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What price for an aerial installation?

What prices have you been quoted and paid for an aerial installation?

What prices have you been quoted and paid for an aerial install
Published on by on UK Free TV
In responses to the guideline I posted about how much having a new aerial fitted should cost, Ian Grice posted: "£40-£50? Every aerial fitter I contacted wants at least £150+VAT considering you can get a class 3 aerial for under £10 and a class 2 for under £15 and cable is 40p a metre why are they charging so much for 30 minutes work?"

OK, for some places putting up a TV aerial is hard work, such as multi-story properties. As many people will simply be exchanging a Group A, B, C/D, E or K aerial for a wideband type, often without changing the supporting pole or cable, a high price cannot be justified.

I am concerned that some companies will exploit vulnerable groups (such as the elderly).

So, I what prices have you been quoted for aerial installations? What price have you paid for installation?

Do you know of any companies to avoid? Do you know of any companies that are good value for money?

Or do you work for a great aerial installation company?





Your comments: most recent posts are at the bottom

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M
Mazbar
Saturday 17 September 2011 8:37PM Ormskirk
steve p you should never put a wall bracket on a chimney, a chimney is only one brick thick and has very little strength the only times i see a wall bracket on a chimney 99 out of 100 times it has been fitted by a cowboy sorry but that's the way it is
M
Mazbar
Saturday 17 September 2011 8:42PM Ormskirk
mark have you seen the SAC black and white shotgun coax white on one side and black on the other why carn't all cable be like that would save me from having to carry different coloured cable and from having to run cable one coloured on the outside then having to either put a j box or a conector on the inside
Mark Aberfan Aerials
Saturday 17 September 2011 9:44PM Reading
Hi Maxbar,

I saw a sample of it a while back, I thought at first it was a wind up ! I've never seen it at any of the wholsalers since. I carry 4 rolls of cable on my van, 1 white rg6 1 black rg6 for those that want a cheaper job & 1 black & 1 white wf/ct100 / h109 for those that are willing to pay for better quality and for first fix & commercial work.

Back on the issue of drilling chimney's, there is the issue of gas flues that can be damaged or even blocked by falling masonary inside the chimney caused by the drilling. These days I only fit stack straps.

Mark Aberfan Aerials
(rg6 1 bl)
S
Steve P
Saturday 17 September 2011 11:21PM
It's a very solid chimney with a T shape that provides strength; and IIRC the bracket goes round a corner so fixations at 90 degrees.

I do understand the concerns you express, but we are talking 1753 building standards not modern rot.
Ron Lake
Sunday 18 September 2011 1:26AM Wakefield
Since I started watching these posts I have been aware of some really cheap and nasty 'erections'. It's nice to know that there are real professionals out there who do a great job at a fair price. Thanks guys, you rock. the cowboys should rot.
KB Aerials Sheffield
Sunday 18 September 2011 9:00AM Sheffield
Hopefully once every one has switched over to digital the cowboy who want to earn a quick buck will move onto other pastures !
T
Tom Fletcher
Sunday 18 September 2011 10:44AM
Ive used ssb's for years a 3 foot pole and a 10 element aerial are ok drilled into the bricks,if the chimney is solid enough there is no problems at all,I would not dream of putting a massive jbx aerial on one, though ive seen it done a few time, some chimneys are very dangerous and stepping off the latt ladder can be very dangerous if there is slimy green moss around, I drive past aerials I fitted on ssb's twenty years ago and they are still there not every thing the CAI say is true,talking about the CIA the phone book once printed me an advert and it said CIA member I got some funny comments from that one. Tom Fletcher Alpha Aerials Sheffield
T
Tom Fletcher
Sunday 18 September 2011 11:01AM
KB
I class you as a new comer you are still wet behind the ears mate, wait till you have been in the trade thirty odd years,I must admit though there is a lot of johnny come lately's in the trade hoping to make a quick few quid, may be when the DSO is over they mite go back to selling insurance or conning old people into having there roofs done or something,when I first started in Sheffield there were about five other aerial fitters around no Action aerials or any thing like that,wooden ladders and them lat ladders that go in the gutters were the norm, health and safety was never heard of then, fifteen quid was a good price for an aerial fit then.
Tom Fletcher Alpha Aerials Sheffield.
S
Steve P
Sunday 18 September 2011 11:49AM
Hard? Tha thinks that were hard?

