FLAGPOLE INSTALLATION TIPS & INFO

     This page is to show just how easy installation is. It is easy for one or two people to install commercial flagpoles up to 30 ft tall. After that, there is a bit more involved. Residential flagpoles are even easier, as footing sizes are smaller and poles are lighter.

Click Images To Enlarge Them.                               How To:  Replace Flagpole Line.

	1 - Locate your best location for your new flagpole. Look for underground utilities. Look for over head wires. Stay Clear of overhead wires, stay back 15 feet. Plan your site location. A broken sprinkler line is easy to fix cutting a cable or electric line can cause serious trouble or injury.
	2 - With a shovel, cut out grass in a 30" diameter circle. Larger if you want a pad to stand on, but for this pole and location a 30" pad will be fine.
	3 - Dig you hole to proper depth to fit sleeve (this pole, 3' deep 30" diameter hole at top 24" diameter at bottom). Digging with a shovel is not all that difficult. The entire job may look like a daunting task but one step at a time is goes quickly. Look: Note the shadow in the first image it is cast from a near by light pole.
	4 - Set the foundation sleeve to a depth that leaves 2 inches of the sleeve above the ground level. This is important, if the footing finish is too low water will lay around you sleeve and can leak into the foundation sleeve.
	5 -  Now the fun part, mixing the concrete. As you can see, I have a tool. Mixing with a hoe and in a wheel barrow might be a bit strenuous to those who are not very active, but other wise a good work out and easily accomplished. I have mixed thousands of bags of concrete by hand over the last 35 years. Often when only mixing 5 to 10 bags I leave the mixer back at the shop as small jobs are finished quicker by hand than loading and toting all the other equipment. Cover your sleeve and mix and fill all around sleeve. This size footing requires 12 to 15,  80 pound bags of concrete. (25' pole, 30 ft pole uses a bit more concrete) NO, you do not put dry concrete in hole and wet it.
	6 - As you get near the top of hole with concrete, take a break and place a level inside the sleeve, leave it stick up out of the sleeve so you can see bubble, and plumb the sleeve while concrete is still wet. Now make a form for the finish. For small holes like this we could use a square form made of 2x4s or as chosen here I dug a circle so we will use garden edging material, ours is 4" wide fiberglass. We use this as we can reclaim it when done and use it again. Form a circle 30" diameter. We use duct tape to hold it to the diameter we want.  Now set your form so sleeve is in center and finish filling hole with concrete to top of form. Check again for plumb.
	7 -  Fill form and hole, at this point you will need to work concrete and lift or lower form to allow finish height of concrete to be 1/2" below the top of for the metal sleeve. You can add some concrete or take some away. Center the form around you center sleeve after you plumb sleeve. If you need to move form just dig a little dirt and grass away from the side you need to move to.
	8 - At this point your sleeve should be in center of your form and you sleeve should be plumb. The finish of the concrete should be an inch or so above grade and a 1/2 below the top of sleeve. Finish concrete to give a pleasing finish. You can remove your form when you return to place pole.
	9 - Clean up site, when site is clean check your finish one more time and pray no little buzzards do any carving of initials or names before you get back in a day or two with final setting of flagpole. Click Here: Link to Setting The Flagpole, With Images
	10 - On return, remove the form. Install your flagpole. This pole is finished! It is also protected from the lawnmower guy, as the footing is raised a bit above the lawn and will protect the flash collar and pole. Unlike some other installations I have seen where the concrete is at ground level or below and has no particular shape other than random.
	Completed 2-16. Your job can look this good too with just a little effort.  See installation instructions with your pole or click here for general assembly instructions.

Note: Notice position of shadow in first photo and # 9, from previously mentioned light. You could call this a sun dial that shows how long digging & concrete work took. This job was completed from arrival on site to departure in 1 hr 45 minutes. Yes it would have taken longer to mix by hand. And yes you come back a few days later to install the flagpole. But the actual time spent to dig a 3' deep hole wasn't long.

     A bit about me, My name is Alan Koch,  I am 58 as of 2007, I am the president of Anchor Flag INC., I still install locally but no longer travel to install. While many of the larger jobs we do are dug with a large auger, all residential jobs and many 25' & 30' flagpole footings are still dug by hand. It is often a better choice where equipment might tear up a yard or landscaped area. I am not to proud to dig a hole with a shovel. It's a good work out & (it pays well) Although many times I wish I were in my 30's again.