Dish Installation Question

[Charles e roatman]

I have a Directv dish which I want to install in my new abode.

I have a choice -- drill into the brick (which I did on the old house) or drill into a section of wood between two windows.

Brick Brick Brick Brick ______ ______ | | | | |Window| Wood |Window| |______| |______| Brick Brick Brick Brick

All other things being equal, I'd prefer to drill into the wood, since it's a lot easier. Last time, drilling and screwing the DTV mast into brick took an hour or more, if I remember right. However, I want to know if there is anything I should think about before mounting to wood.

I have no definite idea how deep the wood is. From the window frames it appears to be deep enough to accept the mounting screws (I believe they are 3") but I'm not sure. I also don't know how securely the wood is attached to the frame of the house. The house is about 80 years old and the windows are originals.

Is there a way to test how secure the wood is attached? In heavy winds, the dish can exert a fair amount of leverage. Is it possible to secure the wood to the house more securely than it already is?

Are there weatherproofing issues I should be considering (as in, sealing holes, repainting, etc.?

Directv's installation instructions don't go into much detail on how to tell what's a good place to put a dish if you're mounting to wood.

[Bob]

I didn't have your problem, but I didn't want the darn thing mounted anyplace on the house to cause leaks or rotting.

I bought an eight foot treated 4 X 6 - put it about 14 inches in the ground with a half bag of concrete ( I may want to remove it someday ) and mouted the dish to the side of the 4 X 6 near the top.

Works great.

Hope this idea works.

Bob

[I-zheet M'drurz]

(snip)

If it is what I think it is -- one big opening in the bricks, holding 2 windows, and this strip of wood is anywhere from 6-12 inches wide? -- it's likely only a 1*x fascia board.

IOW, don't assume that's all solid wood behind there (even if you see evidence of 3" screws) The majority of that strip could be hollow behind it.

I would try to hunt down a scrap of 2*10 or 2* 12 Wolmanized (Know anybody that installs decks and outdoor stairs?) and use 4 big lag bolts and lead anchors to mount it to the bricks. This "backer board" will be bigger than the mounting plate for the dish, and it will be a lot more "forgiving" in letting you drill holes for the dish mount. Plus, if you ever need to change to a differnet bracket, you won't need to re-drill the bricks. 1 1/2-3/4" Wood screws will be plenty to hold the dish.

No matter how you do it, I would be sure and caulk the upper edges and sides, of course. Make it shed the rainwater.

I think they do that on purpose. Lawsuits, ya know. .

[JerryMouse]

Don't forget: The distance from the ground to the dish is irrelevant. The dish will work JUST AS WELL if it sitting on the ground as it will high up on a chimney.

There are artificial stones used to hide a dish (they're fiberglass), so you could mount the thing in a rock garden.

A common installation is a metal pole in a bucket of concrete.