Rooftop Tower Installation

Common Concerns and Important Guidelines

The many benefits of a rooftop antenna tower are wholly dependent on installing your tower safely and securely.

Safety First

We recommend hiring a professional, such as a roofer or a solar installer, to mount your roof tower. We also recognize that many of our customers are experienced do-it-yourselfers who enjoy the challenges of building and are very knowledgeable and competent.

If you plan to install your Carlson Roof Tower yourself, strict adherence to rooftop safety guidelines is essential, from proper attire to using safety harnesses.

Here’s a downloadable PDF: Rooftop Safety Instructions. Even if you are a veteran DIYer, we strongly recommend reviewing these guidelines. Never take safety shortcuts when working on a roof!

Solid Attachment

Carlson Roof Towers are designed and built to exacting standards to create a solid base for your antennas (and/or anything else you attach to your tower). Of course, you will want to be sure to add attachments that are within each tower model’s specified guidelines for equipment weight and maximum wind load.

Equally important to insure dependable strength and long life is securely attaching the tower to a structurally sound roof. On a typical shingle pitched roof, the common method is attaching the tower to the roof’s rafters. This involves drilling holes in the roof and working in the attic, a multi-step procedure that must be performed carefully. Any qualified roofer or solar panel installer knows the rafter-attachment method inside-out. If you install yourself, be sure to follow the mounting instructions included in every tower shipment. Manuals for all tower model are also downloadable here.

On a low-slope roof – commonly called a ‘flat roof’ – our non-penetrating mounting system does not involve drilling into the roof. Instead it uses weighted ballasts to hold the tower in place. We will be providing more information on this mounting method soon.

Other mounting methods are also possible for other types of roofs, and we are continually developing new tips and techniques for installing our towers. Please contact us to discuss any special needs or questions you may have.

Leak Prevention

Many prospective tower buyers are concerned about drilling holes in their roof, understandably. Waterproofing any rooftop tower installation, whether installed via rafter attachment or ballasting, is absolutely necessary.

Fortunately, it is not difficult to do with typical asphalt shingle roofs utilizing some combination of applying sealant before and after placing the bolt and using metal flashing and/or rubber gaskets.

Ballasted roof mounting also requires some simple measures to prevent leaks. This downloadable Roof Leak Prevention Guidelines covers what you need to know to waterproof both pitched and low-slope roofs.

Lightning Protection

If a roof tower and all antenna-to-radio cables are not properly grounded, a lightning strike can cause fires, equipment destruction, even personal injury. Needless to say, properly grounding your tower is standard operating procedure for any and all tower and antenna mounting systems. This downloadable Lightning Protection Guidelines provides the essential information.

Securely attaching a solid antenna tower to your roof requires competent work and careful attention to each of the issues above. The reward for your efforts will be owning a strong, versatile mounting structure that secures your wireless communications systems for the long term.