Visit To Building Permit Folks

[N0UYR]

Does anyone have a code on how tall the truck in your driveway can be?

[WA7PRC]

Glad I dont have t deal with that bureaucracy like that... Heck around here if a human inst going to be living inside the structure you don't even need a building permit. Be it barn, shed, or tower no paperwork.. Dig a hole and go.....

Great, if you're a Structural Professional Engineer -- you can do your own stress analysis for your tower in your area. For the rest of us, the safe thing to do is hire a PE. Up The Tower by Steve Morris (K7LXC) convinced me to do it by the book. I didn't experience anything that could be called a stifling "bureaucracy". YMMV.

[WB2WIK]

Great, if you're a Structural Professional Engineer -- you can do your own stress analysis for your tower in your area. For the rest of us, the safe thing to do is hire a PE. Up The Tower by Steve Morris (K7LXC) convinced me to do it by the book. I didn't experience anything that could be called a stifling "bureaucracy". YMMV.

I've installed towers for a living at one point (about 20-24 years ago) and installed a lot of them. But I must say, in my observation probably 90% of all "ham" towers are not exactly by the book...in fact, a lot of them are unpermitted but up anyway.

I've seen guys use HBX48s with huge HF beams on them, which completely violates the Rohn specifications...and for the most part, those installations last a lifetime (unless they're in hurricane zones). "We" get away with a lot of stuff, and it usually all works out.

Sometimes, it doesn't.

I tend to over-engineer stuff because it's not much more expensive to do so and I don't want to be a litigant in a lawsuit.

I always treated the manufacturer's specifications as "minimums." If they say to use 3 yards of concrete, there's no way that 5 yards will hurt. But I always treated guying instructions as sacred; when they say "399 lbs" of tension per guy, I never tensioned them a bit beyond that.

Common sense prevails.

[WA7PRC]

Any more, common sense doesn't appear to be as common as it should be. Since my tower is over 35' tall (72') and not part of an existing structure, my permitting agency required wet-stamped plans from a PE licensed in my state for MY proposed installation. To not at least check what is required is IMO at least silly. At most, it leaves the owner open to liability. I'd rather not needlessly lose sleep over that. My insurance agent stated that loss from my falling tower would be covered -- if it met all regulatory requirements. It does, and I sleep well.

When I first sat down w/ my county's representatives, they said they couldn't remember the last time someone asked for a permit for a ham tower. There are about 2K hams in this county. My county Planning & Development Services dept should be seeing at least a few permit requests per year but, apparently, they're not. That's scary.

[WB4CMB]

I did contact 'RIC. I had an answer from him on 27 June. He referred me to K6AER, Mike Higgins. Right after that I made a trip to Phoenix (drove) to visit my wife's brother who is terminal with a rare blood disease (Aplastic Anemia). I was gone 9 days and have not contacted Mike yet. I'm prob leaving tomorrow to go to the CBA (CO Bowhunters Association) jamboree. Also spent a ccouple days up at my cabin, so have been busy. Thanks Ray

[WB2WIK]

I did contact 'RIC. I had an answer from him on 27 June. He referred me to K6AER, Mike Higgins. Right after that I made a trip to Phoenix (drove) to visit my wife's brother who is terminal with a rare blood disease (Aplastic Anemia). I was gone 9 days and have not contacted Mike yet. I'm prob leaving tomorrow to go to the CBA (CO Bowhunters Association) jamboree. Also spent a ccouple days up at my cabin, so have been busy. Thanks Ray

I know mike well, and just spoke with him last night on 20 meters. He's very active from his home in Elizabeth, CO and also mobile. Mike not only knows about towers, he also installs them. I didn't know Mike installed Ric's stuff (or maybe I did, and forgot!) but he would know the ins and outs of the local codes.

[K6AER]

"Antennae" are the feelers on lobsters. I had no idea the city regulated those.

[WA8FOZ]

Ray:

I just heard the news that bigger problems than antennas have come up in Aurora. I hope you and yours are OK. Your brother-in-law too.

[WB4CMB]

We are all OK. My family, at least. My grandson knows a girl who got shot and is in critical condition. My bother in law in Phoenix is in ICU and his wife is also admitted with some form of infected diverticulitis. We are considering going to Phoenix to house sit and do what else we can (horse feeding, etc). Thanks for concern. As much as I love ham radio, there are definitely much greater priorities. Sometimes it takes such a great tragedy to make us realize this! Ray

[N8EMR]

[QUOTE=WA7PRC;2603846]Great, if you're a Structural Professional Engineer -- you can do your own stress analysis for your tower in your area./QUOTE]
Common sense goes a long way also... If I was putting up some big a$$ beam I might be more concerned, but a few VHF/UHF antennas and some dipoles My tower is more than strong enough and doesn't need any permits.