Hand-Made, Traditional American Wooden Flagpoles since 1985
Nine Reasons Why Not All Wood Flag Poles are Created Equal
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Hennessy House Wooden Flagpoles are the number one selling wooden poles in America for good reason. If you are considering purchasing a wooden flagpole for your grounds, please consider the nine points below as you compare flag poles and their prices...
1. Best Materials
Our poles are made from 100% clear, vertical grain Douglas fir which we hand-select from various mills in the Williamette Valley region of Central Oregon. We carefully select boards with our desired equilibrium moisture content that have been properly kiln dried and conditioned to avoid stresses or casehardening. Then our Doug fir is stored at our facilities in a humidity and temperature controlled "walk-in humidor" until ready for use. We avoid less expensive wood with flat grain which may peel over the life of the pole, as well as wood with excessive exterior knots which can loosen with wind movement and affect the integrity of the pole as well as its appearance.
2. Wind Load Engineered and Guaranteed
Hennessy House poles are made to comply with stamped engineering specifications and drawings to withstand wind loads of 90MPH for our standard poles and up to 110MPH for poles going to the three known violent hurricane areas of America (North Carolina Outer Banks, southeast tip of Florida and the Gulf Coast and the far west portion of Puget Sound, Washington). Our written lifetime guarantee warrants our poles to be free from defects in materials and workmanship and that they will remain serviceable for the life of their original owners.
IMPORTANT, PLEASE NOTE: We create our poles with full 2 inch vertical wall thickness – this gives the pole the strength it needs to pass wind load codes in all states. If your installation is at a public location such as a visitor center or historical site, insurance companies and many local building departments demand to see structural documentation in the form of calculations and drawings that prove the pole can pass their wind load requirements up to 90 MPH unflagged.
Some pole makers use an alternative style of building their poles called “birdsmouth” construction. They make an eight-sided stave design using 5/8-inch slats that lock together to form a hollow ridged pole and cap the two ends. When turned on a lathe their poles look like ours but, while lighter in weight, they don’t have the same vertical axial strength and they cannot prove wind load resistance equal to our poles. This design is good for making boat masts because the boat moves through the water and is not set into a fixed land position where the wind dynamics are different. What’s more, after these style poles are turned, the eight points of their hexagon are shaved thinner than the 5/8 inch material so at eight points the wall thickness of the pole is actually only about ½ to 3/8- inch, far less than our 2 inch walls.
If you have any concerns about this kind of pole construction, ask the builder for wind load calculations to pass a building permit test. That will be the proof of the strength of your pole.
3. Glue-Laminated For High Vertical Axial Tensile Strength
Our poles are constructed from finger-joined varying- length members selected for their slope of grain, color and overall appearance. All visible knots or pitch pockets are removed from the boards before shaping and gluing. Then these members are tapered and glue-laminated to become a hollow-in- the-middle long box with an open square at the butt of about 1 ½" to 2 ½", depending on the length of the pole, down to a tiny open space at the tip. This allows the pole to move in the wind without breaking as can be the case with solid wood poles.
4. Precision Lathe-Turned
Our specially designed and custom-built 48 ft. long, semi-automatic lathe is laser-beamed accurate to be precisely true on its horizontal and vertical axes and is permanently anchored on cement and heavily reinforced with steel to avoid change of pitch. This means we can turn stock up to 45ft. long and over 10” wide on a perfectly straight taper.
5. Superior Mounting Base
We use heavy duty, pre-engineered channel iron that is powder-coated and baked to prevent rusting for the life of the pole. Poles are gripped above the grade to avoid moisture wicking up and causing dry rot or damage from pests. We also seal the bottoms and insides of our poles near the base with water-impermeable epoxy as an added safeguard to protect the pole.
Other makers use flat iron which has less integrity and which may fail in high winds. They also use cheaper cold galvanize paint on their bases which can eventually allow rusting. Also, our powder-coated channel steel mounts avoid the eventual problem of wood-mounts (tabernacles), which, while historically appropriate, could rot over time.
6. Pole Prices Include All Accessories
When you purchase a Hennessy House Wooden Flagpole the price includes everything you will need to raise your flag including an appropriately sized cotton American flag (unless you specify nylon). This includes the mounting iron base as described above, and all hardware: a gold anodized top ball with threaded stem which screws into a cast-aluminum and painted stationary truck (pole cap) with single or double sheaves (pulleys), a halyard (rope loop) of 5/16” polyester solid-braid material, a pair of brass swivel snaps with vinyl scuff -resistant covers (used to clip on your flag to the halyard) and a brass cleat to tie off the halyard near the base of the pole.
You are also entitled to a custom-engraved brass plaque to commemorate the erection of your wooden flag pole (Engraving area allows up to four lines of 20 characters and spaces each.)
7. Attentive Customer Service/Damage Claim Handling
We understand that purchasing a wooden flag pole is usually a new experience for our customers so it’s important that they are able to ask whatever questions they have before they make a decision. Our toll-free 800 number -- (800) 285-2122 -- gives you timely access to us for all issues that you may have and our "written-for-the-homeowner" detailed installation instructions allow you to go over everything BEFORE you start your project.
Once you decide to place an order you receive a written Order Confirmation Form from us detailing exactly what you are ordering and its cost.
8. Prepaid Shipping
We ship poles to all 50 States , Canada and Mexico. Our poles are consigned to you via prepaid bills of lading so when the common carrier shipping company delivers your pole you do not have to pay the driver. What’s more, if there should ever be any shipping damage you do not have to get involved in claim filing to try to get your money back. Hennessy House will file any claim reports on your behalf AND either repair or replace your pole FREE-OF-CHARGE to you. You pay us only the balance due on your original order. This gives you the peace of mind that you are not going to get stuck "holding the bag" if there is a problem in the shipment of your pole. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT DIFFERENCE AMONG POLE MAKERS.
9. Who We Are and Where to Find Us
When you order a Hennessy House pole, you will be asked to provide a 50% deposit to secure your order and place it on our Production Schedule. So that you will know to whom you are sending your money, we provide the following information about us.
Hennessy House Flag Poles, Inc. (dba Hennessy House Wooden Flagpoles) is a Domestic Stock Corporation (#C2232297) filed in the State of California on May 3, 2000.
Hennessy House Wooden Flagpoles™ is a United States Registered Trademark
We bank with Wells Fargo Bank of California.
Our office is located at 20 Spring Street, PO BOX 57, Sierra City, CA 96125
Our winter office address is 70-100 Mirage Cove Drive, # 9, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270
Our production facility is located at 100 Railroad Avenue, Loyalton, CA 96118
Telephone: (800) 285-2122
Fax: Summers (530) 862-0125 and Winters (760) 321-0590
Email: tom@woodenflagpoles.com
Please call toll-free 1-800-285-2122 for more information. Thank you!
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