Good point, on permits for "structural concrete." I think the argument
could be made that a county's authority extends so far as the foundation,
but not to the tower. As a for instance, my county signed off final on two
199' towers, once the concrete was poured. They did not need to see the
tower raised above that point.
This has occurred to me in another respect. One of my options has been to
pour pier pin bases, pour them bigger than the spec. for, say, Rohn 25, with
the idea that I might put up Rohn 25 to begin with but some years later
might upgrade to Rohn 45 or 55 or 65. A pier pin base made spec. for the
larger tower would make this possible. Part of the argument to county
authorities would be that the concrete foundation is the "permanent
structure" and the tower that sits on it is just a temporary structure. To
wit, we typically remove the tower when we move; we do not typically remove
the concrete foundation, in the same way that we remove our boat, RV,
furniture, etc. when we move; we do not remove the house (typically).
It is widely believed (and I think this is true here in my suburban county)
that building permits are not required for "temporary towers," such as the
AB-577, the military surplus tubular crankup (up to 75') or the AB-621 (up
to 100'), or for telephone poles.
All grist for the mill of the theory that it is the hole and concrete poured
into it that require a building permit and inspections, not the tower --
though county officials and inspectors may have to be "educated" on this
point. The inspectors here were quite open in admitting they knew nothing
about towers; what they were programmed to deal with were holes in the
ground -- and they readily whipped out their tape measure to confirm its
size and depth -- and concrete poured into the hole.
73 - Rich, KE3Q
----- Original Message -----
From: <kb9cry@comcast.net>
To: <TOWERTALK@contesting.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2004 3:56 PM
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] My Tower cost
> Tower cost will vary depending on the type of installation you're willing
> to put up. "Field day" style installations can be very inexpensive and
> can actually last a good many years but if you're going to follow all the
> manufacturer's recommendations and good tower engineering practices, then
> it's not cheap. Actually for my recent 120 ft. guyed Rohn 45, the tower
> and antenna were the least costly of the total. I didn't skimp on this
> installation and am confident it will, Lord willing, last a good many
> years with little worry.
>
> Finally, someone made a comment that I feel compelled to write about.
> Your local ordinances or county or whatever may not require a tower permit
> but virtually all counties in the US require a permit whenever you pour
> structural concrete. And tower bases are structural concrete. Ask around
> on the Ham-Law reflector, but you may be sorry later on if you don't
> inquire about that special requirement. That's what I ended up with and
> am glad I did, I didn't need a tower permit but indeed needed a permit for
> the concrete so to speak. Gd luck, Phil KB9CRY
> _______________________________________________
>
> See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless
> Weather Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with
> any questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
>
> _______________________________________________
> TowerTalk mailing list
> TowerTalk@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
>
_______________________________________________
See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless Weather
Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any questions
and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
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