Composite Direct Burial Style Poles
Installation Guidelines
The type of backfill to be used depends on the soil conditions at your site. Check the soil conditions to determine the type of backfill that will be required.
A. Good soil conditions: The site is well drained and water does not stand during wet periods. Good soil for mounting is made up of sand and gravel, hard clay, compacted loam or compacted coarse sand. If the soil type of the mounting site is good, use the soil removed from the hole for backfilling and tamp thoroughly.
B. Poor conditions: Water stands during wet periods; the soil is soft clay, poorly compacted, or contains large amounts of silt. If the soil is poor, use concrete or a premixed cement mixture to fill the top third (minimum) of the embedded depth. The lower portion should be filled with well tamped good soil (See A, above). Several inches of a sand and gravel mixture may be added at the base of the shaft to provide additional stability and resistance to rotation.
Installation:
1. Remove the protective wrapping from the pole, being careful not to cut or scratch the pole surface.
2. While the pole is easily accessible, install fixture(s) and any accessories, and thread the wiring between the luminaire and the hand hole.
3. Dig or auger a hole of correct size and depth. The hole should be several inches larger in diameter than the pole shaft. In poor soil, the diameter of the hole should be a minimum of double the diameter of the pole.
| Suggested Burial Depths |
| Mounting Height | Burial Depth |
| 10' to 13' | 3' |
| 14' to 24' | 4' |
| 25' to 30' | 5' |
| 31' to 35' | 6' |
| 36' to 40' | 7' |
4. Check the hole depth carefully, and tamp in backfill if necessary to assure the correct pole setting depth.
5. Lift and set the pole in the center of the hole, either by hand or with a nylon sling attached to a lifting device. Nylon is recommended, so as not to scratch the pole's surface. The sling should be attached at a point approximately one third down from the top. As the pole is being lowered into the hole, feed the underground cable through the conductor entrance hole and up toward the hand hole.
6. Add 6" to 9" of backfill and plumb the pole. Sight the plumb bob from two locations approximately 90° to each other to the pole from a convenient distance. Straighten the pole as needed, and tamp backfill around the base. Continue to backfill and thoroughly tamp at no more than 9" intervals to the bottom of the cable entrance. Frequent, firm tamping of the backfill during installation is very important to insure a successful installation. To ensure plumbness, the pole should be checked with a plumb bob while tamping.
7. If not performed previously, install underground cables and pull the wiring out through the hand hole. Connect the feed cable to the luminaries’ wires; fuse if required. Push the wiring into the pole and install the hand hole cover. Finish backfilling and tamping to a point 2" above the final ground line.
These suggestions are guidelines only. Acuity Brands Lighting, Inc. does not assume any liability for pole installation.