Rick, I ran eggbeaters in my attic before installing an el-az system there.

I think the bottom line is the eggbeaters are doable, but they are pretty marginal receive performers below 30 degrees on a good day, and if you compound that by any significant attenuation from the roof or sidewalls it might be a pretty disappointing move.

The suggestion to go with something steerable I'd think is really the route to go if you have room.  There's a pic of my homebrews on my QRZ page, but if you Google around a bit there are several examples of folks using smaller almost Arrow-sized antennas at a fixed elevation.  That takes a lot less space, is simple, and will really outperform the eggbeaters on the passes nearer the horizon.  OTOH if you have a lot of room, I think N0JY had a pretty impressive set up documented on the internet a while back that might be worth checking out.

In any event you might want to do an attenuation test in the attic on a few passes before making any decisions. I know I'm only losing a few dB when it's dry, but I have no foil-backed roofing materials to contend with, and I did find when I rotate past a large aluminized HVAC duct, I lose gain and directivity for 30 degrees or so.

But there is a huge amount of joy in having the system indoors out of the weather, and in my case, out of view of the zoning police :)  In ten years - zero maintenance other than to tighten a connector.

Good luck.

73 Scott ka9p