Wooden spools in Conshohocken

Mill town turned office address

Conshohocken is a compact borough on the east bank of the Schuylkill, with West Conshohocken facing it across the river on the Fayette Street bridge. For most of its history it was a mill and steel town, with rail lines and furnaces along the water. Over the last few decades the riverfront has been rebuilt with office towers, hotels and large apartment buildings, all a short hop from the junction of the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) and the Blue Route (I-476). Up the hill, Fayette Street and the blocks of twins and row houses around it are a classic Montgomery County borough. The result is a town where a single morning's pickups can include a 48-inch reel from a high-rise electrical room and a pair of plywood spools from a kitchen renovation three streets away.

High-rise and mid-rise construction

Tall buildings eat cable. The service from the street, the risers that run up through the floors, emergency power, fire alarm, lighting, data and the branch wiring for every unit all come off reels, and on a large riverfront project the empties accumulate for months. Contractors usually stage them in a laydown area or in the garage under the building. When that area is needed for something else, the reels have to go, and fast. We collect from active sites by arrangement with the general contractor or the electrical foreman, inside the site's delivery windows.

Typical stacks from a high-rise job:

• 36- to 60-inch nailed reels from feeders and risers, sometimes with tie rods;
• 24- to 30-inch reels of fire alarm and control cable;
• plywood spools of building wire by the dozen;
• now and then a returnable steel or stencilled reel from the cable maker.

Borough work up the hill

Away from the river, the trade is smaller: house rewires, new services, heat pumps, car chargers, and shop fit-outs along Fayette Street. That leaves a few spools at a time. Twins and row houses on steep streets often have reels in a basement or a back yard reached by an alley. Measure the door if a reel is over 30 inches across; it may have gone in on its edge and need to come out the same way.

The interchange

Conshohocken's location is its selling point. I-76 runs along the river with an exit right into the borough; I-476 crosses the Schuylkill just upstream and meets I-76 at the same interchange; and Butler Pike leads north toward Plymouth Meeting and Whitemarsh. A truck can reach the borough from almost anywhere in the region quickly, provided it avoids the expressway at peak times. For New Jersey runs, I-76 leads straight to the Walt Whitman Bridge.

Getting reels out of garages

Many of the new buildings have underground or podium garages with low clearances, tight ramps and a loading bay that serves the whole building. Tell us the clearance, where the reels are, and how deliveries are booked. Big reels may have to be rolled or jacked to the bay. If the building management needs a certificate of insurance or a named contact before a pickup, say so in your request so we can arrange it in advance.

What happens to them

Sound reels from Conshohocken jobs go back into use for cable, rope and hose, or to makers and event companies for tables and displays. Reels too far gone for that are broken down at our end: the wood goes to recycling, and bolts, plates and tie rods go to metal scrap. Nothing goes to landfill if we can help it. Details are on the recycling page.

West Conshohocken and Plymouth Township

West Conshohocken, across the river, has its own office buildings and hotels clustered by the I-476 exit, and Plymouth Township to the north has business parks and big retail. We treat the three as one stop. If your reels are at an address in any of them, the request goes on the same route.

Schuylkill River Trail

The Schuylkill River Trail runs through Conshohocken along the riverfront, linking it to Philadelphia and Valley Forge. Trail lighting, bridges and the riverside parks occasionally need electrical work. Joggers and cyclists pass right by many of the construction sites, so contractors keep laydown areas fenced and tidy, and they appreciate quick collections.

Breweries and restaurants

Fayette Street's restaurant and brewery scene keeps changing, and fit-outs leave spools and small reels.

Spring Mill and Swedeland

Spring Mill and Swedeland, small riverside settlements nearby, have industrial history of their own: mills, foundries and quarries. Redevelopment there, as in Conshohocken, means demolition and rewiring, which unearths drums of every vintage.

Questions

Can you collect on a Saturday from a construction site?

Sometimes, when the site is open and the contractor can meet us. Weekday mornings are easier to schedule.

Do you need the reels to be empty?

Yes, or close to it. Short ends of cable left on a reel can be stripped off at our end for metal recycling, but long lengths should be used or sold separately.