I have the opportunity to go up on some of the tallest structures around, but they are smokestacks built in the late 1800s. They are probably 300' tall. I can find a ton of examples of where companies have done this by searching 'smokestack cell tower' on Google Image search, but I have some real concerns. One concern, the stacks in this area seem to have been grandfathered in, as they have no warning lights on top. Two, we live in an earthquake zone. It is not a matter of 'if', but 'when'. So, these will likely come tumbling down. When that happens, are people going to point fingers at the company who added weight to the structure when it crushes someone?
There are some obvious engineering hurdles (renting a crane every time there is an issue, or mounting low enough to rent a man lift, adding backup equipment in case of failure, etc.), but those can be overcome. I am primarily concerned about liability, and the potential for having to update the structure to include lighting. Has anyone on this list ever attempted something on the scale of a 300' smokestack from the turn of the century? Any pointers, or specific law firms that I should contact? Seriously debating just scrapping the idea....
