t14 with aluminum pole gap question

[dubluv]

hi all,
myself and a friend bought the t14 plans, and built a new house. i have one issue with the newly erected house on the 3" aluminum pole. there's a gap at the top of the attached houses on the 4 compartment side, that allows the 4 compartment houses to pitch left or right of the pole. we used the template to determine the bolt holes for the 3 compartment houses, so i don't know why i'm getting this. its not a big problem, as any birds (none as of yet) probably don't care if their house isn't perfectly level, but it bothers me. and i don't know if it will be a problem if it gets real windy. i've attached a pic that shows the house leaning to the right. any ideas? the only thing i can think of is to shim the spacers that PMCA included in the kit. you can see how the house is leaning to the right

[ToyinPA]

I have T-10 houses plastic houses, but basically the same set up & pole as yours.

Looks like you may need to use the shims & adjust the "J" hook & cable on the underside of the house.

My houses came with the "J" hook already attached, on the underside, that the cable attaches too. We also had crooked houses. My houses had inside spacers attached. So we ended up moving the "J" hook forward away from the pole, added a couple U bolt clamps to secure the cable loop. We used a saddle clamp to keep the cable riding in the center. That allowed the house to ride more straight.

We also used bees wax to wax the pole.

If you look at the photos you can see how much we moved the "J" hook forward to allow room for the other clamps & where we positioned the saddle clamp to keep the cable in the center.

Toy in PA

[dubluv]

I have T-10 houses plastic houses, but basically the same set up & pole as yours.

Looks like you may need to use the shims & adjust the "J" hook & cable on the underside of the house.

My houses came with the "J" hook already attached, on the underside, that the cable attaches too. We also had crooked houses. My houses had inside spacers attached. So we ended up moving the "J" hook forward away from the pole, added a couple U bolt clamps to secure the cable loop. We used a saddle clamp to keep the cable riding in the center. That allowed the house to ride more straight.

We also used bees wax to wax the pole.

If you look at the photos you can see how much we moved the "J" hook forward to allow room for the other clamps & where we positioned the saddle clamp to keep the cable in the center.

Toy in PA

Toy,
thanx so much for responding and posting your pictures. i will take a pic of the bottom of my house, and post it later. however, i'm not sure how the 'J' hook would affect the 4 compartment houses leaning, since the hook is on the 3 compartment house. the bottom of your house looks like there is less space between the pole and house, then on mine. i'm hoping we didn't mess up a measurement during construction of the house. i'll also take a pic looking down from the top. i didn't notice any problem with the house going up and down the pole,but nice tip with the beeswax. thanx

[Dan G]

I'm not sure where you plan to put shims, but if you added an additional board almost the thickness of the gap, to the back of one of the sections, i think it would help.

[dubluv]

I'm not sure where you plan to put shims, but if you added an additional board almost the thickness of the gap, to the back of one of the sections, i think it would help.

Dan and Toy,
i discovered when i got home and lowered the house, that the 3" pole spacers that comes with the kit were not at the same height, so in effect the four compartment houses could tilt to one side. duh! a quick fix, after pulling the whole house down and apart again. put another coat of paint on while it was down, and will reinstall tomorrow. sometimes, you miss the small things,especially when you're rushing to get the house up on the pole. thanx for chiming in with help and ideas, you guys are great.

[flyin-lowe]

Glad you figured it out. The first time I saw a T14 I knew I had to have one. I've been pleased with mine. It was a hit at my old location and at my new house the only pair I had last year chose it over my gourd rack.

[dubluv]

Glad you figured it out. The first time I saw a T14 I knew I had to have one. I've been pleased with mine. It was a hit at my old location and at my new house the only pair I had last year chose it over my gourd rack.

Thanx

[dubluv]

I spoke too soon. after aligning the lower spacer/cleat things, the house still has that gap, allowing it to pitch. however, i decided to simply put a piece of 3/4" scrap pine at the back of both 4 comp houses near the roof, and that took care of it. and thanx to Dan, he had the right idea. bottom line is, is this a flaw in the design? we're basically adapting a house that was designed for the wooden laminate pole to use with an aluminum pole that is 3" square. i think adding a cleat as i did should be added to the plans. and i don't even want any royalties!

[Foxie]

Would you please inform where you purchased the pole? PM.Org? Was this a multi piece pole put together to final length? We find it hard to have a long 14" pole sent as one piece and if so where did you buy it local etc. Thanks as we built another laminated wood pole with a ton of screw anchors but it wants to bend so we keep rotating in on the drive and added another 100 anchor screws with drill driver and them pounded the sides with a sledge to make sure they were set. Took the older pole down in view of slight bend at the top. It is very hard to maintain a straight pole on the treated wood today, green and cure set etc. Built the T14 per exact figures on PM>Org Plans.

[dubluv]

Would you please inform where you purchased the pole? PM.Org? Was this a multi piece pole put together to final length? We find it hard to have a long 14" pole sent as one piece and if so where did you buy it local etc. Thanks as we built another laminated wood pole with a ton of screw anchors but it wants to bend so we keep rotating in on the drive and added another 100 anchor screws with drill driver and them pounded the sides with a sledge to make sure they were set. Took the older pole down in view of slight bend at the top. It is very hard to maintain a straight pole on the treated wood today, green and cure set etc. Built the T14 per exact figures on PM>Org Plans.

Foxie,
we bought the 3" aluminum pole with the t-14 kit to mount to the pole from PMCA. its more expensive than a wooden laminate pole, but so much easier to erect, and you never have to worry about warping. plus it looks better, imho. Also, you are not spending the time to build the laminate pole. the aluminum pole comes in two 8' sections, with one pole having a sleeve to allow the other section to slide onto it, just like a ground stake.