Pole Base Question

W

winnie

Senior Member
Location
Springfield, MA, USA
Occupation
Electric motor research
This is just for general curiosity.

At a local community center they are putting in some pickleball courts. I took a look at the foundations for the light pole bases and they seem a bit much.

The light poles going in are perhaps 20 foot high with small LED heads.

The pole bases look like they will be 6-7 feet deep and 24" in diameter.

Is this a normal size for a small pole base.

Also interesting: instead of a sonotube they are using 2 foot diameter black corrugated plastic tube, the sort with external corrugations but internally smooth. Have any of you seen this?

Thanks
Jonathan
 
Because "That's the way they've always done it." Or "If I over spec, I don't have to worry about liability!".

The new way to do that is helical piers. They'd be about $350 each plus install, which would take about 15 minutes each. A lot less labor and a lot less mess. And they look nicer too.
 
I went back the other day, to look at how things were progressing.

Will the anchor bolts splayed out like this cause a problem? It looks kind of horrible and twitches my CDO, but I don't know if it is a real issue.

signal-2025-05-22-090028.jpeg
 
VirutalElectrician said:
Because "That's the way they've always done it." Or "If I over spec, I don't have to worry about liability!".

The new way to do that is helical piers. They'd be about $350 each plus install, which would take about 15 minutes each. A lot less labor and a lot less mess. And they look nicer too.
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Helical pier installation and cost per is totally dependent on the location.

Around here it's hit or miss to get one down. Cheaper to go the concrete route.
 
winnie said:
This is just for general curiosity.

At a local community center they are putting in some pickleball courts. I took a look at the foundations for the light pole bases and they seem a bit much.

The light poles going in are perhaps 20 foot high with small LED heads.

The pole bases look like they will be 6-7 feet deep and 24" in diameter.

Is this a normal size for a small pole base.

Also interesting: instead of a sonotube they are using 2 foot diameter black corrugated plastic tube, the sort with external corrugations but internally smooth. Have any of you seen this?

Thanks
Jonathan
Click to expand...
We 6-7 pole base designs from civil engineers around here. I talked to a structural buddy of mine about it once and he made it sound like there are so many variables that go into the design that basically if you make it 7ft you're covered.
 
roger said:
That's pretty much normal. After the concrete cures they will run the nuts up and straightened them out with a sledge or long pipe.
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I'm only halfway into my coffee and maybe I'm missing something, but wouldn't it easier to make them right before the concrete sets? It can't be that difficult.

(Of course it would, sarcasm is one of my skills.)
 
zbang said:
I'm only halfway into my coffee and maybe I'm missing something, but wouldn't it easier to make them right before the concrete sets? It can't be that difficult.

(Of course it would, sarcasm is one of my skills.)
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I wouldn't spend much time on it if I were pouring more than a few. I have literally formed and poured hundreds of pole bases and it's six one half a dozen the other. The important thing on square poles is to make sure they are square to the parking lot or courts, straightening bolts isn't a concern.
 
roger said:
I wouldn't spend much time on it if I were pouring more than a few. I have literally formed and poured hundreds of pole bases and it's six one half a dozen the other. The important thing on square poles is to make sure they are square to the parking lot or courts, straightening bolts isn't a concern.
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😂

Neither is out of square if you have a torch...


(It only happened one time)
 
Hv&Lv said:
😂

Neither is out of square if you have a torch...


(It only happened one time)
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I've been there too. We took over a project where we had to cut the base off of a pole and have it welded back on to make it align. To the other companies credit, out of 20 poles only one was messed up.
 
zbang said:
Do people really do that? Or just pull out a can of cold-galv and call it a day?
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I can take you to mine I torched to straighten 30+ years ago. The light is still there behind a drs office for the parking lot.
Top has been changed to LED, but the pole is still there.
Mine had that bronze cap that hid the anchor bolts.
 
zbang said:
I'm only halfway into my coffee and maybe I'm missing something, but wouldn't it easier to make them right before the concrete sets? It can't be that difficult.

(Of course it would, sarcasm is one of my skills.)
Click to expand...

Deck posts get very much the same, bolts wet set with a template. So do some metal buildings.

I’ve poured footings, set the bolts absolutely dead nuts on, left the site, and come back the next day and one or two are cock-eyed. No idea how it happens.
 
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