[TowerTalk] Plumbing Universal Tower

[Robert Chudek]

Hi Jim,

I have installed several Universal Tower bases during my radio career. You are right, there
isn't any "after the fact" adjustments for these bases. This isn't a problem. Here's how I 
poured the bases for my towers.

Dig the hole per manufacturers specs.
Place 3 bricks or blocks in the bottom of the hole.
Stand the base and first section upright in the hole.
Use a carpenters level to plumb the section.
You may need to "adust" the bricks/blocks.
During the concrete pour, monitor the plumb with your level.
When topped off, you can manually shove the tower into plumb, if necessary.
If the concrete pour is slow, re-plumbing usually isn't necessary.


A second method I have seen used is to suspend the base and first section above the hole.
You insert 3 long 2x4's under the lowest Z braces and support the ends with concrete blocks.
You can strap the Z braces to the 2x4's for additional piece of mind.
This has the advantage that you don't have to mess with the bricks/blocks in the bottom of the hole.
You then plumb the bottom section at ground level quite easily.
You can also tie a rope on each leg at the top of the first section and stake these out 10 or 20 feet.

In general, the carpenters level will provide a very accurate plumb for you. If you have a 4 to 6 foot deep
hole, the section will remain in plumb as long as the pour is into the center and isn't poured too fast. The 
concrete can knock the tower around if the load is dumped "full speed"! Discuss this with your concrete 
driver before you start the pour.

But don't worry, you will do just fine! It's a little intimidating the first time you do this. Concrete seems
so permanent! But you have at least 15 minutes (or more) to make adjustments. Make sure you place
a concrete form at the top so you can square it off and make it look "pretty"! Engraving your callsign and 
date into the base is optional. :-)

73 de Bob - K0RC


Message: 4
Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2005 08:47:29 -0400
From: "James E. Lanier" <jelanier at chemroc.com>
Subject: [TowerTalk] Plumbing Universal Tower
To: "towertalk" <towertalk at contesting.com>
Message-ID: <000901c5d899$18eb0ae0$a202060a at jllaptop>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
reply-type=original

The base for the Universal Tower (7-40) is a one shot deal it appears. Any 
ideas or solutions to leveling after the fact?

I have not poured yet and I am hoping for the best, but I only have the 
bottom section to plumb. Adding sections tends to multiply errors.

I wonder if anyone here has created an adjustable base plate mount for this 
type of tower.