Why not put it on the chimney
I’m often asked to put a dish out of the way, on a chimney. This is not an option for any Euro dish, why? First, the councils of most UK towns adhere to this set of Government guidelines when deciding if a sat dish will be allowed…
“an antenna fitted onto a chimney stack is not more than 60 centimetres in any linear dimension” – (all my dishes are over 60cm)
The full list of requirements are on this webpage
Second, The Chimney is in a difficult and hazardous place to inspect and to install a dish . Also if the dish needs some attention in the future, even trivial adjustment , the same expenses would occur
Third, The Chimney is exposed to the full force of the wind , lower down on the walls the wind is usually less than 1/3 the force on the chimney. In several recent storms winds over 90mph were recorded in different parts of the UK- An 80cm size dish in a gust of between 50 to 80mph will put a sideways thrust of over 105 pounds force on the dish! Do you think your dish and chimney would survive the weight of a good size teenager swinging sideways on it?
As it is exposed to the weather each and every day, the bricks and mortar do deteriorate. Many London homes are Victorian and have original brickwork
Much younger buildings can collect moss and even plant life, slowly forcing the mortar and bricks apart
The basic construction of a chimney – is A SINGLE LAYER OF BRICKS unlike the rest of your house which is a double layer construction. It is strong enough for purpose but not nearly strong enough to withstand the force of the wind on a big dish, especially after a few decades of weathering.
I can hear you asking why are aerials ok on the chimney, but not satellite dishes. Or why not fix the dish with a chimney lashing kit, the same as an aerial?
The movement caused by the wind would take a dish well out of alignment, even half a mm is all it takes. So dishes need a very firm fixing in either brick or concrete with 10mm bolts
Do you really want this clown anywhere near your chimney with a powerful hammer drill fitting your dish? Well not if you want the chimney to stay up.
Over the years I have been asked by insurance companies to produce reports on collapsed chimnies, caused by dishes put up by incompetent ‘installers’ who have not considered this important safety aspect
The Power of the Wind
Before…
…. After
This was a very well supported set of dishes, on the top ( 5th) floor of a building the bottom dish is a Sky dish the top one was an 88cm Triax dish. The reflector bolts just ripped through the metalwork of the dish and the whole thing flew away in a storm.
Beware of misinformation on ‘mesh’ or ‘perforated’ style dishes, if the wind gets above 50mph, it won’t make any difference if it’s a solid dish or perforated.The turbulence around the holes at this speed will prevent the wind passing through.