Anyone Have Flagpole Experience? Thinking of putting one up

[bmhiii]

I'm thinking of putting a permanent flagpole up in the yard and need input like (but not limited to):

One piece or sectional?

Material and finish?

Height?

Hardware?

Two man installation?

Installation hints?

Where to buy?

Price?

Nylon or poly flag?

I want to buy an American made pole and flag. I live in Kansas City area so no big wind problems.

Thanks in advance for your help and info.

 

[m1gunner]

Contact your congressman's office and order a flag that was flown over the Capitol.

Purpose built flagpoles are rather pricey. The one piece units are nice, but the freight is also pricey on those.

Mine is a 20' TV mast with a pully added to the top. Your pole needs something (small ball or spike) to keep birds from perching on top and soiling the flag.

 

[jlrhiner]

I have a sectional pole that telescopes. A piece of PVC pipe matched to the bottom diameter of the pole is mounted flush to the ground and when you want it up you stuff her in the hole and raise your pole. (sounds backwards, dosen't it?). Excellent system and very durable. I've had mine since '94. Got it at the Missouri State fair. Oh, BTW, it's a 16' and cost @ $250.00.

 

[Amici]

I have a sectional pole that telescopes. A piece of PVC pipe matched to the bottom diameter of the pole is mounted flush to the ground and when you want it up you stuff her in the hole and raise your pole. (sounds backwards, dosen't it?). Excellent system and very durable. I've had mine since '94. Got it at the Missouri State fair. Oh, BTW, it's a 16' and cost @ $250.00.

I have the same design (there are, I believe, now TWO mfrs. selling it). I leave it in the ground pretty much all year, removing it from mid-January through mid-March. Anodized finish w/choice of colors, no pulleys and two sets of clips, so you can fly two flags or one at half-mast.

If you move, take it with you. All you need is a new piece of PVC, some pea stone and a hole.

 

[psm06270]

I picked up an old metal street light pole at a city surplus auction that was 20ft tall and made a concrete foundation with anchor bolts to bolt it to and added pulley and ropes.
Works great and I can move it with out much trouble.

Phil

 

[socal s&w]

Try 'uncommonusa.com'

They have the aluminum one that telescopes and planted in the ground with a PVC pipe. They come in 20 or 25 feet and have a brass ball at the top.

The price is $250 with the US flag and your State flag included, 3' x 5'. (At least that's how much it was it the state fair here.) I bought the brass eagle for the top of mine for another $20.

Flags usually last about 9 months depending upon how much wind you get in your area. I normally buy two at a time so I don't have to buy one in between the annual fair.

I also installed a solar spot light to light it at night, it really looks cool and there was no wiring.

Highly recommend......and it's made in the USA!!!!

Installation was a snap, a 30" deep hole about a foot wide, set the PVC holder in the hole, fill with fence post cement, put the pole in the PVC holder and plumb it up with a level, let it set overnight and you're good to go.

 

[rchance]

Oh come on. You know you have to fly the confederate flag with the battle flag under it. Maybe you should get two poles, one for the american flag and the other for the confederate flag.

 

[Black_Sheep]

I have a sectional pole that telescopes. A piece of PVC pipe matched to the bottom diameter of the pole is mounted flush to the ground and when you want it up you stuff her in the hole and raise your pole. (sounds backwards, doesn't it?)

I had a couple 25' one piece aluminum flagpoles professionally installed. They also used the pvc pipe method although the pvc was set in concrete. I chose aluminum for low (zero) maintenance and low weight. In 15 years the only maintenance required has been annual rope replacement.

 

[Hunt200]

I made mine by putting a 6 foot 1 1/2 in. galvanized pipe in the ground about, then I have 2 3 ft. sections of a pool skimmer. Sounds weird, but it came out really nice. I can detach the section at the top by simply pushing in a spring loaded pin. The top has a nice finial. Works for me.

