Typically, the hole will approximately 36 inches deep by 8 inches wide. The hole must be slightly wider at the bottom to prevent frost heave from displacing the pole during inclement weather. Place the flattened end of the pipe in the concrete to prevent rotation and attach the required ground wire to the punched hole. The pipe should extend at least 30 inches into the concrete pier. The use of "tall" pole in not an option.
The use of Fast Set concrete is a must if the installation is being done the same day as the pole is being cemented. It is acceptable to mix regular concrete and Fast Set 50/50 prior to pouring concrete into the posthole. If regular concrete is being used, it must be left to cure 24 hours prior to installing the antenna on the pole.
Now I don't know about you guys but the HSP I worked for used 5 foot poles (60 inches). So using simple math, if you put 30 inches (2½ feet) in the ground and that leaves the pole 30 inches (2½ feet) tall, correct? If you drive around and look you can see a majority of the pole mounts where the pole is sticking 48 inches (4 feet) or more out of the ground. Also, the yellow bag Quickcrete they gave us was not really what you would consider "Fast Set". It stayed fairly soft for hours, unless you poured it in stages (10-36 inches of yellow bag Quickcrete can appear dry and set near the surface while the bottom was stll liquified for hours).
