Chimney protection

ixtlan

Hi all,

I may become known as the paranoid chimney guy since I've posted on this topic before, but here goes...

Since I'm thinking of getting Sky Plus, I wonder if the installers might/should do anything regarding my dish on the chimney. Like many people that's where the Sky installers put it, and I now know that it not the best thing to do... even though it looks like 70-80% of the houses have it done that way.

Other than the front of the house it may be that the chimney is the only place that the dish can go, so assuming it stays on top are there any preventative measures I can take to stop a storm removing it and part of my chimney. Once Tony (I think) mentioned a chimney lashing kit?? Am I too paranoid?

Also, it seems amazing that people can't recommend more installers in Cork (Tony can't seem to find any to trust!). Why is it such a black spot? The only one I found through a search was Michael Lyons - 0874186246. Any comments?

Ix

Mossy Monk

Originally posted by ixtlan
Like many people that's where the Sky installers put it, and I now know that it not the best thing to do... even though it looks like 70-80% of the houses have it done that way

i thought Sky frowned upon this for insurance reasons. where i live i see only 1 house with a dish on the chimney

but anyway, we get a battering from the wind every now and again and the neighbours with the dish on the chimney have never had structural damage or loss of satellite service since the dish was installed

watty

A 90cm dish would be more scary on chimbly, the sky dishes are not too big. Awkward for access though.

Technically the dish should not be on front of house or above peak of roof in some interpretations ... But MMDS aerial is a dish and they are ALL above chimney. The larger MMDS dish has more stress on Chimney due to length of pole.

Rizzo the Rat

i had Sky out yesterday as there was a problem with my dish (it is on the chimney). They had to replace some small part on the dish. I asked about the dish being on the roof as a lot of my neighbours have it either at the back or front of their houses. They said it was no problem having it on the roof as the dishes are designed to withstand winds of up to 110mph.

Tony

Would a pole/stand off bracket not work somewhere on your house?

Tony

Originally posted by ixtlan
Hi all,

I may become known as the paranoid chimney guy since I've posted on this topic before, but here goes...

S
Ix

Capt'n Midnight

Originally posted by LurkingIcon
But MMDS aerial is a dish and they are ALL above chimney. The larger MMDS dish has more stress on Chimney due to length of pole.

Both MMDS and Satelite need line of sight. The MMDS aerial is a LOT closer to the horizon than the Satellite. A SKY dish will work happily at ground level - if there is nothing in front of it.

RE: 110MPH - all well and good - but you aren't worried about the dish coming off the bracket.
You should be worried about the bracket coming off the chimney or the chimney being damaged by the wind loading. If you used railway tracks as bumpers on your car then they will not get damaged in a crash, but the crumple zones on your car would still crumple.

Note: if the chimney is shared with a neighbour eg: a semi-detached don't you need the neighbours permission to attach something to the chimney ??

ixtlan

Regarding a pole/standoff brackett... I don't know. The house faces a little bit SouthEast, and I'm in the Eastern side of a semi-detached... if that makes sense. Maybe a very long standoff bracket on the gable could see around the wall, but it might need to be quite long, and indeed might need to protrude in front of the house.

I do have my own chimney. There are about 10 houses on my road in a large estate. About 7 have dishes on the chimey, and one has one on the front wall over the downstairs window. On other roads in the estate the same kind of pattern seems to hold. Most dishes are on the chimneys.

I'm really not enough of an expert to know if this is due to necessity or incompetence. It seems to me that at least for the houses on the Western side of the detaches, the dishes should have been on the gable. It's all very puzzling.

However considering that the deed is done and in fact the dish has been on-high now for almost 3 years, I'm wondering what the most cost effective solution is. I think the wife would not be pleased with a front wall mounting, and I'd probably need an installer visit to know if a standoff was an option, and since no other house has one, maybe not. Can the chimney installation be secured? Am I paranoid?

Ix.

Tony

Originally posted by ixtlan
Am I paranoid?

Ix.

No you are not paranoid, you just want a good job done, nothing wrong with that:)

Mike 1972

Im not an expert but id imagine its down to
1) The condition of your chimney
2) How well the job is done
3) Typical windspeeds in your area (In parts of the West of Ireland storms of 110+ mph are not unknown)

ixtlan

Can't resist adding a picture.

I'm the one on the right. And having looked I see that my 2 neighbours on the left and on the right have chimney dishes...

Might add another pic.

ixtlan

More on the left... smaller this time

watty

Perhaps is typical.

I perfer to be able to get at LNB/Dish angle with ordinary steps or ladder.


Is it to:
1) Ensure you must call out contractor rather than 5 minute DIY if "static" "does in" LNB?

2) Ensure no-one watches Hotbird or Astra19 and realise that Satellite "not equal" Sky?