When I started in't trade 't aerials were gert big H and Xs and t' gafffer med us fit em come rain sleet or snow. Latt ladders - they were for poofs. We had old ladders with missing rungs, and if they were too short we had t' shin up drainpipe.

No radios for adjusting. Gaffer would short the coax outer to the mains. We had to hold on up top. One shock for left, two for right.

If t' gaffer were rild wi' us he'd tek ladder away and mek us jump off roof into t' rose bush.

Tha doesn't know the're born.
S
Steve P
Sunday 18 September 2011 12:31PM
Just been outside and looked up and pondered the chimneys as a fixing point for ssbs.

A single chimney which is just a square of single thickness brick is clearly dubious, the more so the higher it gets.

But the ones here are 3 or 4 flues per chimney made of interlocked brickwork; so incredibly strong, and where the fixing is has 6 foot more brickwork before the pots.

The pots themselves are 4 ft tall and it would take a strong man to lift one unaided.
M
Mazbar
Sunday 18 September 2011 12:59PM Ormskirk
The size of chimney doesnt make any difference the only thing holding up the aerial is 2 one inch square bits of steel hammered into the sand and cement.
S
Steve P
Sunday 18 September 2011 1:37PM
Mazbar - that is NOT what I am talking about. My ae is fixed to a substantial length of bracket bolted into drilled bricks, not mortar, at either end.

And the bricks are held in place by many tons of brickwork above them.
Mark Aberfan Aerials
Sunday 18 September 2011 1:40PM
Hi guys

I suppose its each to their own regarding the ssb's. I like mazbar, dont like/trust them, but if they work for some & they are happy using them I would not presume to tell them to do different ! I'm (like tom) a old git who has been doing this for longer than I care to remember & being basicly self taught (not much choice back then !) I have never liked anyone dictating how I handle my erections (for steve / ron !) which is why I have only had a brief period of trady body membership, of course Im always open to learning more but I dont need to be told what aerial / cable to fit, if I needed that I shouldnt be a rigger !

Mark Aberfan Aerials
M
Mazbar
Sunday 18 September 2011 1:49PM Ormskirk
Mark when you drive past a new job and see a ssb on a one pot chimney do you think good rig or lazy bast*rd i know what i think and i am only 39 but have been doing the job for 23 years
Mark Aberfan Aerials
Sunday 18 September 2011 3:30PM
Hi Mazbar,

I dont see them new around here, thats why I was suprised that they still made them ! I think that if I saw a new one apart from the suprise I would think I wouldn't do it like that, to me they dont equate to a top notch install, but if the rigger can use them & is happy that it will stay put its their choice.
I think that after 23 years you, like me will your own way of working & will have your own standards of what is acceptable on a install. There will be some people & trade bodies who think my basic rig is not upto their spec, I think it works very well & is very good value, It gives the customer what they want (a great signal with little cost) & I dont lose the job to a cowboy. I've lost count the amount of times I've seen a rig meets trade body specs (usually fitted by a national call centre trade body member or by a dso contractor) using the top grade aerial & cable but is heap of crap that lets in water or has other stupid faults such as the f-con at the dipole not fitted correctly etc.

Mark Aberfan Aerials
S
Steve P
Sunday 18 September 2011 4:11PM
Mark - Just discovered your name is clickable so clicked it.

Who are the people standing either side of you?
Mark Aberfan Aerials
Sunday 18 September 2011 4:40PM
Hi steve,

They are the people responsible for our high quality erections !

That was taken during our two year stint as trade body members when we attended the first English digital switchover at Whitehaven, unbelievably we were only trade body members to attend which was a bit of a shock at the time but I suppose there was no money to be made & no one to sell public liabilty insurance to !
The whole switchover process took place without any local installers being trade body members & I noticed that they appeared to cope very well !

