wv_mountaineer
Member
How does one go about get a tower into the hole in the ground if said tower is 5 sections high (50 foot)?
Tower question
- Thread starter wv_mountaineer
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purchase a BASE section.......dig a hole........place base in hole with several yards of concrete......procede with the rest of tower
K9WG
Member
W2NJS
Member
Contact the tower manufacturer to get his engineered instructions for installation of your particular tower. If you do it on your own, without any guidance, you may be in for serious problems down the road.
"If you do it on your own, without any guidance, you may be in for serious problems down the road."
+1
In order to get the required construction permit first you need to check local tower ordinances for placement and height restrictions so should it fall it won't damage neighboring property. That will tell you just where you stand, next step is a building permit. To obtain one you must submit detailed engineering plans and tower specifications, the latter obtained from the manufacturer, the former are yours meaning how it will be mounted and guyed.
As for installing a concrete base and mounting plate, proper guys and dead man anchors, local hams are of great help and the best way to find them is a club. Google is your friend and here's a few good places to start.
Lawrence County Amateur Radio Emergency Services
Amateur Radio League of Lawrence County
AMATEUR RADIO CLUBS & ORGANIZATIONS
Mercer County Amateur Radio Club
+1
In order to get the required construction permit first you need to check local tower ordinances for placement and height restrictions so should it fall it won't damage neighboring property. That will tell you just where you stand, next step is a building permit. To obtain one you must submit detailed engineering plans and tower specifications, the latter obtained from the manufacturer, the former are yours meaning how it will be mounted and guyed.
As for installing a concrete base and mounting plate, proper guys and dead man anchors, local hams are of great help and the best way to find them is a club. Google is your friend and here's a few good places to start.
Lawrence County Amateur Radio Emergency Services
Amateur Radio League of Lawrence County
AMATEUR RADIO CLUBS & ORGANIZATIONS
Mercer County Amateur Radio Club
wv_mountaineer
Member
Huh...
I guess I should have made this a little more simple for everyone who looks way to deep into a question.
50 foot of tower. Base section, Middle sections and Top section. Do you put the tower together before putting it into the ground? Which to me sounds impossible unless you have the use of a crane? Do you put the base section into the ground first then erect the tower piece by piece, using the method described above? Just how did you get your tower standing next to your house?
I guess I should have made this a little more simple for everyone who looks way to deep into a question.
50 foot of tower. Base section, Middle sections and Top section. Do you put the tower together before putting it into the ground? Which to me sounds impossible unless you have the use of a crane? Do you put the base section into the ground first then erect the tower piece by piece, using the method described above? Just how did you get your tower standing next to your house?
n5ims
Member
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Most towers are designed to be put up one section at a time. You dig your hole and plant the base section (level, etc.) and secure with concrete. Once that has set up and cured, you start putting the additional sections on top of it, one section at a time. You may need to place temporary guy rope to secure the tower as it's being built depending on how high you want to go. Once you get where the normal guy wires go you can secure the tower at that level with them and remove the temporary ones. Your tower manufacturer should have detailed instructions on how to correctly build your tower since the instructiona may vary a bit depending on each specific design.
talkpair
Member
One of the most popular guyed towers for home use is the Rohn 25G series.
There is ton of information in their catalog.
http://www.rohnnet.com/resourcesmodule/download_resource/id/593/src/@random48eced0c124b9/
There's really not a single set of rules for all towers.....Consideration for wind, ice and equipment on the tower all go into consideration.
When I put my tower up, I had to decide on the maximum height I could achieve without violating building zoning codes, as well as FAA regulations.
In my case, the county says that the tower height cannot exceed the distance from the base of the tower + length of tower + 25 feet to any property line.
What this essentially means that in the event the tower falls, it will do so within 25 feet my property.
Also you need to check the recommendations on where the guy wires and anchors are supposed to be placed...........Avoid situations where the guys could come into contact with power, or snagged by a vehicle.
There is ton of information in their catalog.
http://www.rohnnet.com/resourcesmodule/download_resource/id/593/src/@random48eced0c124b9/
There's really not a single set of rules for all towers.....Consideration for wind, ice and equipment on the tower all go into consideration.
When I put my tower up, I had to decide on the maximum height I could achieve without violating building zoning codes, as well as FAA regulations.
In my case, the county says that the tower height cannot exceed the distance from the base of the tower + length of tower + 25 feet to any property line.
What this essentially means that in the event the tower falls, it will do so within 25 feet my property.
Also you need to check the recommendations on where the guy wires and anchors are supposed to be placed...........Avoid situations where the guys could come into contact with power, or snagged by a vehicle.
jim202
Member
Let me point out a very important fact on trying to install any tower constructed with tubular members. Towers with hollow legs need to have moisture drains for the legs. You might not think that the legs would collect moisture, but they do. This moisture has to go some place and the bottom of the tower is where it normally ends up.
With that said, you need to consider just how you install the first tower section. Over the years, people have just dug a hole and plopped the tower in and then poured cement in to act as a secure base to hold the first section. No care is taken to allow any moisture to drain out of the legs. In many cases, the open bottom of the tower legs are actually in the cement. This then causes the moisture to collect and build up. Given enough time. this moisture will collect enough to get above the ground level of the poured base. Given enough cold weather and the moisture freezes. Enough ice and the tower legs split and start to look like a pealed banana.
With enough ice cycles and enough tower weight, the legs start to compress. This then causes the guy wires to become loose. Now given enough wind and time, most towers in this condition end up on the ground.
When was the last time you looked at the base legs of your TOWER?
With that said, you need to consider just how you install the first tower section. Over the years, people have just dug a hole and plopped the tower in and then poured cement in to act as a secure base to hold the first section. No care is taken to allow any moisture to drain out of the legs. In many cases, the open bottom of the tower legs are actually in the cement. This then causes the moisture to collect and build up. Given enough time. this moisture will collect enough to get above the ground level of the poured base. Given enough cold weather and the moisture freezes. Enough ice and the tower legs split and start to look like a pealed banana.
With enough ice cycles and enough tower weight, the legs start to compress. This then causes the guy wires to become loose. Now given enough wind and time, most towers in this condition end up on the ground.
When was the last time you looked at the base legs of your TOWER?
K
kb0nly
Guest
Freestanding or guyed?
But regardless of which type unless you have a tiltover base your going to have to cement the base, let it cure a week or so depending on ground conditions and mix of concrete and then put up a section at a time. You can probably get away with less curing time, but thats the rule of thumb i use, one weekend of digging and concrete work, wait a week and then put up the next weekend.
I used a standard section way back when as a base for a used tower. Put in a layer of large gravel for drainage, some chunks of cinder block right under the legs for temporary support and to keep the gravel out of the legs, set the section, then added a few inches of sand, then concrete. Also put a thick layer of tar over the legs to keep the concrete from eating the galvanizing.
Last I checked, it was still standing ... of course, you're very much SOL if the tower isn't perfectly plumb or the base shifts, so attention to detail is a good thing. I'm thinking if I were to do it today, instead of tar, I'd do a couple wraps of that new fangled ice dam material they put on roof edges. Good stuff.
Last I checked, it was still standing ... of course, you're very much SOL if the tower isn't perfectly plumb or the base shifts, so attention to detail is a good thing. I'm thinking if I were to do it today, instead of tar, I'd do a couple wraps of that new fangled ice dam material they put on roof edges. Good stuff.
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