tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post6725610346508889710..comments2024-03-28T08:06:43.198-04:00Comments on The Silicon Graybeard: Minimal Damage from Ian - Mostly PITASiGraybeardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-12545142515243539482022-10-02T18:19:00.592-04:002022-10-02T18:19:00.592-04:00Here in Arizona, I'd never use lag bolts, wood...Here in Arizona, I'd never use lag bolts, wood dries out and loses holding power. Lags into end grain are strictly temporary. Perhaps spread the load using angle iron 6-8 ft. across.Jim N7TCFnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-53403568585303991622022-10-02T12:24:39.758-04:002022-10-02T12:24:39.758-04:00Interesting idea, Nick. In the decades since we p...Interesting idea, Nick. In the decades since we put up the tower, we covered the soffits with aluminum, so there are no nearby vents to get in there. A borescope shoved through an inch or so diameter hole seems like the most promising idea. I don't have one, but that's not a show stopper. <br /><br />As of now (Sunday) this is looking like a short term fix to get the tower and antenna out of the yard followed by a longer term fix to make it stronger "when it cools off" in a month or two. The short term fix is looking like 1/2 x 3" lag bolts. Unless the wood is so weakened that those don't work, but I don't think I can know that until I do it. <br />SiGraybeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-8730642215230824402022-10-01T22:31:41.082-04:002022-10-01T22:31:41.082-04:00I have had to access the top of walls that I could...I have had to access the top of walls that I couldn't get to from inside the attic, either because the roof and ceiling had weird levels, or because the attic space was too low for me. I have had great success by just cutting another soffit vent into the soffit, and after I'm done, cover it with a vent to match the rest of the house. If you have perforated sheathing instead of metal grills, one metal grill painted to match won't look out of place. And if you have sealed soffits, just close the hole, then put the metal grill over it. The grill will hide your butchery....<br /><br />nnick flandreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09481936223334437463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-85739297568024812482022-10-01T16:23:36.907-04:002022-10-01T16:23:36.907-04:00Almost 24 hours AFTER the storm passed!Almost 24 hours AFTER the storm passed!Mark Matisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-67045801840800762292022-10-01T14:07:48.634-04:002022-10-01T14:07:48.634-04:00For those not familiar, PSJ pretty much got the ey...For those not familiar, PSJ pretty much got the eyewall - the worst part of a storm. A royal PITA, but not surprised you'd lose a transformer. <br /> SiGraybeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-12795310303111408532022-10-01T13:22:50.211-04:002022-10-01T13:22:50.211-04:00No significant tree problems up here in PSJ. Just...No significant tree problems up here in PSJ. Just usual palm frond litter. Power was fine until just after 8 PM on Thursday, when our transformer let out the magic smoke and auditioned for the War of 1812 Overture. Florida Flicker and Flash says they should have it back on by midnight Sunday. There were trucks on the street yesterday, but not tasked to our outage. Fortunately Home Despot had generators in stock, and I was able to get gas so I think I haven't lost anything in the fridge.Mark Matisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-86384851956085788712022-10-01T10:18:22.884-04:002022-10-01T10:18:22.884-04:00The LP is a Tennadyne T6. The last several times ...The LP is a <a href="https://www.tennadyne.com/" rel="nofollow">Tennadyne</a> T6. The last several times I'd been to their website I came away thinking they didn't make it anymore, but it was on there yesterday. Granted, twice what I paid (as if I remember) but that was around 2004 (I don't even remember that). <br /><br />BTW, it replaced an A3S, and I did that tradeoff to get a better antenna for 17 and 12m than the 40meter off-center fed dipole I was using. <br /><br />Re: your other topic: that's a good idea. It might just be the way I go. My tower is a 20' tall Aluma tower, and they used to sell a mounting pole that would handle their 55' tall, dual section towers. I'm thinking it was either the same diameter as the aluminum pipe I crank mine over with - 4" - but now I'm not sure. A taller, crank-up and tilt-over tower has been my dream forever. That's also about twice the price it was the last time I looked. <br />SiGraybeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-46289374919896590882022-09-30T23:07:19.699-04:002022-09-30T23:07:19.699-04:00Make