Mark Aberfan Aerials
S
Steve P
Sunday 18 September 2011 5:14PM
Well, they're a bit remote up there - probably too remote for rip-off merchants and locals trade by reputation.

I have wondered if installers were travelling around the switchovers? Presumably each creates a demand surge?

I also wonder how much was spent on new Ae for the transition period when the old ones would have been good enough once full digital power.

I had no intention of replacing our VERY old Ae until a major storm realigned it. And even miser me was convinced that it was not worth refixing!
Mark Aberfan Aerials
Sunday 18 September 2011 5:48PM
Hi Steve,

We went up to observe the switchover process, so we would know what to expect when it was our turn. I couldn't belive that none of the trade body bigwigs could be bothered to turn up especially when one was set up to deal with the switchover usually a trip away from home at the expense of the members is a must !
I believe the DSO contractors travel around the country following the switchover, I know that after my area switched we got work putting right the cockups, which was worth far more than doing the DSO contract work itself.

Mark Aberfan Aerials

KB Aerials Sheffield
Sunday 18 September 2011 5:58PM
Thanks guys - makes a good read for me - still wet behind the ears (thanks tom - will run you off the road next time I see you)
Steve - you sound like my friend Bill Wright ( Wright's Aerials )
Hes hilarious when he starts rambling (read some of his stories on his web site)

As for Single side band modulation - ooops I mean SSB brackets - not used one ever - sort of scowl at them when I see them ------ BUT and a big BUT i cant say ive been to many where they have come down! but im still a young whipper snapper and probably not seen many at all - best go get my bottle its 6pm and nearly bed time!
(S201EG)
Mark Aberfan Aerials
Sunday 18 September 2011 6:09PM
Hi Keith,

I love Bill's site too, he has a couple of pics I took of a comical install that we had to remove & replace in his bozo section, I'm a old git but I still regard Bill as the daddy of the riggers !
Over the years he has written some great stuff which is informative & funny equal measure, a talented man.

Now off to bed with you, dont make me call your mum !

Mark Aberfan Aerials
KB Aerials Sheffield
Sunday 18 September 2011 6:37PM Sheffield
Mark

when I was just starting out I asked the lad behind the counter of the local supplier if there was anyone i might work with to train me up so I could learn a bit

A few month later there was this peculier fellow in the supplies and I was introduced to William Wright we chatted exchanged numbers and heard nothing for about 6 months
one sunday night I get this call about 9 pm - Bill on the phone - about 2 hours later I came off the phone with my head spinning - Has this guy just offered me a job ?

well never looked back - done countless jobs for him worked with him on some great projects and learnt ONE HELL of a lot
and hes great to fall back on if I need a question answering

Great Great friend - one of the best you could EVER have!

Keith
KB Aerials Sheffield
Sunday 18 September 2011 6:39PM Sheffield
Oh -- and he has a great Bonfire night every year!
Mark Aberfan Aerials
Sunday 18 September 2011 6:55PM
Hi Keith,

Lucky you, I would think he is a great teacher ! I dont know him personally though I've spoken to him on the phone, I've always admired his no nonsense approach & his sense of humour as well as his great knowledge.

Dont worry about the age thing, at the age of 10 I used to give my son a pound for every fault he found and corrected on faulty sky installs that we attended, the little bugger used to clear me out ! & then he would get a tip from the customer ! Now at 21 there is very little he does not know ! He gets quite iritated if someone asks him if he's needs to check stuff with me !

Mark Aberfan Aerials





T
Tom Fletcher
Sunday 18 September 2011 6:59PM
Most aerials I have seen come down are when the lashing kit has not been fitted properly or the wire has rusted away,Im not sure if we are talking about the same things here,ssb stands for self supporting bracket,that's them things that you have to take a hammer and chisel to the corner of the bricks and they sort of grip in the mortar,not a very good idea them things in my opinion,the ones I tend to use are the wall brackets four big mungo bolts drilled into the chimney bricks,they are better and stronger than any lashing kit and a lot safer to fit especially on some of the large three and four pot chimneys, as for bricks and rubbish falling down in side the chimney and blocking the flue, most of the the flues have the pipe lining inside them don't know what its called though,I think its up to the individual how they fit the aerial but as long as it's safe and done properly it dose not mater what bracket you use. Tom Fletcher Alpha Aerials Sheffield.
KB Aerials Sheffield
Sunday 18 September 2011 7:24PM Sheffield
Thought the idea wasnt to drill into a chimney tom ?

