Areas · Washington, DC
Reels and spools in Mount Vernon Triangle: high-rise reels from a busy dock
MOUNT VERNON TRIANGLE — Mount Vernon Triangle, the downtown neighbourhood between New York and Massachusetts avenues NW in ZIP 20001, is almost all high-rise residential and office building, so its reels come off tower jobs and leave from loading docks on a schedule. The desk handles those small, timed pickups.
From the reel desk · Checked 9 November 2026
Schematic line map, not to survey: Mount Vernon Triangle marked, with US-50 drawn heavier. The Potomac, the Anacostia, the District line and the Beltway are drawn for bearings.
Fact box: Mount Vernon Triangle
- ZIP
- 20001
- Building type
- High-rise residential and office
- Nearby utility work
- Pepco's new Mount Vernon substation at First and K Streets NW
- Pickup type
- Timed loading-dock pickups
A neighbourhood of towers
Mount Vernon Triangle grew up over the past twenty years on what had been parking lots and low buildings east of Mount Vernon Square. It is now dense residential and office towers, with ground-floor shops and restaurants, and a few sites still being built or rebuilt. Construction here goes up, not out: every reel arrives at a dock, goes up a hoist or a service elevator, gives up its cable and has to come back down.
Pepco’s substation
The DC Public Service Commission’s description of Pepco’s Capital Grid project includes a new Mount Vernon substation at First and K Streets NW, a few blocks east of the neighbourhood. Capital Grid as a whole involves about ten miles of new 230 kV underground line and rebuilt substations at Champlain and Harvard. Underground transmission cable ships on large reels, many of them steel and owned by the maker. Those go back through the maker’s return process. The work around a substation, though, also uses smaller distribution and control cable on wooden reels.
How a tower job’s reels leave
Reels from a high-rise come down a few at a time, as each floor’s wiring is finished. The general contractor wants the dock clear for the next delivery. The pattern that works:
- Stage near the dock. Keep empties standing on their flanges in a corner of the loading area or the garage.
- Count weekly. Once there are ten or so, send the desk a request.
- Book the dock. Give the desk the building’s loading window and the clearance height. Downtown docks often limit trucks to box-truck height.
For a long job, a recurring pickup on a set day keeps the dock clear without anyone having to remember.
Reel sizes from tower work
Towers use a lot of building wire on 23 to 30 inch reels, plywood reels from building wire makers, and larger copper feeders on 42 to 60 inch reels for risers and switchgear. Fibre and communications cable add more small reels. None of the plywood reels qualify for a maker take-back program; all of them can be reused or recycled.
Buyers in the neighbourhood
Residents ask for small reels for balconies and roof decks. A 24 inch reel stands 11 to 20 inches high on end, which suits a balcony side table. Delivery here means a doorman, an elevator and a reel small enough to fit in it.
Sending a request from Mount Vernon Triangle
- Count and measure. Count the reels and measure the largest flange edge to edge across the face. A photo with the tape in it is better than a guess.
- Check the build. Nailed lumber, plywood sheet, steel or plastic. Look for a stencil or tag naming the maker and the reel number.
- Set aside steel and tagged returnables with their serial numbers. Those go back to the maker, not to the desk.
- Say where they stand: yard, dock, garage level, alley or curb, plus clearance, gate hours, badging or escort a driver needs.
- Say what loads them: forklift, pallet jack, loader, ramp, or only people. Reels over 42 inches weigh more than 100 lb empty.
- Say how often: one time, weekly, monthly or at each job close-out.
- Buying instead? Give the flange and height you want, how many, and how the reel gets from the truck to where it will sit.
- No form handy? Email info@dcwoodenspools.com with the same details and a few photos.
Reels you are likely to have
| Reel | Build | Flange | Traverse | Drum | Lb | Usually carries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C-5 | Nailed wood | 23 | 17 | 12 | 34 | Copper building wire, grounding |
| A-10 | Nailed wood | 30 | 22 | 16 | 66 | Service drop, bare aluminium |
| N-24 | Nailed wood | 36 | 28 | 14 | 83 | Insulated and multiplex cable |
| A-29 | Nailed wood | 42 | 28 | 21 | 154 | Overhead conductor, feeders |
| A-38 | Nailed wood | 48 | 28 | 24 | 212 | Aluminium and ACSR, large feeders |
| A-62 | Nailed wood | 60 | 28 | 28 | 397 | Utility conductor |
| A-76 | Nailed wood | 66 | 28 | 30 | 473 | Heavy conductor |
| S-120 | Steel, returnable | 84 | 36 | 42 | 895 | Transmission and medium voltage |
Other makers' reels differ by an inch or two. All flange sizes · How to measure
Questions the desk gets
Can the desk pick up during a building's loading window only?
Yes. Give the window and the dock clearance in your request.
Does the desk take reels from the Pepco substation work?
Steel transmission reels belong to their makers and go back to them. Wooden reels from that work can come to the desk.
Sources
Each opened and read on 9 November 2026.
- DC Public Service Commission, Capital Grid Project: Pepco project: 10 miles of new 230 kV underground line, Champlain and Harvard substations rebuilt, new Mount Vernon substation at First and K Streets NW
- Southwire, Steel Reel Policy: steel reels carry a charge, credited if returned within 12 months of shipment