I learned a hard lesson this weekend............

[geneinmurphy]

I decided to hand build (per the T14 booklet instructions) a wooden pole for my t14 and finally with the help of two others got it erected.......but if I evr build another T14, I'll pay extra and opt for the much lighter weight 3" square aluminum pole. The hand build wooden poles (if you can find any decent half straight lumber) are VERY heavy and a chore to erect/level............

[Kelly Applegate~MN]

My first t14 was on the homemade sandwiched pole. Within 6 months the pole was warped so bad the house would not slide up and down. I did not cement the pole in the ground (luckily). The new metal pole is wonderful and a breeze to install.

[geneinmurphy]

Kelly......hope mine doesn't do that because it's cemented in the ground. It would be a real pain to take it down and dig up three feet of concrete....

[rdhd]

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[geneinmurphy]

rdharlin......where do you buy these poles and how much do they cost?? Do you have to keep it painted to keep it from rusting??

[rdhd]

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[geneinmurphy]

rdharlin......I know this may sound like a dumb question, but how do you paint a pole that is 17' high??? Use a tall ladder??? How often do you have to paint it and what type paint do you use??

[John King]

I use a 3.5 ft. X 2 in. galvinized power conduit concreted in the ground and an 1.5 X whatever length you need that way you can pull the 1.2 in out and store or what ever.

[Guest]

I use steel pipes 1.5 -2.5 electrical conduit or 2" steel pipe that is used in sprinkler systems ( this is the best) . I purchase all my pipes at a local scrap yard at approx. $5.00 per 10ft length ( the same material costs $20-40 at most hardware stores). I only purchase galvanized/plated stock - it is maintenance free.

[RC Moser]

IMO the key to a wooden laminated pole it to make a hinged base. I have a full 20'. I sandwiched and teed the bottom puttng it 30" in the ground with about a 3' 2 by 6 across the bottom to anchor the post.

With two thread all studs I can hinge my pole down anytime myself by removing one of the thread alls or replace the pole with the hinged base intact. I hinge mine down twice a year and water seal it. Be my 3rd season on mine and it still looks like new. I find lowe's has a better selection of wood than home depot IMO.

[Kelly Applegate~MN]

Geneinmurphy-

I was never really comfortable with the wooden pole from the start. I built mine from some straight 2X6's that were relatively dry. A week after the house was up I noticed it was tipping and was twisting at the top of the pole. I had the 4 holed sides to the north and south and they ended up NW & SE! Luckily I was able to straighten the pole by digging away one side and wedging it to the side of the hole, but I had to live with the bad orientation. The pole looked terrible after 6 months. There was a sideways arch and the twist at the top. The house no longer slid down the pole easily and would get caught up on the pole and then release and fall in a jerking motion. I don't mean to scare you, maybe your pole will work out ok. For me the answer was the T14 metal pole that the PMCA sells.

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

Kelly, most people purchase wet undried treated lumber for poles, and that kind of lumber warps very easily..wood that is used for poles should be very dry which helps, but there are other things like the grain of the wood. The grain of the wood should oppose each other on the 2x6 poles. By looking at the grain of the wood, it will warp much less if both poles have the circle of the grain pointing inward, or if they both point outward...you can see this if you look at the end of the boards..if both of the poles have the grain the same way, they both want to bend the same way, but if they oppose each other, the pole will usually bend less...Another good thing to use is treated plywood between the 2x6 boards, as the plywood will not bend. in fact, you could put 1 piece of plywood between the 2x6 boards, and another piece of plywood 90deg from the first piece of plywood, and then the pole should not bend..

If you use dry lumber, if you nail or screw the boards together correctly, and if you caulk and paint the boards so that they do not get wet inside, your problems will be greatly reduced...Having said all of that, the metalic poles do remain straight, and I would recommend them, especially to the inexperienced woodworkers.

[rdhd]

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