a new bracket from steel and ancher it into t...Make a new bracket from steel and ancher it into the concrete block wall. I’ve been there before with lag bolts into fascia boards. Over time with cyclic loading the wood yields. Undetected wood rot adds to the failure mode I had a similar set up with a 25 ft homade lattice tower topped with a Cushcraft A3S. The tower was anchored into a concrete base and bracked into the wood fascia at roof level with wood lags, just as your installation. It lasted about 7 years. I fabbed a new bracket from steel angle that I anchored into the block with 5 ea 1/4 in Tapcons. Unistrut could be used if welding not an option, but that stuff is priced like gold today. Might I ask the make of the log periodic ?Fladavenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-82333705735310080172022-09-30T12:56:12.209-04:002022-09-30T12:56:12.209-04:00Me, too. I've only been there once or twice o...Me, too. I've only been there once or twice on vacation trips around the state. Nice place, but I never had the urge to change coasts. <br /><br />The never ending hype cycle from the weather forecasters is bad but still may not capture as much of how bad as being there. That was truly epic destruction. The thing that's never mentioned is that those landfall events are pretty localized. We all hate to think this, but sometimes survival does come down to dumb luck. <br />SiGraybeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-11479076194569543612022-09-30T12:40:10.713-04:002022-09-30T12:40:10.713-04:00I'm just damn glad you weren't in Fort Mey...I'm just damn glad you weren't in Fort Meyers!!Igorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02332079520095379932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-31745517924623685012022-09-30T10:17:40.223-04:002022-09-30T10:17:40.223-04:00You won't be able to get down to that space, w...You won't be able to get down to that space, with a drone, or on your stomach, "because insulation". Been there, tried that, cursed my stupidity for weeks afterward. What you can do is drill several holes in the soffit or fascia and use a cheap borescope. You'd have to patch the holes with a bit of caulk afterwards, but the information might be useful.<br /><br />Also, a thermal camera will give you a very good idea where the truss ends are, if you catch the right time of day.<br /><br />When I built my house, I used 2x8 fascia instead of 1x8, so I just bolted the bracket right to it without worrying about truss ends.<br />Malatropehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12187333180472067677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-14467327664168872872022-09-30T09:49:38.311-04:002022-09-30T09:49:38.311-04:00My biggest problem is not knowing exactly what it ...My biggest problem is not knowing exactly what it looks like in there. When I put it up, I didn't have a stud finder but somehow found the two trusses. I also would have sworn I used longer bolts. I don't really know what it's tied into, when I say "trusses" that' s essentially PFA, I just know that it has been there since I put up the tower in '90. Within a couple of years, we had a Cat 1 hurricane while I was on a biz trip and my wife had no idea how to take it down so it stayed up and was fine. I've taken it down for every hurricane since. <br /><br />I'm playing with the idea of whether or not I could fly a drone in the crawl space and take video of the area. It is seriously hot in a crawl space, especially this time of year. Life-threatening hot, and the area I have to look out is as far from the access to attic as one can get in the house. I'm not the guy to do that. <br /><br />SiGraybeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-12766974808006715922022-09-30T09:27:53.890-04:002022-09-30T09:27:53.890-04:00Beans is right, but it would be the Bentley way to...Beans is right, but it would be the Bentley way to do it when a Ford way would do. My experience with lag bolts in decks tells me that your originals were WAY too small and WAY too short (a Yugo way). If you are only relying on two bolts to hold against the really significant side force, you should have used 1/2 inch bolts at least five inches long. Make sure to use pilot holes of the diameter of the bottom of the thread minus ten thou or so, otherwise the wood will split and give you zero strength.<br /><br />The problem with smaller lagbolts isn't their diameter, but the thread depth. There's not enough grip into the wood. Imagine tapping and screwing an 8-32 bolt into wood. It would hold fine in shear (say, holding a sign) but it would pull right out.