We can’t see every pole on the system everyday. When a concerned customer calls in reporting a pole leaning we always go take a look. Granted most of the time when we go take a look it’s not a big deal. With wires going every which way off the pole… it’s not gonna fall over. It just has a little “gangsta lean” is all. This pole on the other hand… I think the wire was holding up.
We had close to 18 inches of snow and temps well below freezing. Then the wind decides to blow creating massive snow drifts. Then temps shot up to 45F and with the warm wind that snow melted fast. Saturating the soil. This pole sits on top of a hill that I am totally unsure how they set it 20+ years ago. Most likely by hand without any equipment. The pole itself is not in too good of shape but this whole section of line is in the works for getting replaced. So it’s time for a quick fix.
On the uphill side we dug a hole about 2-3 feet deep. This will give the pole room to move, plus we can check to make sure it isn’t broken.
There are a few different ways we straighten poles but when you have a side by side with a winch this is the easiest. We run the winch line out and use a fiber sling with a shackle to choke around the pole. Then using an extendable hot stick, we shimmy the sling up the pole as high as we can get it. The higher the better. This gives us a good angle to pull the weight of the pole and wire back straight.
We kept getting hung up on staples from the pole ground and it was quite a fight to get it as high as we did.
Then simply tighten up the winch and pull the pole back a little beyond straight. If we start to hear cracking… then we stop and dig down some more. On the downhill side we install a couple 2x8 pieces of wood that are about 3 feet long. We only dig out enough dirt to fit them in place.
We then use a sledge hammer to drive them down in the dirt until they won’t go anymore. The idea is that when the pole puts pressure on the 2x8’s there is a lot more surface area of dirt to push out of the way in order for the pole to move. Adding a bit of extra strength to fight those winds at the top of the hill. Using the handle of our shovels to compact the dirt tightly around the pole and pole key.
After all the dirt is compacted we simply let loose of the winch and…
TA-DA
The old pole is straight once again. I imagine during the spring or summer this section of line will get totally rebuilt. All new poles, wire, transformers… everything. With this fix it will probably last another 20 years
:wink:wink
Your Random
Dose of...