by Erich Heinlein

Created on: September 23, 2009   Last Updated: April 03, 2011

When dealing with Home Owner Associations one of the most controversial topics can be the use or lack thereof of satellite dishes.. With the wrong installer, the installation of satellite television can cause significant damage to your home. Some examples which come to mind is if the technician does not properly install a satellite dish on your roof it can cause leakage. More than likely he will also have to drill holes in your wall. Drilling in the wrong place can cause significant damage to your home, especially if he does not know what is on the other side. So besides the possibility of an incompetent technician what else can go wrong  you ask?

Some people say the image of the dish or the way it looks within the confines of the property looks tacky. Typically the initial color of a satellite dish is either white or dark gray depending on the satellite company and the type of dish which you are using. If you have a gray dish with a Pepto Bismol pink home more than likely the owner is not going to be very happy. So what can you do? Paint it.

The most important thing about painting your dish is where on the dish you paint. If you do it on the wrong place it can cause your signal to go out. The place where you absolutely can not paint it is the Low Noise Blocker (LNB) which is the white head of the dish where the arm sticks out. The problem with painting this portion of the dish is because it can affect your signal to the satellite and you could potentially need a service call and is something your satellite installation company would probably charge you for. The amount depends on the company. The easiest way to avoid doing this is to either not paint the arm which the LNB is sticking out or you can cover it while painting (of course, keep in mind if you do this nobody else will be able to watch TV).

The next most important thing to remember about painting your satellite dish depends on whether the dish is on a pole or on your roof. If it is on a pole, unless you are a professionally trained technician and can align your satellite dish without the help of a technician you may want to make sure it is well grounded first. If it is not well grounded and secure you can bump the dish one way or another causing it to go out of alignment and you will need a service call and this may require some additional cost on your part.

If your dish is on your roof and you have to use a ladder to get on it, obviously use the necessary precautions when walking on your roof. In addition you need to make sure that all of the paint goes on the dish and not on your roof. If paint gets on your roof and you use the right type of paint it can cause mold and if the right color, an eyesore, causing even more headaches.

What is the single most important part of painting your satellite dish? Do it with a color you can live with. After all you are the one who is going to have to look at it every single day and need to be ready to dish it (no pun intended) if any of your neighbors give you flack.

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