In a message dated 9/27/02 8:05:54 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
jhburns@attglobal.net writes:
> I am still trying to decide if I want the free tower that has been offered
> to me. If I do take it what is the best way to take down a 56-ft BX tower?
>
> I have contacted a ham that does tower work. He will charge me $150 if I
> help with the groundwork. He uses a gin pole. I forgot to ask if he had
> insurance, and I am skeptical about doing the groundwork.
What's there to be skeptical about? You hold onto the rope and let stuff
down.
Your point about insurance is a good one though. MOST guys doing ham
radio tower work do not have the necessary contractor's license, insurance or
bonding to call themselves 'professional' tower climbers. There is risk
exposure in all cases and you as the station owner may have no recourse in
case something happens.
>
> I also contacted the local sign company. They charge $90 an hour for their
> crane. They were supposed to have someone drive by and take a look and call
> me back, but I have not heard from them. If I do go with the crane what can
> I do to minimize the crane time?
>
The cost is not too bad for a crane. Many times you get charged for an
hour's worth of travel each way so it may wind up costing you $270.00 even if
the job takes 15 minutes.
The crane guy will have slings with him so all you have to do is climb up
the tower and attach them, climb down, loosen the base bolts, and have him
lay it down. Then disassembly is pretty easy.
Erecting angle-leg towers is a little problematic because there isn't a
common ginpole for them. You can strap a piece of aluminum with a pulley on
top to a leg - that'll work. Or get two guys on the tower and just manually
lift each section into place with brute-force is another way.
I guess my question is what condition is the BX in? They have a pretty
limited service life and I pass on any BX tower unless it's in excellent
shape.
Cheers,
Steve K7LXC
TOWER TECH --
Professional tower services for commercial and amateur
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