Installing dish 500 on roof, any advice?

[markchadwick]

I'm installing a Dish 500 on the roof of a single-family home: shingled, pointed roof. Roof seems solid, in good condition, no leaks or obvious weaknesses/damage. I'm in Northern Illinois suburbs, this area is not unusually windy, have had no problems with an antenna with rotater on a chimney mount.

My question: are there any special concerns with a roof mount? I have roof cement/sealant, which I will apply to the bolts and mount to make sure it's waterproof (it's made for asphalt/shingles, so it won't peel away). I have 6 5/16", 2" long lag bolts to mount the dish.

I have a stud-finder that works up to 1.5 inches deep: should I look for studs to drill into, or can I pretty much go anywhere on the roof? I feel nervous about drilling holes into my roof....

 

[Jared Twomey]

i've been installing for years and have never had a problem with a roof mount. It is always a good idea to use sealant, and I always try to get at least a couple of the lag bolts into a stud... if possible
another option if you are worried about a roof mount would be to possibly mount in on the facia

 

[noremac]

You definitely need to get the two center bolt holes aligned with a rafter-stud. Then put the other four outer holes into the decking. If your decking is OSB, this is very critical. If your decking is plywood, I think it's still very necessary. If you have an old house with 1x board decking, I would still aim for a rafter!