Old telephone poles

Username John

Hello,

Anyone ever use em for fencing or the likes?
What price should I expect to pay, or maybe I should say what are they worth?

Thinking of getting a few of em for a bit of fencing. My only worry is that they would be rotten inside in em?
Have to just check em when they arrive I guess, give em a belt of a hammer to make sure they not hollow?

patsy_mccabe

I've used them here, but only ones left here by the ESB so got them all free. They tend to rot at the base near the ground first, but should be fine, say above 3 or 4 feet from the ground. They tend to rot on the inside too with the outside ok from the creosote treatment. You wont know how good they are till you cut them across with a chainsaw.

ganmo

Most of the strainers here are esb poles
Don't remember any been rotten in the centre but they aren't taken down because they're rotten they're taken down because they have a 'life' of 20 or 25 years

Atlantic Dawn

The creosote used to preserve them can cause cancer, best handle them with protective clothing.

Creosote has a greater potential to cause cancer than previously thought, studies by the European Commission have shown.

The chemical can no longer be sold to consumers and can only be used to treat wood under strictly limited conditions.

http://www.independent.ie/regionals/droghedaindependent/news/creosote-smell-made-residents-feel-unwell-27126567.html

Username John

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

The creosote used to preserve them can cause cancer, best handle them with protective clothing.



http://www.independent.ie/regionals/droghedaindependent/news/creosote-smell-made-residents-feel-unwell-27126567.html

Thanks - but I suspect the old poles I'd be getting would be well dry from any creosote at this stage...

Miname

Hard enough got and lads will charge anywhere from 50 to 100.the telegraph poles make better strainers I find as their a smaller diameter but the tops of the Esb ones are around the same. I use the wide ends for gate posts but you need to sharpen a serious point to get them driven. I've never had one rot here bar the first foot of the very top of the pole before it's been cut to size. A half arsed strainer will cost you 20 euro so you can work out what the poles are worth by the length. I recently bought 60 foot poles at 50 each thought it was good value.

MIKEKC

Miname wrote: »

Hard enough got and lads will charge anywhere from 50 to 100.the telegraph poles make better strainers I find as their a smaller diameter but the tops of the Esb ones are around the same. I use the wide ends for gate posts but you need to sharpen a serious point to get them driven. I've never had one rot here bar the first foot of the very top of the pole before it's been cut to size. A half arsed strainer will cost you 20 euro so you can work out what the poles are worth by the length. I recently bought 60 foot poles at 50 each thought it was good value.

Excellent cresoted treated strainers can be bought for e20 8 ft. X8 inch.esb poles taken down here were rotten in centre, was told they were 50 years old.

Genghis Cant

I'd a lad here lately testing poles for rot. He said there were poles rotting from a particular year. He told me but I forget, I think he said from 06 to 09.
But anyway, he said they were replacing all poles from the effected years.
I bought two telegraph poles over the winter too, around 30', good condition, E20 each.

lab man

Genghis Cant wrote:

I'd a lad here lately testing poles for rot. He said there were poles rotting from a particular year. He told me but I forget, I think he said from 06 to 09. But anyway, he said they were replacing all poles from the effected years. I bought two telegraph poles over the winter too, around 30', good condition, E20 each.

Heard the exact same the other day from a fella doing a course to do fibre optic cable for broadband across the country I think he said years 06/09 aswell