Satellite Dish Removal and Roof Patch — Dishes, Antennas and Mounts
Two dead dishes from two previous owners, an antenna strapped to the chimney, and a coax line stapled down the siding — taken down, the holes sealed, the shingles patched, in one visit.
JMB Builders does satellite dish removal and the roof patch that goes with it across the Twin Cities metro. We unbolt the dish or antenna from the roof, siding, fascia or chimney, pull the coax back to the house entry and cap or remove it, fill the lag holes in the sheathing, and set new shingles or sealed siding over the spot. Priced per unit, quoted from your photos within one business day.
- Priced per unit: dish, antenna or mast
- Roof lag holes patched under new shingles
- Coax removed or capped at the house entry
- Quote from photos in 1 business day
- Licensed MN contractor BC809005
Satellite providers put dishes up and rarely take them down. A house that has changed hands twice can have three of them: one on the roof, one on the gable, one on a pole in the yard, all pointed at a satellite nobody subscribes to. They are ugly, and the roof mount is a leak waiting to happen. The foot of a dish mount is four lag bolts through the shingles into the sheathing, sealed with a dab of caulk that gave up years ago.
Taking the dish off is the easy part. The job is what happens to the holes. On a roof, we lift the shingles around the mount, pull the lags, fill the holes in the sheathing, lay ice and water membrane over the spot and set new shingles woven into the courses above and below. On siding, the holes get a backer and color-matched sealant, or the panel gets replaced when the holes are too many. On a chimney, the strap comes off and the mortar is checked where the strap wore it.
The cable comes out too. Coax stapled down the wall, through a hole in the rim joist, and into a grounding block by the meter gets pulled back and the hole sealed, or capped inside a small cover if you want to keep it for an antenna later.
What you supply
- Photos of each dish or antenna from the yard, showing what it is mounted to
- A photo of where the cable enters the house, usually near the electrical meter or at the foundation
- Tell us whether any of the dishes are still in use; we only take down the dead ones
- A leftover bundle of shingles if you have one from the last roof, for the patch
What JMB supplies
- Removal of the dish, arm and mounting foot, or the antenna mast and chimney strap
- Lag holes in the roof sheathing plugged, ice and water membrane over the spot, new shingles woven in
- Siding holes backed and sealed to match, or the panel replaced when the holes are too many to hide
- Coax pulled back to the entry point and the hole sealed, or the line capped in a cover plate
- Chimney mortar checked where an antenna strap rubbed, and repointed at the strap line if needed
- Yard pole mounts cut off at grade or dug out with the footing when you want it gone
- The old dish and cable hauled away, and photos of every patched spot in your job folder
How it is priced: per unit
Quoted in writing from your photos within one business day. What moves the number:
- What the dish is mounted to: roof shingles, siding, fascia, a chimney or a yard pole
- Roof pitch and height; a dish on a two-story rear slope takes staging
- Number of lag holes and whether the sheathing under them is still solid
- Matching the patch shingles on an older roof where the color has faded
- Length of coax to remove and how many wall or rim penetrations to seal
- A yard pole set in concrete that has to be dug out vs. cut off at grade
- How many dishes and antennas come down in the same visit; the second one is always cheaper
Count the dishes and antennas in your photos and tell us which are live; the quote lists each one with its patch.
How long it takes
One roof dish with its patch: an hour or two. A house with two dishes, an antenna and the cable pulled: a half day, all in one visit.
How your project works
- 1
Send photos, get a written quote
Send three photos of the space and a sentence about what you want. You get a clear, itemized quote within one business day. We only come out to measure first when the job needs a tape measure — no pressure, no games.
- 2
Pick materials, or bring your own
We help you choose profiles and materials that fit the house and the budget, or match your existing millwork exactly — or you buy the door or trim yourself and we install it. Everything is confirmed before the crew is scheduled.
