Holding a pole up with only one cable? (2025 Update)

With phone and electric poles the strainers oppose the net force of the cables, whether it's the end of a run or a sharp corner.

Bill

Ah, that makes sense. So in a straight line the pole is ok, but on a corner it's getting yanked too much one way.

I think in my neighbour's case, as the chimney comes through the roof, there isn't room to attach a wire anywhere else, I suppose he might have something else inside the roof counteracting it.

Sometimes chimneys are guyed or otherwise braced only to prevent them falling in the direction that would be most dangerous or destructive.

Bill

Are you sure it's a cable and not a rigid rod/pipe that braces the flue?

That's a point - there's a glass roofed conservatory below it. Falling onto roof tiles probably wouldn't damage much.

I can't see from this far away. Are you suggesting it can take a force in more than one direction? Even if it can, it would only be push and pull, not sideways.

A) It's a weird thing to go round and ask. B) Nobody likes him. C) He's my neighbour, not my neighbor.

Maybe there is a second solid brace you can't see. That would make a triangle. Those are pretty solid.

The weight of the cables puts an assymetric laod on the poles near the end of long cable runs

If there's anything else it's under the roof tiles.

Yes back in the old days you could often see men in vans going around tightening up these cables. I assume the wire that ran between poles also had some kind of steel component to make sure it had the strength. As for chimneys etc, theat is a whole other issue. Sounds a bit like a bodge! Brian

If the support is split between above and below the roof then it implies significant stiffness in the pipe itself. Which if true suggests it does not need an external cable. I suspect it was installed for largely cosmetic reasons rather than for sound engineering principles. If it does eventually fall down the cable will probably stop it crashing to the ground and causing personal injury ;-)

Seems you are afraid of him.  Why?

Why the hate?

Old English is really f***ed up.  The sensible way to spell it is "nābər".

Though coming from the weight the tension in a phone line is much higher to get a shallowish catenery so the line doesn't flail about too much in the wind. It's really only poles at the end of a line or where the line sharply changes direction that have assymetric forces. With poles roughly equally spaced and in a row the forces balance out.

Dropwire No.10 has two copper pairs and 3 brassed steel strainer wires and a very tough polyethylene jacket.

Yes, but that is drop wire. The high voltage wires between poles, don't have steel for support, just the conductor.

It does look quite stiff, but it's a tall chimney and there could be a fair force on it from wind, which they won't want transferred to where it's attached to the stove, which could cause a leak of fumes into the house.

No, I just think it's weird to knock on the door of someone you don't know and ask an odd and inquisitive question about his house.

He breeds dogs, which make a lot of noise, then has the cheek to complain about every little thing that others do. The smoke from that chimney has now pissed off even more folk (not me, I like the smell).

Sounds like Arabic.

I think it's a DIY job. Everything else he does is, and to the cheapest/easiest specs possible.