Removing Old Antenna on the Roof
Joan L. Basila
Hi Everyone!
Don't ask me why but the house I just bought still has a TV antenna on
the roof.
Question: Can I go up on the roof and remove it or does it need to be
professionally removed. If I can do it myself are there any precautions
I need to take? (i.e. power supply, notify town, etc.)
I've watched many DIY shows and this has never come up so I am totally
stumped!
Thanks for any advice.
Joan
Ron Natalie
Joan L. Basila wrote:
> Question: Can I go up on the roof and remove it or does it need to be
> professionally removed. If I can do it myself are there any precautions
> I need to take? (i.e. power supply, notify town, etc.)
Most of them aren't professionally installed. There's really no power
involed (there might be if theres a rotater on it, but the power comes
from the control box on the set top, so disconnect that first). Just
cut the wires going to it and leave them.
You shouldn't need to notify anyone, just take the normal precautions
for working on heights.
Scott
Ron Natalie wrote in message <34F98B7F...@sensor.com>...
Yep, no big deal. If it is bolted onto the roof and you take the braces
off,
make sure you patch the holes in the roof.
The antenna should be pretty light. There usually isn't much to them.
If it's a mondo tall antenna (about 20' tall), it will have a base at the
bottom
that when you remove the guide wires it will swivel down.
Also, watch out for power lines.
Terry Kennedy
In alt.home.repair Joan L. Basila <jba...@snet.net> wrote:
> Question: Can I go up on the roof and remove it or does it need to be
> professionally removed. If I can do it myself are there any precautions
> I need to take? (i.e. power supply, notify town, etc.)
This depends on a number of things. First, are you comfortable with the idea
of going up on the roof (height, steepness of the pitch, etc.)? Second, you
should be aware that antennas are somewhat top-heavy, so you don't want to do
it on a windy day. Beware of power lines in the area (you *don't* want to hit
the power lines with the antenna while removing it). Also, if the antenna has
been up there for a while, the fittings are probably rusted. Bring a good set
of wrenches/pliers, some WD40 or similar lubricant, and perhaps a hacksaw. A
second set of hands might be useful as well. Plan on how you're going to get
it off the roof (lower it with a rope, fold it and take it in a window, etc.)
Lastly, if there are guy wires (bracing wires) attached to the roof, you might
want some roofing sealer to make sure you don't get any leaks.
Terry Kennedy Operations Manager, Academic Computing
te...@spcvxa.spc.edu St. Peter's College, Jersey City, NJ USA
+1 201 915 9381 (voice) +1 201 435-3662 (FAX)
danh...@millcomm.com
In <34F9AF...@snet.net>, "Joan L. Basila" <jba...@snet.net> writes:
>Hi Everyone!
>
>Don't ask me why but the house I just bought still has a TV antenna on
>the roof.
>
>professionally removed. If I can do it myself are there any precautions
>I need to take? (i.e. power supply, notify town, etc.)
>
>stumped!
>
>Thanks for any advice.
>
>Joan
First survey the situation. How tall is the antenna? How high is the
roof? Are there electrical wires anywhere nearby that the antenna would
fall into if it got away from you, or that you would fall into if you got
away from the antenna? How steep is the roof? How comfortable are you
with heights? Is the roof in good condition, so that you won't fall
through or cause serious damage to it?
NOTE: If the antenna is supported by guy wires only, with no tripod, then
have a pro remove it if it's particularly high. Also, don't try to do it
yourself if you have a wood roof.
If you feel comfortable up there and the roof is sound and not too steep,
and if there are no electrical wires close by, then have at it! Try to
pick a "temperate" day (between 40 and 85F) when it's not at all windy.
Wear well-fitting rubber-soled shoes, and, for the sake of the roof, try
to walk "flat footed", avoiding twisting motions that will tend to buckle
or break the shingles.
Try to plan your trips across the roof to minimize them, as each trip adds
more wear to the roof. Think about the tools you'll need so that you
don't have to go back again and again. After surveying the situation, cut
away all the wires and get them out of the way where you won't
accidentally trip on them.
Next, assuming this is a tripod-mounted antenna and not one of
considerable height, remove the bolts holding down the "lone" leg. (The
tripod straddles the roof peak, with two legs on one side and one on the
other. Remove the bolts holding the single leg.) If you are lucky there
is a bolt between the roof mounting bracket and the leg and you can simply
remove this. Otherwise you should use a stiff putty knife to carefully
pry up the bracket that was previously bolted to the roof. You need to
use care to avoid tearing the shingles.
