How to construct a concrete base

If you are constructing a base for a big dish at your home or close by. This is simply a case of constructing a reinforced concrete block of 1m x 1m with a depth of 30 cm. This block should be left to fully harden for at least a week. Place the base on top and secure with rawlplug bolts. If the ground is very soft or prone to water logging you will need to increase the size of the base.

If you are satellite installer, you have only one day to build the base and install the dish. In the past, the disastrous common practice was to use cement blocks as shuttering and fill the base with a mixture of concrete and plaster paris (yeso). This mixture sets very quickly but proved to be very weak with many dishes falling over in the high winds.

With this design you can make the base and fit the dish in one day without comprising the concrete. Carefully dig a hole 1.2m long x 85cm wide and 30cm deep. Place two 1.2m preformed concrete beams (vigos) at the bottom of the hole. The cross-sections of the beams are triangular, Within the beam are 3 wire reinforcing rods as illustrated on the left. Therefore you have to place the beams with the narrow side down . If you place the beam with the narrow side up you have to drill through the wire rod.

Now place the base of the Dish on top of the beams and secure with rawlplug bolts. Fill in the rest of the hole with proper concrete with reinforcing rods. The base will now be firm enough without the concrete setting to attach the dish and you can immediately align the dish to the satellite.

This design (see below) shows the base fixed to the concrete beams before filling the hole with concrete