Reel pickup in Des Plaines

Contractors, offices and airport-side buildings

South Des Plaines, around River Road, Touhy Avenue and the tollways, is full of hotels, offices and industrial buildings that serve the airport. Those buildings are rewired, re-lit and upgraded constantly, and the contractors doing it often keep shops in Des Plaines itself. That makes ZIP 60018 a steady source of 24 to 42-inch building-wire reels and a few larger feeder reels.

North Des Plaines, in 60016, is mostly residential, with contractors working from garages and small yards. A contractor with a dozen empties after a winter of service upgrades is the kind of lot we stop for on the corridor day. Next step: send the count and the largest flange size.

Des Plaines also has a busy downtown around its Metra station, with new apartments and offices. Those projects leave reels inside tight construction fences, so name the general contractor and the gate we should use.

Buying a spool in Des Plaines

Des Plaines buyers ask for spools for patios, garden tables and garage benches. The useful sizes are 30 to 48 inches. A spool that has been stored outside may have a weathered surface; that sands off, but rot in the drum staves does not, so ask for one with sound staves if it is going to carry weight.

Delivery is to the driveway or the curb on a corridor day. If you have a pickup truck, a 36-inch spool rides upright on its flange in most beds.

Reels and river flooding

The Des Plaines River floods some low ground in and around the city after heavy rain. A wooden reel that sits in floodwater, or lies flat in mud afterward, swells and rots at the bottom flange. Reels stored on higher ground or on dunnage come through fine.

If your yard is near the river, keep empties standing on edge on timbers, and call us before a wet season instead of after it. Reels collected dry are bought; reels left soaked usually end up as recycling.

Pickup notes for Des Plaines

• Hotel and office work near the airport: reels are usually in a loading area; give the dock contact.
• Residential pickups: driveway or garage apron, with the reels rolled out the day before.
• Touhy Avenue and River Road are fastest from I-294 and I-90.

Before the truck comes

1. Count the reels by flange size, outside edge to outside edge.
2. Photograph the stack, plus one tag or stencil up close.
3. Stand each reel on edge and chock it; never stack them flat.
4. Leave an aisle wide enough for forklift tines, or a clear path to roll.
5. Keep maker-tagged returnables in their own row.

What the driver checks on each reel

Flanges

Boards whole and flat, not warped, split or cupped.

Staves

Lagging mostly intact on the drum, without rot or gaps.

Arbor hole

Round and solid, so a spindle or payoff bar fits.

Drive holes

Not torn out or elongated by a payoff stand.

Markings

Any maker's stencil, returnable tag or reel number.

Leftovers

Cable ends, staples and banding removed or noted.

The rest of the O'Hare corridor day

Des Plaines shares a run with these stops:

• Elk Grove VillageElk Grove Village Business Park and the data-centre cluster
• Wood DaleI-390 industrial corridor, DuPage County side of O'Hare
• BensenvilleO'Hare west side, freight and rail
• Franklin ParkMannheim Road and Grand Avenue industrial area
• ItascaI-390 and I-290 business parks
• SchaumburgI-90 and I-290 interchange, Woodfield area and business parks

Where Des Plaines reels go

• Buyback: one-way wooden reels with sound flanges and staves are paid for at the stop, priced by size and condition.
• Maker take-back: anything tagged or stencilled as returnable is listed for its owner's own collection.
• Recycling: split, rotted or warped reels are broken down, the wood recovered and the hardware separated.
• Resupply: checked reels go on to buyers who need them for rewinding, storage or projects.

Questions from Des Plaines

Do you deliver a single spool to a house in Des Plaines?

Yes. Single spools go out on the O'Hare corridor day to the driveway or curb. Tell us the flange size you want and your ZIP.

Will you pick up a contractor's reels from a garage?

Yes. Roll them onto the apron the day before if you can, and list the sizes in the work order.

Are reels that sat in floodwater still worth anything?

Usually not for reuse. Soaked reels tend to rot at the bottom flange and go to recycling. Reels kept up on dunnage are fine.

Can a Des Plaines condo association arrange a pickup?

Yes. The manager or board contact sends the request; reels can wait in the garage or by the service door.