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Buying a home pole!
Hey everyone!
Well, I told myself I wasn’t going to buy a pole until I got my first real job offer, and that day has finally come!! So I’ve been doing my research and have everything all picked out, but I’m a little nervous! I’m renting an apartment, so I’m worried about ceiling damage… The instruction videos I watched about installing your xpoles talk about finding a cross beam and don’t over tighten and all this stuff that’s scaring me about even buying a pole at all!
Thoughts? Has anyone had ceiling problems? Did all of you find cross beams before you set yours up, or did you just plant it in the middle of the room and not worry about it?
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5 Replies
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Hello!
Okay, first of all: Congrats about the new job! Very exciting!!On the topic of poles and ceilings: I rent. I have never, ever, owned my own house. It may be a loooong time till I do. I’ve had my own Lil’ Mynx pole for about 6ish years now- my first one was Stainless steel, my second one an SV pole, as in powder coated. They both have bolts that go into the ceiling, with a little bracket type thing that the pole hangs on to, and the pole itself presses into the floor and ceiling in order to have stability.
I’ve had the drywall fall apart on me, and I’ve also had some issues with metal joists or un-find-able joists, but never have I had an issue once I took the pole down. Put some spackle in there (you know, the white goop that you use to fill holes in your walls?) and be done with it. People generally can’t tell it was more than a plant hook. No one, ever, has complained to me about it.
And yes, you really, seriously, HAVE to find a ceiling beam. If you just stick your pole in the middle of the room without a ceiling beam, it will likely crunch right through, or just fall over. You want neither of these options. The ceiling beam (or Joist) is what gives your pole an anchor, through the drywall. Drywall is not very sturdy, and as many people who have punched through it will attest, probably won’t hold up a person.
For an X-pole, I believe the trick for tightening is that you don’t want the pole to be too tight for spinning purposes (they can squeak or move irregularly if overtightened), and also you don’t want to do any kind of damage to your ceiling. I’ve heard a lot of awesome things about X-poles being practically untraceable.
A simple studfinder will locate the joist for you 🙂 Or, if it doesn’t work (sometimes the creation of a house is a little… less than what regulation states? Or perhaps quite old, and you’re dealing with a wood ceiling), you can also look up into a lighting fixture, and check to see where the beams are. They are usually about 16 inches apart, as far as I know. -
I have had 3 different poles and 3 different apartments over the past 7 years.
The only real reason over tightening is bad is that it affects spin mode. If it’s extremely over tightened you might get some cracking of the ceiling paint. I don’t know if this is the best method, but I tighten until there is an issue with the spin mode as Runemist mentioned, and then loosen it slightly until there is no longer a problem.On to ceiling damage:
My first pole (xpole) was improperly placed (not on a beam) and dented the drywall. When it was centered on a beam it only left a light ring that came off with magic eraser.
My platinum stages pole was my favorite- however the rubber pads are quite sticky though and pulled a layer of paint off the ceiling when I took it down. Easily repaired with a can of white matte paint.
My most recent pole- Lil Mynx- most convenient pole has one tiny screw that goes into the ceiling as RM mentioned. Easy to cover up.There are tricks of how to set it up without a stud, but I’m not super familiar with them. I know people have placed a piece of plywood between the pole and ceiling, but I’m not sure how much that helps.
Lastly… Landlords NEVER look up. If they don’t see you have a pole up (take it down when they come by), they will never think to look on the ceiling for scuff marks, footprints, spackle, etc…
At least that’s been my experience. -
Buy a portable pole if you’re super concerned.
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Congratulations on your job offer! I don’t know how long you had to wait for this day to come, but I am so thrilled for you that its here. Two wonderful events all rolled up in one! (new job & new pole)
I completely echo all of the points already raised. Now for the part where I try to help reassure you that you’re not making a poor decision… 🙂
With proper installation (i.e. centered on joist and not over tightened), your XPole should leave no damage whatsoever to the drywall. Its difficult to say if the paint will be affected by the installation as there are about a bazillion factors that play in to the integrity of the paint. As @korinne mentioned, paint damage is nothing that can’t be easily repaired with a little paint.
If you don’t have access to a stud finder (or just don’t want to shell out the money to buy one for a single project), I’ve attached a link to a video that details how to use the “knocking method”. This video uses a wall as an example, but the principle is the same in the ceiling. Depending on the skill of the drywall installer that built your apartment, you may even have visible seams in the ceiling that you can use as a starting point to locate the joist in the area you wish to install your pole. I’ve attached a picture of a crappy part of the ceiling in my home that really exaggerates what I’m talking about.
You go get your pole, gurl! YOU DESERVE IT!
Happy Poling!!!
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@jesikah6 Thanks so much! Yeah the job thing has been a long time coming so I’m really excited! And since I told myself I couldn’t buy a pole until then, the research I’ve been doing really freaked me out! But then I look at all these lovely Veena girls with home poles and think “There’s gotta be a way for me to do that!”
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