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| Hinsdale homestead flag display, guess which flags are flying today? |
Here at FlagRunner's HQ, we had a very busy Labor Day filled with travel and family. We are blessed to have such a motivated crowd. I thought as the weekend has passed and we are all looking at, what is shaping up to be, a beautiful autumn, I wanted to share the labor of love from one of our fellow flag flyers. But let's start at the beginning!
Our Hinsdale flag flyer saved up with his wife to afford a fixer-upper. They knew it was a project, and with any project, you want to avoid getting overwhelmed. While driving through Wisconsin one day, they noticed a lot of houses had some sort of flag out front, whether it was a flagpole or a porch set. They noticed in many cases, the flagpole framed the house nicely. And then came the idea...
"Maybe putting a flagpole up at our house might turn the run-down house on the corner into the house on the corner with the flag. We also wanted to hide the tree stump out front." explained our newest flag flyer friend.
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| Tree stumps are expensive to remove, what to do? what to do? |
It wasn't much later that the FlagRunners were visited, and as it then turned out the flagpole project became an inspiring activity the entire block could get involved and comment on. So now armed with some know how and the tools and techniques required and under their belt, they became confident and made up their minds to do it and they made their purchase. It wasn't much later a box arrived...
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| You got your parts... now where to start? |
As our Hinsdale homesteaders went from cosmetic cover-up to the flag flyers of the community, they planned out their project and took along a camera...
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| A few tools and about a day is all you need and you're on your way |
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It is always a good idea to locate and line up your tools before you start the job. Once the concrete is mixed, the dry time meter will start running and you don't want to be left out there caught empty handed without the tools. Don't forget to call underground (
Call Before you dig), its good to be safe.
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| You dug the hole, time for to set the foundation for the pole |
Make sure the hole is large enough for the sleeve and to set a proper foundation. The foundation hole should bevel outward towards the bottom and tamp the base to create a good ground set. This will discourage possible rocking that we see on foundations with two little concrete used. An ~8"
sonotube http://www.sonotube.com/ can help create a nice pedestal at the top.
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| Maybe the flags fly in the air, but the foundation is also what needs some care |
A nice base can make a big difference in appearance. The large semi-circle paving blocks in this case give a really strong looking base and compliment the two flags.
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| From a stump to a flagpole you can see, the joy it brings to this Hinsdale family |
For more information (details on flagpole installation)
click here. Those are standard instructions, techniques can vary slightly. Visit the DIY center on flagpoles
here.
