Flagpole: up!

Flagpole: up!  Hooray!!!  Randy B. and his sidekick Jeff drove his 24,000 lb. loader over, and in amazingly short order we had the flagpole up and perfectly vertical.  We spent a lot more time worrying about how to raise it without dinging the aluminum than we did doing the actual raising :). 

Once we had it up, just sitting in the sleeve, it was time to make it perfectly vertical.  The sleeve is about two inches larger in diameter than the flagpole's bottom is, so there is some “wiggle room” there. The way you secure the flagpole in the perfect position is interesting: nothing but sand holds it in place.  First we poured the sleeve about 1/3 full of sand, then we maneuvered the flagpole into a perfectly vertical position (using a level).  After that, we gently banged the side of the pole to vibrate and settle that first bunch of sand.  We re-checked the vertical, tweaked it for a final time, then filled the whole sleeve with sand and vibrated it.

There was one more step after that: covering the sand with a sealing layer of silicone caulk (so the sand won't get wet), and then installing the decorative aluminum flashing on the bottom.  I took the photo above before I'd finished those steps, as the light was failing.  But it's all done now, and ready to attach a flag to.  As soon as it warms up just a tad in the morning, Old Glory will be flying over our heads...