To use utility poles to build a shop or not.

[m_fumich]

I have an opportunity to buy some utility poles at what I consider to be a very cheap price, $1 per foot.

Q1) Is there any reason I shouldn’t use utility poles to build a pole barn that’s to be used as a auto shop?

Q2) If I sink them in the ground instead of attaching them to piers, how long can I expect them to last?


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[highland512]

A1) It's not as easy to build a square building with round poles. Utility poles commonly have warps and bends in them and the are hard to attach perlings, trusses, and braces to.

A2) Depends on how they where treated.  Arsenicals (copper chromium arsenate, or CCA) was some of the best but rarely seen anymore , creosote (nasty as hell and smells like ass), pentachlorophenol  (more common these day). All will eventually rot at ground level.  Pour them into a pier with the concrete 2"-4" above ground level=no rot.

Also keep in mind there is a reason the poles where removed, they might already be rotten. 

[m_fumich]

A1) It's not as easy to build a square building with round poles. Utility poles commonly have warps and bends in them and the are hard to attach perlings, trusses, and braces to.

Selecting straight poles would eliminate any issues of warping. As much as I’d like to have a perfectly true building with precise measurements going out to three decimal places, I can deal with a few irregularities.

A2) Depends on how they where treated.  Arsenicals (copper chromium arsenate, or CCA) was some of the best but rarely seen anymore , creosote (nasty as hell and smells like ass), pentachlorophenol  (more common these day). All will eventually rot at ground level.  Pour them into a pier with the concrete 2"-4" above ground level=no rot.

OK, solves that issue. I’m sure all those treatment methods are better than the low grade treatment the lumber from Lowe’s gets.

Also keep in mind there is a reason the poles where removed, they might already be rotten.

I have very long poles to choose from. I can get them long enough that I can cut off any damage on the end. Some of these poles are 60 long and I get to cut off what I need.

Your answers were helpful and reassuring.



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[skfarmer]

ignore if you wish but my advice would be no. i have a variety of pole buildings and wind breaks on the place. we have access to utility poles on occasion and i have a whole pile of them in inventory. that said, while tempted to save a few bucks an put up a building after using them for an addition to one building we have never been tempted to use them again.

why you say? every one is different. the taper, the diameter, the uniformity is just off on every one. trying to make anything straight when one pole is 8 inches round top to bottom. the next is  14 inches at the bottom 12 inches in the middle and 13 at the top. the next is 15 inches at the bottom and 8 inches at the top. now throw in that some are round, some are oval, some are egg shape and everything in between. nothing is straight. everything  is crooked, nothing lines up and  that is only if you want to finish the exterior. any finish work on the inside is a  like a horror.

if you want  to build a wind break and only need to line up one side they work ok. if you want to build a decent building  you need a good foundation and  a pole buildings foundation is the poles.

trying to fit 4 walls, a roof, and doors to a bunch of random poles  and then trying to fasten tin or siding to that crooked mess as a surefire way to create a building that looks like ass.

like a said, i have seen it done and tried to do it, the results are usually not favorable.

[lostmind]

Stack them like a log house. Match the tapers end for end. The pioneers did it!

[m_fumich]

Stack them like a log house. Match the tapers end for end. The pioneers did it!

That’s more work than I care to take on. Upon SK’s advice, I think I’ll move on to Plan B.


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