- 3
Clean, precise installation
The crew shows up on time, protects floors and furniture, and installs with tight joints and consistent reveals. Photos of the finished work go in your job folder.
- 4
Walkthrough and invoice
We walk the finished work with you. If anything is not right, we fix it before we call the job done. Then one invoice, paid by check or direct deposit — no card fees, no payment links.
Situations and options
Roof-mounted dish
The foot is lagged through the shingles. We lift the courses around it, pull the lags, plug the holes, lay membrane and weave in new shingles so the patch does not show from the yard or leak in the spring.
Chimney-strapped antenna or dish
The mast comes down in pieces, the steel strap around the chimney is cut off, and the mortar under the strap is checked. Rusted straps often wear a groove in the joints that needs repointing before it becomes a leak.
Dish on siding, fascia or a gable
Lag holes in wood or fiber cement get plugged and sealed; holes in vinyl get a backer and color-matched sealant, or the panel is swapped. On fascia we check for rot behind the mount, since the caulk usually failed years ago.
Yard pole mount
A dish on a steel pole in the yard set in a concrete plug. We cut the pole off below grade and cover it with sod, or dig out the concrete when it is in the way of a patio, a fence line or the mower.
Rooftop TV antenna mast
Tripod or mast antennas from the era before cable, lagged into the roof and held with guy wires to eyebolts. Every eyebolt is a hole. We take the mast and the wires down and patch each anchor point the same way as a dish foot.
Satellite Dish Removal and Roof Patch — Dishes, Antennas and Mounts: questions, answered
Will the satellite company remove the old dish?
Usually not. The providers install dishes and, when service ends, leave them where they are; the equipment they want back is the receiver inside. That is why houses end up with two or three dead dishes. We take them down, patch the holes and haul the dish away. If you are not sure whether a dish is still live, look for a cable from it that runs to a receiver you use; if there is none, it is dead.
Can I just unbolt the satellite dish myself?
You can, but the holes are the problem, not the dish. Four open lag holes through the shingles into the sheathing will leak, and caulk in the holes lasts a season or two. The fix is lifting the shingles, plugging the holes, laying membrane and setting new shingles, which is roofing work on a ladder or a steep slope. For a dish on siding at ground level, unbolting it and sealing the holes yourself is reasonable.
Do the holes from a satellite dish mount leak?
Eventually, yes. The installer sealed the lag bolts with a bead of caulk and the caulk cracks in a few Minnesota winters. Water follows the bolt down into the sheathing, which is why the ceiling stain from a dish shows up years after it was installed. When we remove the dish we look at the sheathing around the holes; soft wood there gets cut out and replaced before the patch goes on.
What happens to the satellite cable?
We pull it back from the dish to where it enters the house, remove the staples and clips off the siding, and seal the entry hole. If you want the line kept for a future antenna or a camera run, we leave it coiled in a small cover plate at the entry instead. The grounding block by the meter comes off with the cable unless something else is still connected to it.
Can you remove an old TV antenna tower?
Roof masts, tripods and chimney-strapped antennas, yes, in the same visit as a dish. A tall freestanding or guyed tower in the yard is a different job that needs a plan for lowering it in sections and, for the tallest ones, a lift; we quote those separately from photos and a height estimate. Either way, every guy-wire eyebolt and mast foot gets patched.
Will the roof patch match the rest of the shingles?
It matches the shingle style and the closest available color, and it is woven into the existing courses rather than laid on top, so it does not stand out as a square. On a newer roof it disappears; on a roof that has faded for fifteen years the patch is a shade darker until it weathers. A leftover bundle from the last roof job is the best match, so tell us if one is in the garage.
Recent JMB work, from our job log
59 installs recorded across 30 Twin Cities communities since Dec 2025. Window and door installs for homeowners and for the builders and dealers we sub for. Counts come straight from our job log; no customer names.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough. You hear back within one business day. Or text the photos to 763-204-2099.
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Read morePage reviewed September 26, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All roofing pages
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