Mark - mmm not sure how my 9 yr old would take that -
I do give him a fiver if he comes out with me and doesnt get in the way

might start introducing him to how to do stuff

My 13 year old isn't interested in the slightest -- He says its GAY installing aerials --- his friends make me laugh cause they all think my jobs cool

M
Mazbar
Sunday 18 September 2011 7:30PM Ormskirk
Mark i used to love going out with my dad when i was young and yes the tips were great, my daughter has only been out with me twice but she couldnt stand to watch me on the roof. Tom to date not one of my lashings has ever come lose because i know how to do it right first time but i have seen lots of wall brackets on chimnly that crak the bricks go lose and then either fall down or point straight up or down.
Mark Aberfan Aerials
Sunday 18 September 2011 7:45PM
Hi Keith,

It started when he was 8 & he followed me onto a roof, which was a bit of a shock, so we decided to teach him how to do it properly. These days you would have to be careful because of all the H&S stuff & the sue everyone climate back in the day it was impossible to get insurance for him until he was 16, however it was a good move for him to leave school having a trade under his belt.

Mark Aberfan Aerials
S
Steve P
Sunday 18 September 2011 7:56PM
Tom F - the things that line a chimney are called "flue liners" !!

But surely you should not be drilling all the way through the brick anyway?
Mark Aberfan Aerials
Sunday 18 September 2011 8:12PM
Hi Guys,

Ar'nt those liners made from tin foil ? I doubt if anyone would intend to drill through, but bricks do crack when drilled. I'm too worried about what could happen if the flue got blocked & I was responsible for the the results.

Mark Aberfan Aerials
T
Tom Fletcher
Sunday 18 September 2011 8:29PM
KB
I think if the chimney is solid enough and you drill into the bricks there should not be a problem,like I said Iv'e fitted them for years,how many lashing kits have you seen fitted that have rubbed the bricks away and damaged the chimneys? Iv'e seen more of them than damaged chimneys by using wall brackets,I don't honestly like lashing kits, I think they are dangerous dodgy things to fit on some roofs,if you have to fit a large pole and a big high gain aerial a lashing kit is always the best thing to fit though,but have you seen the new a small log pro aerial solutions are selling you would not need any big lashing kit for that,the days of fitting massive big poles and high gain aerials are long gone now with the digital signals being so good,Im getting perfect signals in some parts of Sheffield now with a standers 14 elment aerial that a few years ago you would have to fit a 20 foot pole and a massive aerial and mast amp just for the customers to watch a picture. Tom Fletcher Alpha Aerials
T
Tom Fletcher
Sunday 18 September 2011 8:41PM
Steve P
No ones on about drilling the flue liner, Mick was worried about stuff falling down the chimney when drilling and blocking the flue.I think the flue liner would stop that happening but what I know about building you could write on a stamp.Tom Fletcher Alpha Aerials,
M
Mazbar
Thursday 22 September 2011 8:55PM Ormskirk
Action aerials advertising for sales staff not fitters how on earth do you sell an aerial, i find most customers ring me when they want a job doing and i go out and do the job they want no selling needed.
kB Aerials Sheffield
Thursday 22 September 2011 9:40PM
Mazbar
Thats like selling a MOT for your car!

- dont you just get it done when needed !
Briantist
Thursday 22 September 2011 10:16PM
Mazbar: Some companies don't sell you what you need, they sell you what they can sell you. Come to think of it, that's what MOST UK companies do.
S
Steve P
Friday 23 September 2011 9:40AM
Presumably the selling is to get you to get your MOT/Aerial from them nor some one else?
M
Mazbar
Friday 23 September 2011 4:04PM Ormskirk
Steve the only selling is there advert when you call them you are calling a call center so no real selling there the only selling is when there rigger comes to someones house and sells them a high gain aerial when a standard aerial would have done
kB Aerials Sheffield
Friday 23 September 2011 8:07PM
isn't it time to go to the pub?

