ECN Forum Forums Photo Discussion Forums Photos for General Discussion Leaning Pole of Pisa

There are many other poles around here which lean much more than this one, but this happens to be just a mile up the road:

As a newly registered member, (I love this site!) leaning utility (not telephone-LOL) poles are quite common. Usually caused by ground settling, incorrect pole class, improper tamping procedures and so on. Hopefully the utility owner would notice a substantial lean in a pole and make repairs, however a slight rake or lean is not uncommon. As far as what holds a pole in place, FYI, several factors come into play. Poles are in fact, set deep into the ground, determined by the length of the pole and the soil type, or rather the soils ability to "hold" the pole. For instance, a pole set in rock obviously need not be set as deep as a pole set in a marshy,sandy soil. There are other factors involved in the depth of the hole, but let's not get too involved, might put one to sleep. :-) Additionally, poles can and do get set in concrete when needed and in fact, they do make concrete utility poles. Just some FYI. For more information, you can find it in the Lineman's and Cableman's Handbook. Cheers!

1. When is it considered "Leaning Too Much"
***when it hits the ground

2. Does anyone else notice this stuff besides me.
***every day.

most any place with poles could have a crew/s busy each and every day, fixing the lean!! as well as tree clearing from poles/lines...


someone needs to tell that guy that after washing his car not to hang it on the line to dry! LOL

[This message has been edited by cs409 (edited 08-24-2004).]

This is a discussion that I intended to stay out of.

FWIW, we set our poles at 10% of the pole height plus two feet. A 45' pole would be set 6 1/2 feet deep.

If the soil is not heavy so we can tamp the butt solid, we will backfill around the pole with #53 crushed stone. We also use #53 crushed stone around most of our main line distribution and the transmission poles.

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Charlie Eldridge, Indianapolis, Utility Power Guy

Here's another rather drunken-looking British pole:

Little side note,
When there is a risk that a pole could be pulled out of vertical plumb (angle poles or Transformer poles), we guy them.
Poor drainage around the pole base can also cause poles to lean.
In the worst case, it can rot the pole out and cause it to snap.