I just upgraded to the HD Absolute package, and found out the dish needs to be moved. It is not picking up the 129 satellite. It's either mount it on the roof or cut down one of the neighbor's dead trees(I'm waiting to hear from him about that). The installer said there's no chance of a roof leak. Has anyone had trouble with a roof leak? What happens when the dish is removed for some reason? I assume that area has to be re-shingled? The dish would be on the corner of the house, above the 2' soffit overhang. Thanks.
Mounting dish on roof. Good or bad?
- Thread starter JimMcC
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If it's that close to the overhang, why can't the tech just do a fascia mount? I personally haven't mounted a dish to a customer's roof for months. Our QAS has stated that if we do it for any reason other than that's where the customer specifically asked for it to be mounted, we will be failed.
However, all that aside, if done right there is a very minimal chance (not impossible) that it will leak. If it does leak, it will only leak into the soffit, avoiding costly damage. If it ever needs to be moved, the person needing to move it can leave the foot plate in place, and it can stay there until your whole roof needs to be re-shingled again.
If you decide to go ahead with the roof mount, make sure that the tech hits a rafter with at least two of the lags. a 1000.2 can rip a roof to shreds in high wind if it's just in the plywood. Also make sure they use pitch patch (or roof sealent) NOT SILICONE!!! to seal the Lag bolts.
Either way, Enjoy the HD
Edit: And this should go without saying, but don't let the tech run your cable into the attic through the roof/shingles. I have seen it done too many times. This WILL leak.
However, all that aside, if done right there is a very minimal chance (not impossible) that it will leak. If it does leak, it will only leak into the soffit, avoiding costly damage. If it ever needs to be moved, the person needing to move it can leave the foot plate in place, and it can stay there until your whole roof needs to be re-shingled again.
If you decide to go ahead with the roof mount, make sure that the tech hits a rafter with at least two of the lags. a 1000.2 can rip a roof to shreds in high wind if it's just in the plywood. Also make sure they use pitch patch (or roof sealent) NOT SILICONE!!! to seal the Lag bolts.
Either way, Enjoy the HD
Edit: And this should go without saying, but don't let the tech run your cable into the attic through the roof/shingles. I have seen it done too many times. This WILL leak.
Thanks. He said the 3/4" fascia board isn't strong enough. And it's covered with aluminum, so it would be very hard to find the 2X4 lookouts that the fascia board is nailed to. I didn't mention another option: The current dish is mounted to a pole(set in concrete) about 3' high. He said he could put up a taller pole(so dish is at least as high as the gutter on my ranch house) and rig up some sort of bracket to secure the pole to the fascia board. That would make it much less likely to move with the wind. I would like to avoid a roof mount, if possible. Would it be possible to add an extension pole onto the existing pole somehow? Or would a new hole have to be dug, and a new pole set in concrete? Thanks.
If you live where it snows, keep the dish on the ground! Much easier to brush off snow than wait for it to melt.
I have a Wild Blue dish on a non penitrating mount close to a window. Several times a year I have to open the window and brush the snow off the feed.
If you move a roof mount, it is best to replace that set of shingles. Hope you saved some from construction.
I have a Wild Blue dish on a non penitrating mount close to a window. Several times a year I have to open the window and brush the snow off the feed.
If you move a roof mount, it is best to replace that set of shingles. Hope you saved some from construction.
If he can't find the lookouts, then he won't find a rafter on the roof (conversely if he knows where a rafter is, then there should be a lookout straight down from there as well), so what he is suggesting is that a 3/4" peice of solid wood is not secure enough, but mounting the dish to the flimsy 1/2" plywood of the roof is a better option? Perhaps he thinks the shingles will add strength to the mount
Either way I don't particularly like large poles. If the tech is an internal tech, he probably won't have the equipment to do it properly. if he's a contractor, he's probably going to charge you extra. Whether or not he can use the existing pole will depend on the location of the pole.
At this point I can't really offer too much more advice, because I can't "see" the installation, nor do I know the tech who has been, or will be out there. You'll have to take what info I have posted (and anything anyone else would like to add) and make a decision on how you would like to proceed. Most techs know the best way to do something, and the easiest way to do something. I'll let you guess which will be recommended first. Don't let the tech push you into doing something you don't want done, but in the end, your only choices are either go with what the tech is willing to do, or ask dish to send someone else out. Good luck and I hope whatever you decide on will work well for you.
Either way I don't particularly like large poles. If the tech is an internal tech, he probably won't have the equipment to do it properly. if he's a contractor, he's probably going to charge you extra. Whether or not he can use the existing pole will depend on the location of the pole.
At this point I can't really offer too much more advice, because I can't "see" the installation, nor do I know the tech who has been, or will be out there. You'll have to take what info I have posted (and anything anyone else would like to add) and make a decision on how you would like to proceed. Most techs know the best way to do something, and the easiest way to do something. I'll let you guess which will be recommended first. Don't let the tech push you into doing something you don't want done, but in the end, your only choices are either go with what the tech is willing to do, or ask dish to send someone else out. Good luck and I hope whatever you decide on will work well for you.
When you say you don't like "large poles", do you mean tall? Is it because they're hard to keep stable in the wind? Does anyone have an opinion about adding an "extension" pole onto my existing 3' tall pole? How could that be done? And if a bracket is secured near the top of pole to fascia board, would that work? Thanks.
All of my dishes are installed on the roof. I have had two superdishes, a dish 500, and a dish 300. We get a lot of snow but have never had issues with snow accumulation. Of course the dishes are on the south slope of the roof near the peak, so the snow slides off. I have never had a leak. I had each of my dishes crossbraced against the wind. I have never had a leak. When my superdish was removed, I had them leave the mount and braces and (can't remember - cut or remove the post). I never had wind issues, either. However, one word of warning is that when I needed the dish repeaked, I could not get a local installer who did roof work, so I needed to call Dish.
Of course this only my experience. But, I agree if you are that close to the overhang, why not do a fascia install.
Of course this only my experience. But, I agree if you are that close to the overhang, why not do a fascia install.
My first thought was also installing it on the fascia board. Is the 3/4" fascia board only strong enough if the mount is screwed into the 2X lookouts? Can the lookouts be found with a stud finder thru the aluminum covering the fascia board?
If your home was built correctly, there should be a 2 x 6 or 2 x 8 right behind the 3/4 fascia board. I have my Dish 1000.2 and Dish 500 mounted (foot plate) to the 3/4 x 8 fascia board, which has a 2 x 6 right behind it. I used 5" lag screws to attached the pole foot plate to this fascia board, and it will withstand a 100 mile wind... I'm sure.
I will be adding Dish or DTV and dropping Comcast faster than a fat kid can eat a cupcake. I'm in a town home right now with the back of my house pointing south. Behind me is wide open wetland, there isn't a tree within 1/2 mile behind my house (Just grass, a pond, and any imaginable wild life you can think off). Would an installer mount my dish on the ground with a short pole? My roof is easily 30+ feet straight up in the back, no one would go up there I'd suspect.
I did a self install about 15 years ago. Read that as an amateur installation. I haven't had any problems with leakage. "John"
I also did a self installation about 11 years ago. I upgraded it myself to Dish 500. The last 2 upgrades to Dish 1000 and to 1000.2 were done by professionals in the same location. It wasn't until the last upgrade that anyone said anything about my mounting location, but I insisted they live it where it was and they did. Anyway, I've had no problems with the dish in that location over the entire time.
