# Old telephone/utility poles in Southern California



## elbee (Apr 18, 2008)

All of the woodwork in the house that I live in was made from old telephone/utility pole wood. The bedrooms are carpeted, but I want to tear out the carpet and lay down the same wood flooring I have throughout the house. I know this is probably a long shot, but you never know. I was wondering if anyone in the Southern California area knows where I can buy old telephone pole wood. I tried calling the Department of Water and Power and they had no idea. If anyone has any idea how I can find this type of wood it would be much appreciated!


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

Maybe the guys at a local sawmill might ? Here is a list of links to find a sawmill in your area (anyones area) I have milled a few old power poles, not many but have done it. http://nelsonwoodworks.biz/pb/wp_a9976cb4/wp_a9976cb4.html


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## johnep (Apr 12, 2007)

Would have thought that these posts could be full of nails.
johnep


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## smitty1967 (Feb 24, 2008)

johnep said:


> Would have thought that these posts could be full of nails.
> johnep


yeah...round my parts, wooden poles are free billboards for the general public, used to hang signs for every garage sale, wedding reception and middle school bake sale for the last 9 billion years. The nails are so thick from about 3 feet to about 5 feet above ground that you couldn't imagine ever getting another one in it....

and then there's the creosote issue....ick!! :nuke: Would you even want that stuff in your yard, much less as a fixture in your home?

smitty


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

johnep said:


> Would have thought that these posts could be full of nails.
> johnep


Metal detector...yard trees are fuller (more fuller, very fullest :confused1 of nails than poles because the tree GROWS over the driven nails and hides them. A power pole they are going to be only on the surface. I have found metal 20"+ inside trees, even ones from the woods.


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

smitty1967 said:


> and then there's the creosote issue....ick!! :nuke: Would you even want that stuff in your yard, much less as a fixture in your home?
> 
> smitty


The creosote is only for ground contact...the bottom 4-5 feet. Yea, that gets cut off, you definitely don't want to mill that part . The rest is clean, around here it used to be western red cedar now southern yellow pine. I imagine where he is they are still the cedar ? Which is never treated with anything. I did find this.

"The "birthmark" on the pole normally located 10 to 15 feet above the butt will tell the species of the pole along with a whole lot of other information. Some common timber species codes. 
WC = western red cedar 
WP = ponderosa pine 
JP = jack pine 
LP = lodgepole pine 
NP = red pine 
DF = douglas fir 
SP = southern pine 
WL = western larch 
After the species code there will be another letter or two but that is only to designate the type of *preservative treatment*."
Gotta watch that, the older poles would have been treated with not very friendly stuff. But the upside is that stuff has been "spent" (leached into the atmosphere/ground) due to old age, hence the need to replace them.

I would never mill a new pole because they are treated here since they no longer use western red cedar to my knowledge.


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## elbee (Apr 18, 2008)

I think the creosote is the reason why I am having such a hard time finding it. From the numerous phone calls I have made I've learned that the city doesn't want the liability of selling wood that has been treated with creosote. They used to do it. My woodwork was done in 1990, but I think since then, they no longer sell it. The woodwork I have does have some nail holes, but it is part of the charm of the wood and doesn't detract from it in anyway. So, I don't mind nail holes.

My hope is that there is another city not too far from mine that still sells it. A few weeks ago, some DWP workers were replacing some new poles near my house. I asked them if I could buy it, but they said I would have to go through the city to do it. I didn't really pursue it because I don't have the capacity to mill it. Having a bunch of huge telephone poles in my back yard wasn't going to do me any good. So, I do need to find a place that does mill it. I will check out the sawmill link.


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## John in Tennessee (Jun 11, 2008)

Anyone looked under this message?


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

johnep said:


> Would have thought that these posts could be full of nails.
> johnep


And TREATED!!!

g


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

John in Tennessee said:


> Anyone looked under this message?


 
Good call!!! It just goes to show you that the google ads are good for something.:laughing:


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## Terry Beeson (May 29, 2008)

Daren said:


> ...yard trees are fuller (more fuller, very fullest :confused1...


 
Much more fuller-er... :thumbsup:



You're welcome... :laughing:


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

Terry Beeson said:


> Much more fuller-er... :thumbsup:


Thank you :smartass:.


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## jdixon (Nov 21, 2007)

My Uncle Jerry was a lineman and he had some poles milled and used the lumber to use as paneling in a family room at their house. I remember it being very cool looking! Good luck in finding some.

John


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## Fyrzowt (Jul 3, 2008)

> If anyone has any idea how I can find this type of wood it would be much appreciated!


Don't narrow your search to the DWP. Up in our area, PG&E is the major player as far as power companies. Of course there are the phone and cable companies, but they usually just contract to use a part of the power poles. But not always, check them as well.
I did a quick search and didn't find anything definate - but I note that the construction recyclers seem to deal in them.
Good luck.


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