Hi All,
After reading all the information about installing new towers I
thought I would give all of you the run-down on a 96' trylon
tower I just finished up installing in Nothern California is Placer
County. This project started in July 2004 with a client
asking me to engineer and install a tower to enable him to mount a
Wireless Internet POP (point of presence) at
100' agl to enable him to have high speed internet service in his
'digital wilderness'. So off we go,,
Tower Cost Trylon T-200-96'
$2600.00 approx
Champion Radio
Locate and contract for engineering plans for building
permit $400.00 (a deal anywhere, normally +$1000)
Obtain building permit for private tower install - county of
Placer $250.00
Backhoe - dig required hole for foundation
$350.00 (a
deal in this part of the country)
Re-bar for required foundation
$145.00
Torch rental for forming 1/2" vertical re-bar per plans
$ 50.00
Concrete block for use in tower foundation to support
tower,
Lumber for forming base above ground, tie wire,
etc $150.00
Concrete Pour on Saturday (3000 psi concrete)
$850.00
(10 miles from plant to hole)
Concrete inspection & testing by 3rd party inspector
$400.00
Concrete vibrator (required for pours exceeding 2' thick
(county) $ 45.00/day (1 day)
Crane to tip up the complete tower in one operation
$450.00
(4hrs including travel time - he was 10 miles away)
Total expenses (without Labor for install)
$5690.00
my labor involved preparing and submitting building application,
forming re-bar and tying the re-bar foundation,
pouring foundation, assembling the tower and mounting the tower on
the finished foundation.
The Building Department pre-pour inspection was just for the 'hole'
because NO 110vAC or higher voltage will be
used on the tower. (CAT5 POE is legal without an electrical clearance)
The 3rd Party "On-Site Pour Inspection" was required by the Building
Department. In some counties in California
the building department takes the delivery slip for the concrete as
proof of any concrete delivered that is
above normal concrete (ie:2500psi). However, some counties require
ANY concrete poured in excess of 2' deep or
any concrete in excess of 2500 PSI (ie foundations of any kind) to be
inspected ON-SITE at the pour. This requires
hiring an inspector, taking 3 samples, crushing one at 7days and 2 at
28 days to validate the concrete strength.
We could have saved $400 by not having the 3000 psi noted on the
Trylon Plans, but ordering 3000 psi concrete
($3.50/yard more than normal) for the pour. Maybe I'll figure out
how to do that next time? Kinda of a
'don't ask don't tell thing.
We saved money on the backhoe portion by finding a local
'farmer-operator' that had a backhoe and was willing to
dig the hole and not charge 'door-to-door' including travel time.
We also saved by finding the P.E. If anyone would like the name of
the California Cert'd P.E. I would be
happy to supply this information, it's really hard to get plans
usable for submission to a Building Department
in California drawn for less than $1500-$2000. I'm using this same
P.E. for two tower installs I'm doing for the
City Of Fort Bragg. (he's cheaper than using the P.E. on the City
Payroll) This P.E. is retiring from the State
of California and will be available for private contract work.
Now you can see what it takes to install a tower in an 'UN-IMPROVED"
farm community in Placer County, California
would cost. One expense that varies a whole lot is the 3rd party
inspection of the concrete pour. In some counties
So, after all of this , I hope this will be of use to anyone thinking
about a new tower,
73
Bob Smith
NA6T
Robert Smith Consulting
707-964-4931
Fort Bragg, California
_______________________________________________
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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