<br /><br />Also, I would have put a T on the end of the cross angle so that two bolts per truss could have been used. Hindsight is 20/10, of course. Good luck with the PITA. You'll get to do it again for the next hurricane ;0Malatropehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12187333180472067677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-34359288541971647912022-09-30T09:06:16.846-04:002022-09-30T09:06:16.846-04:00Since the code changes for how decks and deck rail...Since the code changes for how decks and deck railings get built, a whole bunch of really clever/neat/well engineered metal hardware has been invented to spread out the load and strengthen connections. Some of that hardware could probably be used on the truss side of the connection too. Simpson StrongTie (tm) is the most common, and available at Lowe's and Home Depot. <br /><br />Glad you made it thru without any major issues.<br /><br />nicknick flandreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09481936223334437463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-33462122748478959272022-09-30T04:06:51.620-04:002022-09-30T04:06:51.620-04:00Meant to say that this is what the satellite dish ...Meant to say that this is what the satellite dish installers did when pinning the pole for the dish to the roof, back in the days of 12' sat dishes. 20' pole for said dish because yard was very wooded. So installers went through several rafters and used lots of plates on either side of rafters and very long threaded rods and and and...Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-47550288821751350492022-09-30T01:06:08.667-04:002022-09-30T01:06:08.667-04:00Agree with Beans. Use through-bolts, with fronting...Agree with Beans. Use through-bolts, with fronting and backing plates to spread the force out more. Most people I've seen do this also "double up" with additional thickness added to the trusses.drjimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05647484115197408897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-8924359526217014002022-09-30T01:05:00.179-04:002022-09-30T01:05:00.179-04:00I'm glad you're ok. Thanks for posting tha...I'm glad you're ok. Thanks for posting that.LLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05538854359365988863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-12994027124880268692022-09-29T23:13:57.381-04:002022-09-29T23:13:57.381-04:00Didn't realize I was an Anonymous.
BillBDidn't realize I was an Anonymous.<br /><br />BillBAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-80574273003236488682022-09-29T23:12:34.107-04:002022-09-29T23:12:34.107-04:00Glad you made it through with only that damage. It...Glad you made it through with only that damage. It is repairable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-28006708663487567772022-09-29T23:01:19.055-04:002022-09-29T23:01:19.055-04:00Get some threaded rod and go through at least 2 tr...Get some threaded rod and go through at least 2 trusses and use a backer plate on the furthest truss.<br /><br />Make the plate that goes on the outside eave much longer and use at least 4 threaded rods. Spread the load over more surface area and deeper into your roof.Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-58893496730356267062022-09-29T22:56:02.662-04:002022-09-29T22:56:02.662-04:00Interesting thought, but I can't think of what...Interesting thought, but I can't think of what that would look like. <br /><br />It would help to take a look in there and see what it looks like but that's something that should be done either on the coldest day of the year or in an air conditioned astronaut's suit. <br />SiGraybeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-57690333000064823292022-09-29T22:50:46.747-04:002022-09-29T22:50:46.747-04:00$=#@%_&<@@! Autocomplete !!!
I doubt if lo...$=#@%_&<@@! Autocomplete !!!<br /><br />I doubt if longer lags will help. The trusses are probably only 1 1/2 thick, 3 inches if they are doubled on the end of the house. I am thinking that the real solution besides using the larger diameter lags on the existing bracket is to add some supplemental brackets, if possible, to share the load under stresses like the storm winds.<br />The Neon Madmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09471284462048509853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-68715733545342124092022-09-29T22:48:03.640-04:002022-09-29T22:48:03.640-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.The Neon Madmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09471284462048509853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-50640610075247029822022-09-29T22:45:29.968-04:002022-09-29T22:45:29.968-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.The Neon Madmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09471284462048509853noreply@blogger.com