs also....
 
I looked into doing a roof mount and most of the people that i talked to told me that if your roof is older than 15 years old not to do it because the singles or plywood might need replaced. with the dish and a motor type setup look in the weight ranges of 40-55 lbs for weight. Wish you the best of luck.
 
Mines is on a tripod on the roof.
Assemble the tripod with the mast. Go buy better quality lag bolts than what come with the kit. Also they need to be longer to bite into the 2x4 you will be installing. When placing make sure the mast is centered in the tripod and it is plumb before you drill through .
You can re-enforce your pitched roof. Drill your holes through roof, Then cut chunks of 2x4 to fit between the roof joists. Climb up into the roof and nail the chunks to cover up the holes you drilled. (Pushing chop sticks or something like that down through can help you find the holes.) Go back up top re-drill the hole for the lag bolts. Squirt a bunch of rubberized roofing cement in the holes and then make a puddle of cement where the feet of the tripod will sit. Crank the bolts down. Check to see if mast is close to being plumb. Goo up the entire foot with cement then spread around the foot and onto the shingles with a chunk of cardboard.
 
freezy said:
Mines is on a tripod on the roof.
Assemble the tripod with the mast. Go buy better quality lag bolts than what come with the kit. Also they need to be longer to bite into the 2x4 you will be installing. When placing make sure the mast is centered in the tripod and it is plumb before you drill through .
You can re-enforce your pitched roof. Drill your holes through roof, Then cut chunks of 2x4 to fit between the roof joists. Climb up into the roof and nail the chunks to cover up the holes you drilled. (Pushing chop sticks or something like that down through can help you find the holes.) Go back up top re-drill the hole for the lag bolts. Squirt a bunch of rubberized roofing cement in the holes and then make a puddle of cement where the feet of the tripod will sit. Crank the bolts down. Check to see if mast is close to being plumb. Goo up the entire foot with cement then spread around the foot and onto the shingles with a chunk of cardboard.
Click to expand...

that sounds like it would be good and firm and stable....however, a non-penetrating roof mount is much easier and would be just as firm and stable and you dont have to destroy your roof....
 
We just had sustained 60mph winds a couple months ago. I'll go with the lag bolts sunk into wood. If I decide to take it down when I re-shingle, all I got to do is not put it back up. A flat roof is an entire different ball of wax. I'd go with a weighed down mount in that case. I put in a bunch of those when I worked for 3M's version of Muzak.
 
Thanks for all the great suggestions. Would this mount be sufficient to put on the roof:
Satellite AV, LLC - Satellite Broadcaster Support and Equipment Distribution

It looks like it could tilt to allow the poll to the plumb, but I wasn't sure if this was designed to go on a roof or someplace else... the website doesn't really say. Also what type of bolts are commonly used when mounting on the roof? I've heard installers try to find a stud to bolt it to, but I'd think a stud finder would have a hard time 'seeing' through the singles. Also our house is less than a year old, so I'd think the roof is more than sturdy enough to hold the dish and motor.

Thanks --
 
Most dishes are sold with a mast included that is suitable for either roof or wall mounting. GEOSATpro 90cm/36" dishes have an exclusive designed mast that allows easy level/plumbing of the mast. If mounting on the roof, I would suggest placing outside of the living space in the overhangs to minimize the risk of water damage in case of a leak.

Freezy has provided some great suggestions on how to install the mast. Make sure that all lag bolts are long enough to get a good bite into rafters and never bolt to sheeting without installing backing plates or blocks. Lagging only into sheeting will not provide adequate support and will likely fail and cause roof leaks.
 
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