SD 76E dish roof install

[vtphotowx]

Hi,

I have a 76cm elliptical StarChoice/Shaw Direct dish that has served me very well for several years as an apartment-dweller. I recently bought a new house, and was looking to put this dish on the roof, which is the only viable location. Leaving it on the ground and not "in the way" would require a lot of trench-digging to get the cable from the LNB to where all the RG-6 cables come out of the house. So I was looking to mount it on the SE corner, and can easily hide the cables under the eave over to where the wiring comes in.

The way to "do it right" that I've read involves getting a good stud finder and have two 3" lag bolts going into one of the rafters, and four 2" lags on each of the corners, and proper roofing chaulk.

However, the 76cm dish is pretty large, and I'm in a fairly windy area. So I'm not sure that the "standard installation" would be enough for the expected wind loading. I know at the very least I should get a brace.

However, I'm wondering, since I have access to the attic, why wouldn't I just drill through the rafter and roof sheathing, and use threaded bolts, a metal backing plate, good sized washers and nuts inside the attic? Would these be weaker than lag bolts? Also, I could use a small 2x4 on either side of the rafter so even the corner bolts go through more than just flat plywood.

I imagine a lag bolt has a tighter "seal" with the surrounding wood, but less "up and down" strength since there's no backing plate, nut, or washers behind it.

Any advice would be appreciated!
-Mike

 

[jsattv]

Have you considered the Basement as an Option:
Ran my cables off my Bell Dish from the roof down the side of the house and thru the side of a basement window using a small conduit pipe, then caulked it to make it waterproof and rodent proof. The RG 6 cables are neatly arranged down the side of the House with some screw in eyelets. From the basement you can then route the cable up to the living room or your area of choice. Hope this helps.

 

[Slartibartfarst]

Drill a pilot hole and then put 2 x 4's on the inside, between rafters, where the pilot hole is, that way you can use the lag bolts, into these new pieces of 2 x 4.

Lots of caulking, there are even small pieces of rubber material you can get that go under the foot to waterproof the holes.

 

[Frenchophile]

+1 Slartibartfarst...putting a 2x4 or 4x4 between rafters is the way to go. i personally used lag bolts to secure my dishes. not sure if they are necessarily better than bolts and nuts as you are proposing