Utility Pole Materials: Which Is Best?

In concrete poles, the typical failure mode is corrosion of the reinforcing bars. For steel poles, ground line corrosion is common over time and for wood, ground-line decay and termite attack are the common failure modes.

As we can see, the results clearly show that standard treated wooden poles whilst generally outperforming concrete, lag behind steel poles. But when taking account of the initial cost, it is clear that wood is still a good all-round choice.

It is readily available, low in cost, lightweight, easy to handle and available in a wide range of sizes to suit all needs.

In the last 20 years there has been a growing adoption and use of technology to overcome woods greatest weakness; decay and termite attack. This happens at the vulnerable ground line section of the pole. It is at this part of the pole that conditions are perfect for wood decay and termite attack. In contrast, the section of pole deeper in the ground and above ground often have a service life 3 or 4 times longer than the ground line section.

So, to prevent degradation and failure at this point, composite, heat applied sleeve products such as Polesaver offer an excellent solution. They isolate the wood from all the factors necessary for ground rot and termite attack, including moisture and fungi. This results in dramatically extending the utility pole life at low unit cost. With a typical expected pole service life similar to that of steel poles, the use of ground line sleeves has given wood another lease of life as the material of choice for utility poles.