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(not siding, too much potential for leaks),
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The leak potential will depend entirely on what type of fastener you use to attach. Any mechanical fastener like a screw, bolt, nail or similar is going to put a hole in your roof or your siding. I have always felt that a hole in the vertical side of the house is less likely to leak than a hole in the roof surface.
Fair enough. I'm pretty handy with my simple 3-tab shingles (have added bathroom vent hoods to my roof, replaced a bunch of shingles that were damaged in a wind storm, etc), so that's in my wheelhouse and I'm comfortable cutting holes in it/etc.
We have cedar siding and I have no idea what it looks like underneath, so I'm afraid (a) I won't be able to hit something under the siding that's sturdy enough to hold this thing up reliably, and (b) it's harder to detect leaks from an external wall because the water doesn't make obvious ceiling-spots like it does coming through a roof, it runs down the walls.
The more I look at this particular mount (the J-one), the less I like it. People says it's weak and wobbly. So I think I'll go tripod if I do a roof-mount.
My house is just set up *terribly* for any kind of ground installation, house is about 12ft from the lot line on 2 sides (so it's "in the corner" of the lot), and the parts of the lots that are more exposed at the sides facing the street.
http://i.share.pho.to/b9814ada_o.jpegThe green X is where I plan to put it if I do a roof mount. Right now I have it mounted to the fence on the north side of my lot 12' behind the house (basically there the green X is, but 12' north on the fence), which is not at all ideal for wind.