is there a rule of thumb to errecting posts & panel sign

[Robert Lambie]

quick answer mate. hense the time.
there are regulations if its road signs your doing.

if its just a run of the mill for a factory sign. then a good guide is if you walk under the sign does your head hit the sign> 😆

if so you need a bigger pole.. 😆

remember the larger the pole the deeper it goes. 5mtr pole is about 35" in the ground min so take that of the hight of the pole then the depth of the signs off the pole and see whats left.

[Paul Davenport]

as a rule of thumb we usually aim for a third of the total height of the sign to go under ground ie, 3m high, 1m underground, hole approx 1000x500x500 will suffice which is 250,000 cubic centimeters of concrete which is fair enough to stand up to the gales we have in this country. ……

when you start getting bigger a change in the foundations is required, usually using cages and a concrete raft etc………..

but it also depends on ground condition, concrete mix etc

BIG subject to get into !!!! 😆

[Mike Brown]

When I first got into all this we used to do quite a lot of panel and post stuff.

As Paul says allow about 1 third underground two-thirds above.

One thing I’ve discovered is that, in most cases, where you are fixing into undisturbed ground there is nothing quite so hard as the ground itself, specially a foot or so down. So, we normally use a deep small hole (say a 10" diam hole for a 3" diam post) which uses less concrete and then ‘tamp’ it down really hard. It’s then not so much a case of whether the wind will dislodge the concrete footing but whether it can physically prise the posts from the ground itself!

Once, when we had a flat panel sign (6 or 8 foot square if I recall) on two legs in a particularly exposed location, very windy most of the time, Spandex actually supplied the sign set but advised that their calculations suggested there was a small possibility that the type of legs we had ordered might ‘fold’ in extreme gale conditions.

I happened to mention this to a mate, who was a builder, and he said "…no problem, once you’ve fitted the sign, remove the post caps and, using a plastic funnel, fill the posts with fine sand and nothing will ever bend that post again.." we did – he was right – it’s still there eleven years later!

always thought it was a clever tip and that I’d pass it on…

[Paul Davenport]

thats a good tip…….spandex should have supplied you the bloody sand as well for the prices they charge….lol 😮

[Martin Pearson]

Thanks for all the help guys, now for the $64,000 question.

The panel is 2mtr square what diamater posts should I use and at what length?

[Paul Davenport]

err dunno mate, i only work here