Figuring this is the shop section, I would inquire how best to prep a yard utility pole to last the longest. The pole is 30 feet & the purpose is to mount some yard lights for security and those short winter days. Am planning on digging a hole five and a half feet deep, maybe six feet. Tamping the bottom with a 4x. Have a filter fabric bag with some big gravel to throw into the bottom for the pole to rest on / drainage etc. Using graded gravel (class II road base), tamp and pack the backfill in small lifts etc. Was strongly advised to not purchase a (used) cut-off pole due to short life expected from dry rot termites etc .... went to the lumber yard and had a utility spec pole delivered (avoiding DOT fun for me). Here is the question with a subtle debate: some say do not wrap the pole in the embedded area as the wrap will hold and trap moisture, but others, claiming sage advice, say the structure of the pole [wood grain blah blah] will indeed wick any water from the embedded area .... all the while maintaining the embedded area quite dry. Probably due to wishful thinking, I am inclined to jacket the embedded area plus one foot above the final grade with some torch down roofing I have on hand. Initially install the wrap with the roofing underlayment and securing that with roofing cap head nails, then heat the torch onto the underlayment, installing it in such a way as to completely seal the embedded area: side and bottom. Once the pole is installed band clamp / wrap a ring around the roofing material and trim the underlayment / roofing neatly near to the band clamp. Or skip the underlayment and directly adhere the torch roofing to the pole. The other idea is to abandon all this waterproof sleeve jacketing idea, and set it and forget it.
The pole for our meter and service is about 20' tall and 8" or so at the bottom. It was a one time use temp service for a project we did back in 2016. Electrician asked us to remove the pole and put it in a dumpster. Nothing was wrong with it so we did remove it and carried to our yard for future use. It's still holding strong and we didn't wrap it. Dug a hole and backfilled it with DGB in lifts. I don't see anything wrong with the torch roofing - if anything it's a belt and suspenders approach. FWIW our pole is pressure treated not creosote.
When setting poles for the electric cooperative, or for big baseball field light poles, the wood ones are usually just backfilled with clean gravel. They drill the hole 8" or so oversize all the way around, and just skidloader the rock in . Its better/ easier to drill the hole, vs digging it, just because you end up with less overdig.
Here in our clay-loam soils, wood posts/poles last the longest if they are packed in clean rock, 5/8 or 3/4".
Yep - didn't have an auger and wasn't going to rent one. Been thinking about getting one for a CTL/Mini to drill light pole bases for the sparkies.
prestressed concrete light standards.....
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This. Unless you have exceptionally bad soil conditions it will probably have a 40-50yr+ life span (round poles last a lot longer than a 6x6). Around here we can get CCA/salt treated or Creosote treated, the creosote adds a good 10-15yrs to the lifespan. Being in Ca, I doubt that's an option for you but worth a look. FWIW, the power pole next to the farm yard here was set in 1947.
Set it the same way the local electric company sets their poles. They have the only extensive, local, boots-on-the-ground experience. Around here some poles original to electrification back in the 1940's are still in usage. Some Osage orange fence posts date back to 1900. All are just set in the dirt removed from the hole.