[TowerTalk] Used Tower

[Neil Marlowe]

Dino, they are diagonal.

Mark, a close friend's dad has put up a few of these and is also a building
inspector for a neighboring county. He's the first on my list to give it a
good, objective look over. I also have a friend who is a metal worker and
plan on getting his input on the integrity of the metal.

Just to clear up, I realize this is far from the optimal idea of erecting a
tower. Trust me, if I could afford it, I would buy the best tower (new) that
I could. Unfortunately, life gets in the way sometimes. That being said, I
realize you can't put a value on safety. This is not something that's going
to be done overnight. I've lived this long without a tower and 6-12 more
months (or more if needed) isn't going to make a difference. I want to do
the best job I can with what I have to work with. The good news is that I
have a large enough lot that should something go wrong and the tower come
down, it will be far enough away from everything so as to not hit anything
on the way down with the exception of a chainlink fence. I cannot expect
anyboby online to be able to tell me whether or not a tower is suitable for
use. Believe me, I'm not looking for any miracles here. I will rely on my
friends and those that can inspect the tower first hand for that. I am just
looking for additional pointers, tips, and gotchyas just so I have the most
information I can about this. Once I've had a few more eyes on it to make
sure it is in good condition, then I will begin planning the base and
cleaning and sanding. This is going to be a nice, drawn out project.
Something to keep the "honey-do" list more manageable :).

Thanks folks for the suggestions so far.

On 2/11/07, EL34GUY at aol.com <EL34GUY at aol.com> wrote:
>
>  Hi Neil,
>
> I would do some critical visual inspections on the tower, and expect to do
> some painting and or cold galvanizing to clean up any issues with surface
> rust it might have. This sort of sounds cheesy Neil but have the attitude
> while examining this thing that this tower needs to prove to you it can be
> put back up. Also make sure the tower isn't rusting from the inside out.
> There are folks on here that can help you know what to look for regarding
> that scenario. Its way easier to do on the ground than after its up. Another
> bit of advice is have another person come over and look at the tower just to
> make sure you haven't overlooked something critical. Something like some
> rust or anything that's broken, bent, or needs welding. Other things to
> consider are the bolts to put it all back together again, and the base size
> and construction.
>
> Others Im sure will have more suggestions for you, goodluck and be safe
> Neil!!
>
> 73
>
> Mark
> W0NCL
>
>