[TowerTalk] Tower ACCIDENT

[Daron J. Wilson]

> New tower construction should always use a base plate and pier pin if the
> only support is guy wires. If house bracketed then a minimum of 2 brackets
> is required. The base should be a standard base plate but with one hole at
> each corner and secured to the concrete with 3/4"  J bolts.
> 
> An existing tower that was installed without drainage MAY have its life
> extended by drilling those small holes I mentioned. Then with ~ 3/16"
> tubing
> inserted down to the bottom regularly pump out any water. There are ways
> to
> derust the legs and seal against further rust but its an iffy proposition
> when you cant tell the extent of the damage.

I'm not an attorney, nor do I play one on TV, but I have a hunch that if you
install a pre engineered tower (such as the Rohn 25) and you modify the
supporting structure (drilling holes anywhere) that you are going to be
violating that engineering.  I just suspect that if you did have problems
with the tower, the FIRST question is going to be 'was it installed exactly
as engineered'?  If your response is 'well, no, I drilled some extra holes
in it...' your liability is going to drastically increase.

While I agree that J bolts in the foundation sound better, when I do these
small towers for commercial installations I still order that stupid $10 Rohn
pier pin instead of using a "J" bolt...because that is the way it was
engineered and I can hang my hat on that engineered drawing.

Your mileage may vary of course...

73 N7HQR