Once the single leg is loose, carefully tug on the tripod from the other
side so that it tilts on the two remaining legs. It is large and awkward,
so you may want assistance, but it is quite light, especially if there is
no "rotator". Pull the antenna over until it (gently) rests on the roof.
Then you need to disassemble the whole mess. The arms of the antenna are
soft aluminum and can be easily bent back against the "boom" at the center
of the antenna. (But wear gloves since the things might splinter or
buckle unexpectedly and cause a nasty pinch injury.) Next use wrenches of
the appropriate sizes (3/8" and 7/16" are popular sizes) to loosen the
bolts holding the antenna to the mast. Once the antenna is off (and
tossed to the ground), loosen the bolts holding the mast in the tripod and
get rid of the mast. Finally, remove the bolts holding the other two legs
of the tripod. When you are done, use some roofing cement (comes in a
small paint can or in a caulking tube) to seal the holes where the legs
were. If you separated the tripod from mounting brackets on the roof, you
may prefer to simply leave the brackets rather than risk damaging the
shingles by removing them.
When you are all done you can cut/break the aluminum elements from the
antenna and sell them for scrap. Disposing of the rest of the stuff is a
bit more difficult (though the scrap dealer might take the whole mess even
up).
Dan Hicks
Hey!! My advice is free -- take it for what it's worth!
http://www.millcomm.com/~danhicks
James Penrose
Ron Natalie (r...@sensor.com) wrote:
: Joan L. Basila wrote:
: > Question: Can I go up on the roof and remove it or does it need to be
: > professionally removed. If I can do it myself are there any precautions
: > I need to take? (i.e. power supply, notify town, etc.)
: Most of them aren't professionally installed. There's really no power
: involed (there might be if theres a rotater on it, but the power comes
: from the control box on the set top, so disconnect that first). Just
: cut the wires going to it and leave them.
: You shouldn't need to notify anyone, just take the normal precautions
: for working on heights.
One other thing....keep a *very* close eye out for any nearby power
lines. If you have above ground wiring coming in, it may be down low
where it enters your service box. Hit the bare wires while grounded and
you too may find out if there is an afterlife. ;)
If the antenna is tall or on any sort of tower and there's lines at
allclose, be super cuatious. I lost a (distant0 friend that way when he
was putting up a small tower antenna and the wind pushed it onto the
nerby wires while he was holding it.
One simply cannot be too carefull of htis. Also, common sense, but don't
do this if there's even a slight chance of thunderstorms. ;)
JOHN PHIPPS
Are you SURE you want to remove it? If cable goes down, as it often does
during storms, you could still connect your set to the antenna and have
reception. You're new in the neighborhood: maybe the cable situation isn't
all that great.
If it's doing nothing more than look lousy, why not leave it as a
fall-back. This ploy should sound good to the neighbors, too.
If you do remove it, DON'T:
1. Fall down.
2. Electrocute yourself on nearby power lines.
3. Forget to plug any holes in the roof left by bolts or antenna feed.
John
In a previous article, jba...@snet.net ("Joan L. Basila") says:
>Hi Everyone!
>
>Don't ask me why but the house I just bought still has a TV antenna on
>the roof.
>
>Question: Can I go up on the roof and remove it or does it need to be
>professionally removed. If I can do it myself are there any precautions
>I need to take? (i.e. power supply, notify town, etc.)
>
>I've watched many DIY shows and this has never come up so I am totally
>stumped!
>
>Thanks for any advice.
>
>Joan
>
--
Joan Fechter
Joan L. Basila (jba...@snet.net) wrote:
: Hi Everyone!
: Don't ask me why but the house I just bought still has a TV antenna on
: the roof.
: Question: Can I go up on the roof and remove it or does it need to be
: professionally removed. If I can do it myself are there any precautions
: I need to take? (i.e. power supply, notify town, etc.)
: I've watched many DIY shows and this has never come up so I am totally
: stumped!
: Thanks for any advice.
: Joan
Dear Joan,
This may seem like a radical idea in the age of cable and satellites,
but...why do you have to take the antenna down?
A few years ago, our cable went dead right in the middle of the Super
Bowl. We just hooked the TV back up to the antenna and barely missed a
play. Most fans in the area couldn't do that.
Also, there are some interesting low power stations in our area which
aren't on cable. Couldn't watch them without the antenna, however.
