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I want to try Starlink at my house. It would have to be on the roof to get a good view of the sky. Starlink appears to send clients a self-install kit and does not do any installation services. I'm guessing installation would involve screwing the dish on the roof somehow, and then punching a hole in the exterior wall so that the cable can come into the house.

My house has two floors so the roof is quite high up - it seems a bit dangerous. Also I'd be worried that if I do something wrong when installing it would cause a leak in the roof.

Also, what if I decide later that I don't want to use it, and want to remove the dish? Will it be easy to patch the holes in the roof and the wall?

I called one roofing service in my area, and they said they do not install satellite dishes. They were able to suggest only asking the cable company, which in Starlink's case doesn't work. I'm assuming a different company such as Spectrum would refuse to install a rival provider's antenna. How do you even find someone to do dish installs (and de-installs) on your house?

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    Would try another roofer or a general contractor. Try to get recommendations from friends and neighbours, they should know the good locals. Installation itself is not rocket science and should be able to be done by anyone comfortable working on roofs. Explain it is a self installation system, not one from the main satellite companies(probably picky who installs their stuff).
    – crip659
    Jun 7, 2022 at 17:39
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    I would try a "handyman".
    – Hot Licks
    Jun 7, 2022 at 17:57
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    @HotLicks is correct. There is no electrical code issue here (Starlink just plugs in to a regular receptacle) so all you need is a handyman who is comfortable getting up on the roof. As far as holes in the roof (a valid concern) you may be able to route the cable on the outside and through a wall rather than through the roof.
    – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
    Jun 7, 2022 at 18:01
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    you could pop it up there temporarily with sandbags to see how it works without damaging the roof or walls.
    – dandavis
    Jun 7, 2022 at 19:29
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    @Harper-ReinstateUkraine Thanks for the comment. Just to help future readers: I am actually thinking of installing it on a wall just under the eaves, using a side mount, rather than the roof.
    – Jessica
    Jun 7, 2022 at 20:51

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Would try another roofer or a general contractor.

Try to get recommendations from friends and neighbours, they should know the good locals.

Installation itself is not rocket science and should be able to be done by anyone comfortable working on roofs.

Explain it is a self installation system, not one from the main satellite companies(probably picky who installs their stuff).

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Local cable companies typically sub-contract independent contractors to install their equipment. It's cheaper than keeping them on payroll. Some day Starlink might get big enough to adopt this model but until then they are offloading the burden onto their customers.

If you're not comfortable on roofs then do not risk your life installing this thing.

Find a handyman who is comfortable on roofs, have them install the equipment on your roof, and feed the line into your house. Odds are high that they will be unable to hook up the equipment but I assume that's something you can handle; you just need them to install a dish and run a cable, easy-peasy.

If you can't find a handyman then try and hunt down a local cable installer if you see them at someone else's house. I'm sure they'd be up for some side-work.

A roofer or gutter company would also be comfortable on a roof.

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Independent satellite TV installers would be another option. They might not have ever handled a Starlink terminal before, but roof brackets are roof brackets; and an experienced one will have installed a lot more dishes than a general handyman ever will.

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  • Quite a good answer, one I should have considered. The mounts for Starlink are similar to that of the typical home sat dish installation.
    – fred_dot_u
    Jun 10, 2022 at 18:31
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If you have seen other Starlink installations in your area, consider to ask the residents if the installation was done by the resident or if it was done by a contractor. You'll benefit from an "outside" opinion of the quality of the work if it was done by a contractor as well as gain a reference for a tradesman capable of performing the task.

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