Bill wrote:
>
> Hello to All:
>
> Maybe the TOWERTALK clan can shed a little light on a simple guying
> question...
>
> Rohn suggests in their specs. to scope the guys at 80 percent of the
> tower hieght (in this case a 50 footer) and to guy at 23' and 45'. Fine.
> Now a utility co. lineman friend believes that putting the guy anchors
> out 40' for a 50' tower is crazy. He brings up a valid point that the
> more real estate that the guys cover increases the probability of a tree
> falling and catching those cables. The guy installation will consist fo
> using a commercial 10mm guy, preforms, and anchor system. He assures me
> that there is NO weather situation, short of a tornado, that will budge
> this system. I believe him, I have the hardware here in front of me and
> it is very heavy. But he says that a tree falling across a guy will
> surely bring it down in a pile. So he suggests bringing the anchors in
> to around 20-25'. This would in fact would put a steeper angle on the
> guys allowing them to "shed" a falling object better and lessen the area
> for the potential. I think that all make good sense BUT....(here's the
> 64k question) will that increase the downward compression of the tower
> too much and cause a problem? Or am I making a mountain from a mole
> hill. And do you see the need for using Rohn's GA25GD (tower guy
> attachment assembly) for a 50 footer w/ 8sq.ft. windload. Or should I
> save these questions for when I get bored with the 50 and decide to put
> up a 100'!
>
I used to work for an outfit that had a bunch of towers (50 - 60 ft. 45G
mostly) in heavily wooded locations. I can't say they were guyed
exactly to spec but they were close. On one occasion we went out to a
site to find a huge tree had been blown down in a storm and had snapped
one of the guys. The tower was still standing. Whoever had installed
that tower had buried 5 foot of the first section in concrete which is
what probably helped save the tower. FWIW.
Your lineman friend probably didn't think to mention that utility
companies are forced to guy close in simply because they don't have the
real estate available. Mostly they are forced to operate within
available utility easements which aren't all that wide. In front of my
house they get 15 feet. Imagine what most homeowners would do if the
local Flicker & Flash came along and planted a guy square into the
customer's begonia patch! Not to mention the potential lawsuits from
clotheslining the customers. :-)
73 Malcolm KR4HP
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