 

[jkc]

EDER is a major vendor --- start here for all you need to know: FlagPole Warehouse - The Largest Supply of Flag Poles

 

[RightWinger]

Ironic that this thread came up as I am currently planning on putting a flag pole up in my yard. I have a cemetry of an older couple in my yard with a stone wall around it, it's a husband and wife and the graves are from the 1800's. Rumor has it the husband was a civil war vet, I have yet to verify this yet but the idea is kinda cool. Here is what I planned on doing. I want to pour a small 3X3 square footer in front of the graveyard, and leave 1/2 bolts sticking up out of the footer to mount the steel pole. I am also going to run an outdoor outlet in the footer so I can have 4 spot lights aiming up at the flag. I plan on using a garrison size flag (the largest official size). I have considered flying the rebel flag under the USA flag but wasn't sure if it would take away from the look of the American flag.

 

[Rangerpat]

RightWinger - Semper Fi, I fly our beloved Marine Corps flag below the American flag in my front yard. Just be sure that your flag pole can support the wind resistance of a large garrison flag... there have been cases where the poles have broken due to high winds on such a large surface of nylon flag material.

 

[n4zov]

These sites have some good tips on choosing and erecting a flagpole:

Flagpole Installation Instructions

http://www.americanflagstore.com/install.htm

 

[bmhiii]

Thanks for the responses everybody. I'm leaning towards the telescoping pole from uncommonusa.com, but am not sure yet.

As far as the 2nd flag to fly, it will be this:

 

[smithywess]

Building a flag ploe.

Here's an idea from Western Canada. I live a little out of town and dropped a small Douglas fir tree with my power saw. It was about 5" around at the base and about 35' tall. I bucked the top off and peeled the whole tree by hand with a chisel. If you fell it when the sap's running in early May the peeling goes easy. I left it to dry for a couple of months and during this time built the base. I dug a 4'X4' hole and 4' deep, crisscrossed it with some strips of 3/4" rebar and stood two pieces of 1/4" X 6" channel,back to back and separated by 8" with a height of 5' above the ground. I filled the hole with concrete, drilled two 3/4" holes in the wood flagpole to match two 3/4" predrilled holes in the channels and I first secured the lower holes with a 3/4" bar going through, before I elevated the pole on this lower pin using a snatch block and winch attached to my tractor at one end and my truck at the other end. When the upper holes come into alignment pass another steel bar through them all. Don't forget to screw a wood cap on the top as well as attaching the pulley and sash cord rope before you lift it straight. Oh yes and stain it white. It would need an excavator to lift the base out,so the wind doesn't bother it. There's 18 yards of concrete with the fancy finishing on the top. If you want to restain it every few years just get the lines attached,pull the top pin and let 'er down slow,hinging on the lower pin, to the horizontal and stain away before swinging her back up again to line up the top holes again.
I fly the old Canadian Red Ensign with the Union Jack in the top left corner (pre 1958 odd) and below it the flag of the Colony of Vancouver Island which was granted by Queen Victoria in about 1860 before the very wealthy Colony of Vancouver Island had to join the broke Colony of British Columbia. Now we're all broke.
Did I forget to say I was a redneck as well?
Have fun guys. The aluminum poles work well too but the tree was free. Everybody needs a flag pole, I think, if for nothing else than to make a statement !! This set up is easier to do than explain how. Especially with the one finger typing.

 

[glypnir]

My flag pole is just attached to the eaves, and angled over the front door. I've had ambitions to build one myself.

I know that Bob Bettis had one of those flag poles that goes into the PVC pipe in the ground, and someone stole it out of his yard.

You might want to try to figure out some way to padlock the pole to the cement or something.

I remember seeing a pole on a reconstructed cavalry fort, maybe Fort Davis, that looked kind of like a mast on a ship. It even had stays on it to keep it from buckling.

I imagine that they could neither find nor carry pieces of wood long enough for a big tall pole, so they had to put several together as best as they could.

Fort Davis is in some fairly dry mountains.

 

[whitecoyote]

Took these pictures a few weeks ago on Mackinac Island.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

We made a great flag pole out of an old J-24 mast.