Seemed Like Such A Simple Project

[MikePA]

<font color=blue>I was able to pull off a pretty mean Macarena, Chicken Dance and the grand finale -- the YMCA.</font color=blue>

Please, oh please, tell me there's a video of this or at lease a few still pictures. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[Egon]

Harv.

Just started reading this thread and don't know if its ended yet but just in case.

Consider the rock a blessing. Get a hammer drill and seat a bolt or bolts to which you attach the post for the thether ball. Then backfill and level.

Egon

 

[Harv]

<font color=blue>Get a hammer drill and seat a bolt or bolts</font color=blue>

Dang, Egon! That ain't a half bad idea. Of course, since I don't have a hammer drill I'd probably have to use one of my star drills (100% elbow-grease powered), buy the hardware, fashion some kind of bracket, and ... Well, at this point, since I've already dug the second hole, I'm about 2 sacks of ready mix away from being finished anyway.

Now that I think of it, this isn't the first time a hammer drill would have come in handy. Add that to my mile-long wish list.

 

[Egon]

Harv:

Rent one. Use a threaded flange with bolt holes that will thread on to the post. There are inserts that you can put in the drilled holes that expand to hold the bolt and a little concrete around the base would not hurt. When the tetherball sport gives way to boys all you have to do is unscrew the post and all is back to natural.

Egon

 

[Harv]

Egon -

I appreciate your enthusiasm, and your approach makes a lot of sense, but the expense and bother of renting a tool for this "simple" project just don't seem quite right to me at this point.

Besides, I have a whole mountain of dirt I removed from my excavation that I'm looking forward to putting back where it came from. /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

To tell the truth, by leveling off that area, I created a drop-off that's probably enough to topple my 'Bota if I'm not paying attention sometime in the future (what are the odds?).

<font color=blue>When the tetherball sport gives way to boys</font color=blue>

/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

It'll never happen! NEVER!!!! /w3tcompact/icons/sad.gif

 

[Egon]

Harv.

I would not rent a tool either. Rock can be hard to drill and then split on you just as everthing is about finished. It was probably not a good idea when one puts more thought to it.

Egon

 

[MrP]

Harv,

Attached is a pic of the flag pole I did last year. The process may work for you. All you need to do is go down 24".

I assume that the tetherball pole is aluminum? If so, you can get a 24" sleeve of PVC to fit around the pole. Then put a bag of sand at the bottom of the hole. Then cement in the PVC sleeve (plumb) with two bags of cement. It will require 24 hours to cure, but then the pole can be inserted and your ready to go (after a little more FEL work /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif).

Mike

 

[MrP]

Here is a pic of the sleeve (with a little of the mulch moved).

 

[Harv]

Mike -

My original plan was to use a sleeve so's I could pull the pole and tractor the area once in a while, but I never got around to looking for a good sleeve pipe. My pole is a long hunk o' 1-1/2" black pipe left over from a previous project. Since the pole ain't planted yet, I suppose I should shop around for the sleeve now.

 

[MrP]

Harv,

Is it a steel or iron pipe? If so, you may want to be careful about building a lightning rod in the middle of your yard.

As far as the sleeve goes, it works quite well for the flagpole. Even with a 20' pole, I can remove the pole with just a little help (in case the top lanyard attachment thingie comes loose).

Good luck and let us know how it goes.