How to Install a Buried & Sunken Sign Pole

Measure the length between the pre-drilled holes on your sign. Determine how far up the length of the pole you want to hang the sign -- keeping in mind that approximately 10% of the pole's length will be sunken into the ground. Drill holes into the pole at the distance from each other that you measured from the sign, and at the length down from the top of the pole that you determined would be the best height for your sign.

Place the sign on top of the pole so the holes in the sign are aligned with the holes on the pole. Screw one nut onto each of the bolts, so the nut is all the way to the head of the bolt. Slip the bolts into the holes, so they run through both the sign and the pole. Reach inside the pole and screw the two remaining nuts onto the bolts, in order to attach the sign to the pole.

Find the spot where you want to install your pole. Dig a hole at that spot -- the hole's depth should be roughly 10 percent of the length of the pole plus roughly 6 inches (for example, if your pole is 20 feet high, the hole should be 30 inches deep). Widen the hole so it's approximately 20 inches wide, to allow space for the pole, PVC sleeve, concrete, and crushed stone within the hole. Check that the bottom of the hole isn't crooked using the level.

Lay the crushed stone six inches deep within the hole. Check to see that the bottom is flat using the level.

Mix all but two to five pounds of the concrete in a large bucket, according to the instructions on the concrete's bag. Pour half of the concrete into the hole.

Place the sleeve in the middle of the hole by pushing it through the concrete, bottom first. To aid this process, pre-made sleeves sometimes have a spike attached to the bottom, called a "lighting rod." Pour the rest of the concrete around the sleeve. Allow it to set for 48 hours.

Mix the remaining few pounds of concrete in the bucket. Slip the pole into the sleeve. Pour sand where the sleeve gaps away from the pole -- fill all the gaps with sand. Cover the area where the pole rises from the sleeve with the concrete. Allow the concrete to set for another 48 hours.

Fill in the area around the pole, and where the hole is still sunken below the level of the yard, with dirt. Tamp down the dirt or cover the dirt with sod or plantings, if desired.