# Setting telephone poles



## SolarAndWood (Aug 14, 2011)

Has anyone set poles by digging a hole instead of using an auger?  I have largely clay and glacial till but I am wondering if I am going to be able to backfill a hole I dig with a 2' bucket tight enough for a 25' pole?


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## Exmasonite (Aug 14, 2011)

well... i have some anecdotal experience with 10' 4x4 for a fence post but nothing like what you're doing.  I dug a semicircular "trench" to reach the depth needed, back-filled around a sonotube, and then poured the concrete for the post.  i'd imagine the same theory, on a large scale, should hopefully work for you.


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## jimbom (Aug 14, 2011)

It is certainly possible.  Backfill in thin layers(say 9" for till).  Compact the heck out of each layer adding(if necessary) just enough water to make it cohesive, but not wet.  If you can, let it rest for a while before putting any load on the pole.  When in service, make sure the pole doesn't waller out the clay.  If it does, tighten up the hole with some limestone screenings or whatever the aggregate plant in your area has left over as waste.


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## SolarAndWood (Aug 14, 2011)

JimboM said:
			
		

> If it does, tighten up the hole with some limestone screenings or whatever the aggregate plant in your area has left over as waste.



There is an idea.  I have 100s of yards of road base from the city water department I could use as backfill.  I could probably come up with a way to use the 12 ton weight  of the excavator as a tamper.  Maybe an I-beam on the end of the boom or something.


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## gpcollen1 (Aug 14, 2011)

On backfilling - many of the large remediation jobs I have done have required an engineering spec for backfilling.  Most effective is compacting in 6" lifts.  The guys doing some sewer line jobs way back were plate compacting in 6-12 inch lifts.  Seems to work very well...


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## burnham (Aug 15, 2011)

Yes, I do it all the time at work.  No lifts, just push all the fill back into the whole then tamp it with the bucket (full size backhoe).   We set poles at 2' plus 10% of the pole length.  25' pole, 5.5' whole.


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## SolarAndWood (Aug 15, 2011)

burnham said:
			
		

> Yes, I do it all the time at work.  No lifts, just push all the fill back into the whole then tamp it with the bucket (full size backhoe).   We set poles at 2' plus 10% of the pole length.  25' pole, 5.5' whole.



Cool thanks.  So, dig the hole, throw a chain a little above the mid point, drop it in, backfill with a second machine and tamp?


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## Highbeam (Aug 15, 2011)

You can dig as big a hole as you want. The backfill needs to be placed so that it is just as compacted as a the rest of the soil. 

I'm getting ready to build a pole barn and the poles will be set in 4' deep 2' wide holes. I will be augering them and then backfilling (and pouring a footing) with concrete to prevent the poles from moving. 

Are you side loading this pole? If you know the direction that the pole will be loaded then you can dig out the hole so that native soil remains on the side towards the load. 1.5' or 2 foot bucket.


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## burnham (Aug 15, 2011)

SolarAndWood said:
			
		

> burnham said:
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> 
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> ...



Yeah that's how we do it (if we're not using the auger).  It works fine for us, would probably be fine for a fence, but you might want to tamp it a little better if you're building a pole barn.


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## SolarAndWood (Aug 16, 2011)

It is for hops arbors, so not a lot of weight.  Maybe a little wind resistance?  Given the boulders I have found digging so far, I doubt I'll have any undisturbed soil to play with.  But worth a try.


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## phatfarmerbob (Aug 16, 2011)

Hops Huh? 
 Gonna make beer, or are you growing them to sell commercially?


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## SolarAndWood (Aug 16, 2011)

Beer


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## backpack09 (Aug 16, 2011)

I am currently growing hops.  I have brewers gold and cascade producing this year, and some mt hood for next season.

Be carefull how many bines you plant... my second year bines each produced a bushell of hops last year.  at 3 oz a 5 gallon batch... thats a lot of beer, or a couple of really strong IPAs.

You can also feed any left over foliage at harvest time to the chickens, the hops works as a dewormer.


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## SolarAndWood (Aug 16, 2011)

Backpack09 said:
			
		

> or a couple of really strong IPAs.



That right there is the plan.  The layout I have is for about 300 ft of arbor.  I think I have access to a market for anything our band of brewers don't use.


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## Highbeam (Aug 16, 2011)

Wow, 300 feet? It only takes a little bit but the 3 oz per 5 gallons is 3 dried ounces. The starts aren't particularly cheap. What a great idea for a garden.


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## SolarAndWood (Aug 17, 2011)

Highbeam said:
			
		

> Wow, 300 feet?



I have the blessing of having a 12 ton excavator for a time.  I am trying to make sure I get everything done that I could possible want to do before I let it go.  We came up with 300' based on a friend's experience with a 16' 4x4 and a horizontal rod at the top.  I can't imagine that having too many hops could ever be a bad thing.


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## phatfarmerbob (Aug 17, 2011)

Heres a pic of my Hops,,, i just use them as an ornamental, they always get a positive comment.


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## SolarAndWood (Aug 17, 2011)

That's beautiful Bob.  I'm pretty utilitarian and would have a hard time doing it just for beauty's sake.


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## woodmeister (Aug 22, 2011)

I dug many a hole by hand to set utility poles be it 25 or 50' back-filled by hand and tamped by hand. If your going to have a long span between poles with weight (even if its only hops) you will want guy wires on the end poles to keep them straight.


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## cottonwoodsteve (Oct 3, 2011)

Setting poles in general.
If you really have to do it deep and correctly.

Interesting method to meet power company specs.
I have done this 3 times on three pieces of property in two counties. Last one a 33 foot pole set down 6.5 feet.
A gas hand held rental auger can not do this.
Original hole can not be more than a few inches over the size of the pole. Power Co doesn't want pole in loose fill of a large hole.

This works in decomposed granite and other soils that are not solid rock or have big stones over a few inches..

Make chopping type chisel bar out of long "T" fence post.
Make side scooping shovel on end of another "T" post. The idea is it scoops up loose dirt as you turn it down in the bottom of the hole.
Have a 15 inch 1"x 1" stick hole gauge  on a string. Make sure the hole is the correct width. On a small string the stick spins and turns to cover all parts of the hole.
Because of gravity the stick will show if the hole is going straight down.

The basics;
Add water to hole, let soak for 30 min to an hour to soften up a few inches. 
Then chop with chisel post.
Then scoop up dirt with side shovel bar.
Basically soak, chop, scoop out, repeat. Then check with gauge stick every foot or two.

The last hole we did was about 15 inches diameter by 6 1/2 feet deep, was dug by my 80 year old mother. Honest!
She had a lawn chair and read a book. Soak, read another chapter , chop, scoop, soak read, chop.....
She did the hole in two days while sitting in the shade reading a book.

Since this was a power pole. I put the conduit, meter base, weather head etc. on pole first. Hoisted it up with a wood  A frame and winch.
2x4 s around conduit to keep the lifting cable from crushing it.
33 feet is higher than normal but from a low spot it had to get the wires over a higher public road. Power Co inspects holes before you can set the poles.


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