Areas · Washington, DC
Reels and spools in Takoma, DC: small jobs on the Maryland line
TAKOMA — Takoma, in the far north of the District in ZIP 20012, is a neighbourhood of houses, small apartment buildings and a Red Line station, so its reels come from renovation and small construction, a few at a time. The desk collects those and delivers spools to homes and gardens on both sides of the Maryland line.
From the reel desk · Checked 9 November 2026
Schematic line map, not to survey: Takoma, DC marked. The Potomac, the Anacostia, the District line and the Beltway are drawn for bearings.
Fact box: Takoma, DC
- ZIP
- 20012
- Neighbours
- Takoma Park, Md.; Shepherd Park and Brightwood, DC
- Transit
- Takoma Metro station (Red Line)
- Large site nearby
- The former Walter Reed Army Medical Center campus
A border neighbourhood
Takoma, DC and Takoma Park, Maryland, were laid out as one railroad suburb in the 1880s and are still one place in most people’s minds, split by Eastern Avenue and a state line. On the District side, the neighbourhood is mostly single-family houses, small apartment buildings and a commercial strip near the Metro station. The desk serves both sides; this page covers the District side.
What produces reels here
Renovation is the main source. Rewiring an old house, adding a heat pump and an electric-vehicle charger, or upgrading a service all use cable, and an electrician may leave one or two small reels at the end of a job. Small apartment and mixed-use buildings near the station produce more.
The biggest construction site near Takoma is the redevelopment of the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center campus on Georgia Avenue, in the same ZIP. A site that size, with housing, shops and schools, works through a great deal of cable over the years it takes to build.
Pickups for one or two reels
A pickup of two reels from a driveway is not worth a truck on its own. What the desk does with small Takoma requests is collect them on a run through the area. That means:
- Leave the reels somewhere reachable from the street, standing on their flanges.
- Send a photo, the flange size and the address.
- Expect a window of days, not an appointment, unless there is a reason the reels have to go by a certain date.
If a contractor has reels from several Takoma jobs, gathering them at one address makes the pickup simple.
Buyers
Takoma has many gardens, community and private, and people who build things. The requests here are for reels to wind hose, to make a garden table, or to stand as a planter base. A 30 inch reel is a common ask; it stands about 25 inches high on end.
For delivery, tell the desk whether the reel can be rolled down a driveway or has to go through a gate. Takoma’s houses often have narrow side yards, and a 36 inch reel will not fit through a 32 inch gate.
Getting here
Takoma is reached by Georgia Avenue, Sixteenth Street, North Capitol Street and Blair Road from the south, and from Maryland by New Hampshire Avenue and Carroll Avenue. There is no highway nearby; trucks use the arterials.
Sending a request from Takoma, DC
- 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
Will the desk collect one reel from a house in Takoma?
Yes, on a run through the area. Send a photo, the size and the address, and expect a window of days.
Does the desk serve Takoma Park, Maryland, too?
Yes. The desk covers both sides of the line.
Sources
Each opened and read on 9 November 2026.
- Maryland Office of People's Counsel, Pepco: Pepco serves 582,000 Maryland customers in most of Montgomery and Prince George's