Keith
S
Steve P
Saturday 24 September 2011 10:00AM
Thanks. Pint of bitter please.

Then off to Guiseley for fish and chips?
kB Aerials Sheffield
Saturday 24 September 2011 3:04PM
Upto you !

can do if you want!

Is there a good chippy in Guiseley then?

Keith
Ron Lake
Saturday 24 September 2011 11:55PM Wakefield
Keith, Everyone knows Guiseley is the home of Harry Ramsdens lol
kB Aerials Sheffield
Sunday 25 September 2011 7:59AM
Obviously EVERYONE doesn't know as I didn't

lets start an argument about this one :-)

I will see you behind the bike sheds after school Mr


FIIIIIGHT

learn sumet new every day

S
Steve P
Sunday 25 September 2011 2:14PM
Press report recently that Yorkshiremen don't even eat their puddings any more! Apparenly they prefer Lancashire Hotpot
kB Aerials Sheffield
Sunday 25 September 2011 10:17PM
OMG

S
Steve P
Sunday 25 September 2011 11:32PM
There is WORSE

Resident's of Ilkley now routinely go fell walking entirely without headware, thus nullifying Yorkshire's only known choral music.
Ron Lake
Monday 26 September 2011 12:10AM Wakefield
13mm spanners and lashing wire at 20 paces Keith haha. Just tell your 13 year old that aerial erecting cant be gay, he is here to prove it lol.
KB Aerials Sheffield
Monday 26 September 2011 7:27PM
arghhhhh - you scary!
K
K.Travell
Friday 7 October 2011 7:53PM
Being a member of the 'Octogenarian Club' I need some advice.

I'm thinking of buying a small 16inch TV for the kitchen to be wall installed. Do I need a roof aerial or will an indoor one do. Is the no way I can connect to the aerial in the living room. Will it work?
S
Steve P
Saturday 8 October 2011 12:46AM
KT - need to know your postcode to know what strength signal you have. Either post it here, or plug it in top right of this screen.

Do you have a good digital signal in the living room?

Using what as an aerial?

Neither size of TV nor how it is mounted makes any difference. Just signal strength where you are.

If living room uses a roof aerial, Ifdeally you would split the feed from that at the top and run down to kitchen. But mostly if you can run a coax from living room to kitchen that will do the job, with either an unpoweres splitter or a powered splitter/amp with 2+ outputs.
Ron Lake
Saturday 8 October 2011 1:23AM Wakefield
KT. I live 11 miles from the Emley Moor Tower and I stripped about 30 inches of twin and earth, using only the centre copper (earth wire), bent it into a circle and soldered the stripped end of an old RF interconnecting lead to it, (centre to one side, braid to the other) leaving the suitable end intact to plug into my TV. This hangs unobtrusively behind the set.
I now get all Emleys channels (ex HD as I dont use it) with 95% signal and 100% quality on most, and very acceptable levels on all the rest with no loss of picture or sound anywhere.
KB Aerials Sheffield
Saturday 8 October 2011 9:24AM
Emley moor is seriously powerfull and living 11 miles away you could probably pick it up on a wet shoe string

That said - the sensible option that has been mentioned for a reliable feed would be to tap into the roof aerial possibly in the lounge if thats easy - but it does make a difference where you live - if your further away than Ron - who is now being slowly cooked by emley moor (he he - sorry ron) then a feed from roof aerial
i would say - go buy the tv and experiment to see what works for you !

Keith KB aerials Sheffield 07946481125
S
Steve P
Saturday 8 October 2011 12:02PM
Ron - have you tried a Sketchley loop?

I have a house in Herne Hill, S London - facing Crystal Palace. Some time ago a new tenant asked me where the aerial socket was. I had to think a bit before I realised that TVs worked there with nothing at all in the aerial input.



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