Tower Installation and Services in Central Texas
Tower services put radios in the air and keep them there: site and path analysis, tower installation, antenna and radio mounts, grounding and lightning protection, inspection, maintenance and eventual removal. Engineer Austin, based in Georgetown, plans and delivers this work on private towers and masts for businesses, ranches, RV parks, wireless ISPs and utility SCADA networks, with a licensed Professional Engineer accountable for the plan.
We do not work on large commercial carrier towers; our tallest build to date is an 85-foot tower carrying a point-to-point link for a business.
From path study to removal
- Site and path analysis. Line-of-sight checks, path and link-budget studies, and a height recommendation based on the links you need now and the ones you expect to add.
- Tower installation. Guyed and self-supporting private towers and masts, plus rooftop, water-tank and building mounts where a new tower is not justified.
- Antenna and radio mounts. Sector and backhaul radios, microwave point-to-point and point-to-multipoint links, transmission lines and alignment.
- Grounding and lightning protection. Ground ring, bonding, surge suppression and ground-resistance testing, with the measured result recorded in writing.
- Structural coordination. Loading reviews, structural analyses and foundation designs through licensed structural engineers we coordinate, sealed where the jurisdiction or owner requires it.
- Permitting support. Zoning and building permits, FAA notice and FCC registration where a structure triggers them, and locate requests before any excavation.
- Inspection and maintenance. Scheduled condition inspections, guy-tension and plumb checks, post-modification inspections and a written report with numbered findings.
- Decommissioning. Equipment and structure removal and site restoration at the end of a site's life, with the filings closed out.
Typical uses: a point-to-point wireless link from a main office to a remote building or yard, WISP backhaul and sector sites, SCADA and telemetry for utilities, and backhaul masts for site-wide Wi-Fi.
Recent tower work
Survey, permit, build, document
Survey and path study
We walk the site, verify line of sight, model each path and check access and easements. You receive a recommended height and structure type with the reasoning in writing.
Design and permit
Structural analysis or new design, foundation and grounding plans, equipment loading and the permit filings the site needs, under a fixed-fee quotation. Nothing is ordered before your written approval.
Build and test
Foundation and ground ring, erection, plumb and tension, lines, antennas and alignment. Ground-resistance, sweep and alignment results are recorded for every link before the site is called finished.
Document and maintain
As-builts, test reports, photographs and permit closeouts go to you. We set the inspection schedule and keep the loading inventory current as radios are added.
Records for the structure and every link
- Path study and link-budget report for each link.
- Structural analysis and foundation design, sealed where required.
- Grounding plan and ground-resistance test results.
- Antenna alignment and closeout record for each link.
- As-built drawings and photo documentation.
- Permit and filing records.
- Inspection report with numbered findings and recommendations.
- Equipment and loading inventory for future additions.
How AI speeds this up for you
Path and link-budget calculations are cross-checked and the basis-of-design document is drafted with AI assistance, so you see a reviewed design sooner and every assumption is written down. The team member responsible checks and signs off on the result; where a seal is required, the sealed document is prepared by, or under the direct supervision of, the licensed engineer who seals it, not by the tooling.
Kept current. Radio platforms, mounting hardware and the standards towers are inspected against all change; the current ANSI/TIA-222 revision, for example, puts more weight on mount analysis. We revise our design and inspection checklists after every job and tell owners at the next inspection what changed and whether it affects their structure.
Structure, RF and electrical, planned together
Most tower crews install to drawings someone else made. We plan structure, RF and electrical together: a basis of design with wind-load, path and grounding criteria, calculations and test data kept as engineering records, and construction observation so the installed work matches the drawings.
Where the jurisdiction or owner requires a sealed structural analysis, foundation or grounding design, it is prepared and sealed by a licensed engineer in the appropriate discipline, which we coordinate; where no seal is required, the work is still designed on engineering principles under a licensed engineering firm. Engineer Austin is Texas Registered Engineering Firm F‑15739; our team does the work to house standards set by our licensed Professional Engineer.
Safety and compliance
Every climb follows a written safety and rescue plan with 100 percent tie-off. Power-down and RF-awareness coordination comes before work near live antennas, locate requests go in before any digging, and RF exposure is checked where the public could approach the site.
Who this is for
Businesses linking a second building or remote yard, farms and ranches, RV parks and campgrounds, wireless ISPs, utilities and districts with SCADA radios, and owners of an existing private tower that needs inspection or removal. Tower work is often scoped together with our ISP and WISP engineering support and site-wide Wi-Fi and fiber services.
Tower services, answered plainly
Do we need a new tower, or can our existing structure carry the load?
A structural analysis decides. Many sites can take new radios on an existing tower, rooftop or water tank once the loading and the mounts are checked. Mounts fail more often than towers, so we review both. If capacity is short, reinforcement or a height addition is often cheaper than a new build.
Do you work on large commercial cell towers?
No. We build and service private towers and masts for point-to-point links, WISP sites, SCADA radios and site-wide Wi-Fi backhaul; our tallest build to date is an 85-foot tower carrying a point-to-point link for a business. If your project needs a tall commercial structure, we can still do the path study and radio design, and the structure and climbing go to a contractor that specializes in that class of tower.
How tall does the tower need to be?
Height comes from the path study: the line of sight each link needs, with clearance for growth and the links you expect to add. That number is checked against FAA notice thresholds and local zoning limits. We recommend the shortest structure that meets your paths, because every extra foot adds cost and permit friction.
Which permits and filings apply, and who handles them?
Local zoning and building permits almost always apply. FAA notice and FCC antenna structure registration apply above certain heights or near airports. We identify which filings your site triggers, prepare the drawings and exhibits, and submit them. Sealed drawings are provided where the city, county or owner requires them.
What does grounding and lightning protection include?
A buried ground ring around the base and anchors, bonded legs and guys, bonding of every line and cabinet at the entry point, surge suppression on power and data, and a measured ground resistance recorded at closeout. Grounding is designed with the site, not added afterward; it protects the radios and the people who service them.
How often should a tower be inspected, and what is in the report?
Industry guidance is roughly every three years for guyed towers and five for self-supporting structures, plus after severe weather or any modification. The report covers structure, mounts, guys and anchors, plumb and tension, corrosion, grounding, lighting and the as-found equipment loading, with numbered findings and recommended corrections.
Can you add SCADA radios or a new point-to-point link to a tower we already have?
Yes. We start with a loading review of the existing structure and mounts, a path study for any new link, and an interference check against the radios already in place. New equipment is installed, aligned and grounded to the same standard as a new build, and the loading inventory is updated for the next addition.
What do we receive at closeout, and what happens at end of life?
At closeout you receive as-built drawings, test results for grounding and each link, photographs, permit records and an inspection schedule. At end of life we remove the equipment and the structure, restore the site and close out the filings, so the land and the paperwork are both left clean.
Start with a written assessment.
Tell us what you have and what is not working. Someone from our team, not a salesperson, replies within one business day by email or phone, and brings in our engineer when your request needs one. The assessment report is yours to keep whether or not you buy anything.