Installing a Flagpole

flagpole kit
quick set concrete (3 bags)
assorted plants

Tools:

cordless drill with battery and magnetic screw tip
hand tamper
post hole digger
shovel
level
screwdrivers (Phillips and flat-head)
shims

1. Determine the location for your flagpole, and mark off the area for the foundation using a string to measure a circle around a center point (figure A).

2. Dig the foundation for the flagpole.

Important: To determine the depth of the foundation hole, divide the height of the flagpole by 10. Following that formula, our 20-foot pole needs a 2-foot deep foundation.

3. The flagpole kit comes with a sleeve that's installed into the ground, and the flagpole simply slips into the sleeve. The sleeve itself is what is secured in the concrete foundation. To prepare for installing the sleeve, mix your concrete according to the manufacturer's instructions (figure B).

4. Set the ground sleeve by first pouring six inches of concrete into the bottom of the hole. Next, push the lighting rod (the spike on the bottom of the sleeve) through the concrete into the dirt. Fill the rest of the hole with concrete, being sure to keep it plumb. Let the concrete set up (figure C).

5. Assemble the flagpole according to the directions included with the kit.

6. To set the flagpole, simply raise the pole and drop it into the hole.

7. Shim the flagpole until it is plumb and fill the voids with packed sand. Cap the packed sand with two inches of concrete in the sleeve.

8. Add dirt around the foundation and tamp it down.

9. Once the concrete has hardened, install the cleat for the flagpole rope (figure D).

10. You may want to landscape the area of the foundation with some plantings or flowers (figure E)

11. Raise your flag!