Can't install sky dish because of roof tiles?

mije1983

CharlieRabbit01 wrote: »

They're not going to change their mind but it doesn't change the fact that their policy is ridiculous.

CharlieRabbit01 wrote: »

I don't understand a society that feels the need to sue everyone forcing companies to cover their backs in this way.

Don't these 2 parts of the same post contradict each other? You acknowledge the reason behind it is to prevent them being sued.

Surely then it's not a ridiculous policy (part 1) if it's covering their backs from ambulance chasers (part 2).

Jemma-T

Drilling into a chimney isn't too smart they weren't designed for that. I'd say that's only part of Sky's reasoning the other being the height -that's a big ladder needed.

Nothing stopping you phoning around and doing it yourself -just don't tell installers it's "easy" as they'll be scared off.

Or rent a specialist roof ladder and do it yourself.

Pincher

I have TWO Sky dishes one of which I put on the chimney myself. It's fine to use the TV aerial type corner bracket held in place by 5 meter of cable around the chimney. You must use the corner pieces to prevent the cable cutting into the chimney.
Best to have three people when putting this up. use a heavy duty kit, not the cheap ones.


I put in a roof vent designed for fitting in between tiles for the cables, The cheap way is to run the cable down the tiles (loose) down to the gutters, and poke it into the eaves space, or just run it down the wall.


I did have to put a terrestrial aerial up there, so the bracket had to be put up anyway. The cool thing is, I managed to tuck the Sky dish between the roof ridge and the chimney, so you can barely see it from the street. It's really just a self-satisfaction thing. As soon I have some spare money for therapy, I will seek help.





It was impossible to match the tiles I broke, so there are multiple tiles that are darker than the old ones. I have subsequently bought a ridge hook for my two section ladder, which I have to lash together every time I want to go up. it s also far too long to get onto the roof by myself, so I wait for somebody willing to help. The good thing is, I hardly ever break any tiles now.


It is very important to use self-amalgamating tape to seal the cable connections (x4 on a quad LNB) against water penetration. I did the dish orientation using a £15 signal meter, but the professionals have a meter that costs £500 to thousands.


If I was doing it "properly", I would need to get a roofing company to put up scaffolding, modify the roof to provide cable access (Multiple cables: two shotgun for the Sky Quad LNB, one Tv co-ax, one DAB co-ax). Hire a CAI qualified dish installer to put up the dish, and run the cables to their indoor termination points. £50? Try £1,000.


And guess what? My other dish, which is accessible from the ground by a tall step ladder, has just as good a signal. People remember the TERRESTRIAL TV aerial needs to be as high as possible, so they think they need to mount a satellite dish as high as possible. WRONG!! provided you have a clear line of sight at 30 degrees to the horizon (no trees, no hills), you can put the dish on your coffee table.


Lesson? Put it on the roof only if you are a Palestinian with a Zionist landlord.
Most of the time, you can find somewhere more easily accessible.

[Deleted User]

Pincher wrote: »

If I was doing it "properly", I would need to get a roofing company to put up scaffolding, modify the roof to provide cable access (Multiple cables: two shotgun for the Sky Quad LNB, one Tv co-ax, one DAB co-ax). Hire a CAI qualified dish installer to put up the dish, and run the cables to their indoor termination points. £50? Try £1,000.

A CAI accredited (not qualified) installer will not charge £1,000 to install a satellite dish on the chimney. Most of that cost comes from all the totally unnecessary building work you list.

Pincher wrote: »

My other dish, which is accessible from the ground by a tall step ladder, has just as good a signal. People remember the TERRESTRIAL TV aerial needs to be as high as possible, so they think they need to mount a satellite dish as high as possible. WRONG!! provided you have a clear line of sight at 30 degrees to the horizon (no trees, no hills), you can put the dish on your coffee table.

I don't think anyone is in any doubt about how low a dish can be sited. Sky installers often fix the dish just above head height on the bay window!
However, it's not ignorance of reception quality that makes people want the dish to be sited on the roof, it's the aesthetics of otherwise having an ugly great dish plonked on the side of the house.

Pincher

As a matter of fact, about 10 years ago, I paid £500 to a local CAI "accredited" installer to put in an 80cm dish for Hotbird 13E, with a dual LNB. This was on a different house, above the rear bay window, below a 1st floor window, so no access issues.


He had no intention of going onto the roof, unless I got scaffolding put in.


I didn't know any better in those days, but he bumped up the quote by using a co-ax with the motorised four core (for 24V motor, or is it 48V?) integrated, "just in case I want to go motorised in the future". As I found out later, the four core cable is normally separate, and a lot cheaper that way. Besides, for an 80cm, a Diseqc motor is fine with just the co-ax. My first dish, live and learn.

[Deleted User]

CAI accredit based on the candidate's ability and quality of workmanship, not on the prices individuals charge. You should have shopped around for a cheaper accredited CAI installer.

Pincher

The last time I called an aerial installer, he deliberately turned the old aerial upside down, so it doesn't drain, and rain water collected in the domed part. I found this out by climbing up there myself. When I rang up, hoping to get him to come so I could give him a good talking to, by pretending there was another job, he actually asked how was the aerial signal, expecting me to say it was getting worse, so he could sell me a new aerial. He obviously sensed the game was up, so didn't turn up at all.


The best outcome ever was £80 for an aerial, which was the only time I wasn't taken for a ride. It was a cheap contract aerial, but at least it worked for at least five years, until corrosion set in.


Since I always end up having to go up myself anyway, I just do my own aerials and dishes. Band A Yaegi, none of that Wide Band non-sense. Even for Sky installs, I have already run the shotgun cable for the engineer, so they don't ruin the house by tacking the cable everywhere. Sky engineers seem to live in fear of quality check visits: GOOD.

[Deleted User]

Pincher wrote: »

The last time I called an aerial installer, he deliberately turned the old aerial upside down, so it doesn't drain, and rain water collected in the domed part.

I'm certain your experience is not the norm, professional installers would not be in business long if they resorted to such dishonest practices on a daily basis. You are lucky that you have the confidence and ability to clamber on your roof to do such work yourself, very few are so fortunate.

As for Sky installers, they are put under pressure to fit as many different customers as possible. That's the main reason I have never entertained them on my property.

CharlieRabbit01

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

I don't think anyone is in any doubt about how low a dish can be sited. Sky installers often fix the dish just above head height on the bay window!
However, it's not ignorance of reception quality that makes people want the dish to be sited on the roof, it's the aesthetics of otherwise having an ugly great dish plonked on the side of the house.

This is part of the issue we have faced, it is not allowed on the front of the property only the side or back and neither of these locations offer a "line of sight" regardless of this even if it did have line of sight, I wouldn't want it right by my window.

I don't need to have sky it was just a very good deal and it would be nice to watch every F1 race live, which is why I'm not paying extra to have it installed.

Pincher

Ask your landlord to do it.


I do the dishes for my tenants, because it can be done really badly if I let them fool around. I even tune in the channels for them on the non-Sky satellites. I found the national language channel for a guy from his old country, which was not that great. What he really wanted was Korean channels so he could lure Korean girls back to his room. No problem.


I started this service for tenants because Japanese corporate tenants used to demand JSTV, a subscription satellite TV service, through Hotbird 13East. With Unlimited broadband, it's becoming less important, since you can get lots of channels on the internet now.