Joan
R2: La Migra
On Thu, 5 Mar 1998, James Penrose wrote:
> If the antenna is tall or on any sort of tower and there's lines at
> allclose, be super cuatious. I lost a (distant0 friend that way when he
> was putting up a small tower antenna and the wind pushed it onto the
> nerby wires while he was holding it.
>
> One simply cannot be too carefull of htis. Also, common sense, but don't
> do this if there's even a slight chance of thunderstorms. ;)
I recall hearing recently that lightning can strike as much as 20 miles
(or more?) out from a thunderstorm. Just because you've got clear sky
overhead doesn't necessarily mean there's no danger.
danh...@millcomm.com
Yeah, we're still not on cable. We get about a dozen channels with our
rooftop antenna, and we can pick up an Iowa channel when the Vikings are
blacked out on the local channels. Plus we save a buncha bucks. Only
downside is that a number of the better shows keep getting bought out by
the cable channels.
Rob Steele
Joan L. Basila wrote:
> Question: Can I go up on the roof and remove it or does it need to be
> professionally removed. If I can do it myself are there any precautions
> I need to take? (i.e. power supply, notify town, etc.)
I concur with everyone else's warnings about power lines. Also, be
careful you don't get yourself in an awkward balancing act up on the
roof, the way I did. I took a hacksaw to the rusted bolts holding the
upper mast to an antenna rotater and was suprised at how heavy the whole
thing was once it came loose. I had taken the precaution of tying the
two pieces together with a rope but that did not make it easy to get the
top part down without hurting the roof or myself. Should have thought
that through better.
Thomas Gauldin
Back when I was an early teenager, cable television came to Marshall MO.
This was back in the very late 1950's. My dad immediately subscribed, which
orphaned the antenna on top the house. After we'd become comfortable with
the cable's reliability, Dad asked me to take down the old antenna so he
could give it to a friend who didn't have access to cable.
The antenna was a monstrosity- perched on top the center of our house atop
three concentric 10' telescoping mast poles. There were guy wires to the
top of each section. My buddy, TR and I got Dad's 14' ladder and took it to
the top of the house, where I leaned it against the mast. It had been up
for years, and the bolts holding each section of the mast up were rusted
badly. With a lot of grunting and cussing, I undid the bottom support bolt
while old TR held onto the ladder.
Remember, this was a 14' ladder leaned against three 10' sections of mast.
As you might have guessed, the bolt sheared off as I was trying to loosen
it. The middle section of mast immediately telescoped down into the lower
section. When it hit bottom, the upper bolt sheared off from the impact,
bringing the darn antenna and rotor down onto the top of the ladder and me.
The words said by me, even as a teenager, have forever compromised my hope
of achieving heaven. There was a tangle of guy wires, antenna lead wires
and rotor wires around the top of the ladder. In turn, the top of the
ladder sheared off the flimsy antenna, freeing the top 4' of ladder from any
support whatsoever. This then slid off the antenna mast and fell- with me
on it.
Thank goodness that I held onto the ladder as I fell. . . and TR held onto
the other end. The roof ridge acted as a fulcrum for the falling ladder,
almost catapulting TR off the roof. Fortunately, he held onto the ladder
with one hand and grabbed what remained of the antenna mast with the other.
I ended up about 3' from the gutter, with my feet hanging over the edge of
the roof, while TR bridged the gap between the ladder and antenna mast with
only his hands.
I finally got back on my feet and we got the rest of the antenna down.
Needless to say, I'm a smarter man, now, than I was back in 1959. The
antenna was totaled, however, and Dad's friend had to make do with a
different solution.
--
Tom Gauldin, Raleigh NC
-NetMeeting ils.four11.com, Live Birdfeeder Action
ICQ 7022136 fax (919) 676-1404
ftp://ftp.mindspring.com/pub/users/scoundrl/gauldin1.htm
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Here's to the land of the Longleaf Pine,
The Summerland, where the sun doth shine,
Where the weak grow strong, and the strong grow great,
Here's to Downhome, the Old North State.
Rob Steele wrote in message <35059CF4...@ll.mit.edu>...
Dave Clark
Thomas Gauldin <scou...@mindspring.com> wrote in article
<6e493u$8...@camel12.mindspring.com>...
> I finally got back on my feet and we got the rest of the antenna down.
> Needless to say, I'm a smarter man, now, than I was back in 1959. The
> antenna was totaled, however, and Dad's friend had to make do with a
> different solution.
>
Great story. Too bad you don't have it on film.
--
-------------
Dave Clark
Opinions expressed are my own. Any resemblance to other opinions living or
dead are purely coincidental.
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