Timber Framers Guild Forums General General Forum Questions telephone poles as timber framing?

My local electricity company has old power poles that are around 8 to 14" in diameter. They are in really good shape. Anyone every make a timber frame structure out of old treated pine? at 70 cents a foot it's a good price. I couldn't cut down trees on my own property for less.

Thanks, Rolland

I would avoid old power poles for any use for fear of persistant toxic compounds. Creasote is a coal tar derivative that is classed as toxic, carcinogenic and mutagenic, a very nasty witches brew of a wide variety of organic compounds. Not only organics are of concern, I have an old materials of construction manual that describes the use of mercury additives as an industrial fungicide.

Beware, the cheap man sometimes pays the highest price.

Yes I have used utility poles in several frames. My shop in fact is a hodge-podge of various pole timber. Some with climbing spur marks still visible.
Roger is right in his warning about creosote. Poles treated with that should be avoided for anything but being a utility pole.
However, most North American utilities stopped using creosote as a preservative many years ago and switched to CCA ..the green stuff. Poles treated with this can be used quite safely. The preservative only penetrates about 2" and can be easily removed with the slabs. The butt end usually has more penetration because of end grain.
Look for the suppliers stamp on the pole, it's located 10' from the butt end. It will tell you the species of wood, what it's treated with, the length, the class, the date it was done, and the suppliers name. A "WRC, CCA, 65, 2, 1995, Kirkland" tells you all you need. The lower the class number the fatter the pole is. A class 4 is a small service pole in a farmers yard. A class 1 is a future 12x12 30' tie beam.
Western Red, Southern Yellow Pine, Red Pine, Lodgepole, DF are all wood you can find in a pole. No EWP though.
One other thing, older WRC poles, like from the 60's and early 70's were treated with creosote at the butt only, no treatment of any kind above grade. Cut the butt off and you have beautiful cedar worthy of any project, timber of otherwise.
My 2 cents

CCA, chromated copper arsenate, is no longer allowed for in indoor or outdoor residential use. Penta, aka Pentachlorophenol, is another anti-fungal agent that has been banned in the residential market and is still used for utility poles and railroad ties. All of these agents should be avoided. You can google for material data safety sheets and read up on approved uses, risks, handling and disposal of waste.

Take care

This topic irks me, how can a utility company sell to the public toxic post industrial waste that will poison the soil, the water table, the food chain and etc. for unpermitted use, when it is their duty to render their waste safe to the broadest environment?

And watch for hardware when you saw up those suckers. Bolts and other large items are obvious but it's the staples that get you. The large fencing staples. They held copper down ground on at one time so are in a straight line, so if you find one, follow the line to the top.
Urban poles can be a pain in the ass what with all the signs, posters etc. attached over the years. So much so i don't take those at all. The larger transmission line poles are the best but as you would expect are harder to get.

I just ripped one down the middle for my new electrical meter post. That is right I am getting on the electrical grid. I didn't feel comfortable doing that. I would not saw any large amount of these due the unknown repercussions. I could see using them to make a pole barn with with out all the sawing not to mention cutting joinery.

I think it is odd when people purchase pressure treated lumber and a build picnic table, then sit down and eat at said table. Did they read the waring label on the product?

Thanks for the tips everyone.