How to Create a Concrete Base in Sod for a Lamppost

Determine the best location for the lamppost and ask the appropriate utility companies to mark the location of all buried utility cables to avoid cutting into them when installing the new post. Mark the location on the ground for the new post by spray painting a 12-inch circle on the ground.

Remove the sod from the spray painted circle with a shovel or spade to reach the level of the ground. Dig an 18-inch-deep hole for the post.

Hire a qualified electrician to install an electrical line to the location for the lamppost and bury it 6 inches deep in a below-ground conduit. The conduit and wire should run to the approximate center of the hole. Also have a new circuit placed into the main circuit panel and a switch installed to manually control the operation of the lamppost near the residence's front door.

Pull about 1-foot of excess electrical wire through the conduit. Place a 90-degree angle coupler over the wire and on the end of the electrical conduit. Cut a piece of PVC pipe the same diameter as the conduit with a hacksaw, thread it over the wire and then into the upward end of the coupler so that it reaches about 1 inch higher than ground level. Use PVC adhesive to secure the PVC pieces together.

Fill the bottom of the hole with 2 inches of crushed gravel and tamp it down with a tamping tool or a piece of scrap lumber.

Blend dry concrete mix with water in a 5-gallon bucket until it is the consistency of oatmeal. Carefully pour it into the hole until it is even with ground level. Ensure that the concrete smoothly contacts with the sides of the PVC conduit but doesn't cover it. Smooth the concrete with a trowel to get it even and free of high or low places.

Cover the top of the conduit with duct tape to keep water or other debris from getting into the pipe. Cover the smooth concrete with a sheet of thick plastic that extends out over the grass. Place bricks or large stones over it to hold it down. Let the concrete dry for at least two days to fully cure.