Flagpole Ultimate Guide | Ordering | Installation | FAQ List

General Flagpole Questions

How tall are flagpoles?

Flagpoles can range from 15 feet all the way up to 100 feet and beyond. Most people are interested in getting a residential flagpole for their homes, which typically come in sizes up to 35 feet. Different sized poles require different flag sizes so it doesn't look all out of whack!

We can easily use larger flagpoles in your yard that are usually reserved for commercial use! Some people opt for house mounted poles when they don’t want to place a larger vertical pole in their yard! These are typically 5’ to 8’ long and are mounted to a wall with a secure bracket.

Check out this diagram of the different sizes we offer and some of our customer photos to see what they look like in action!

Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of manufacturers and distributors of large flagpoles, which can make it tricky to know who sells flagpoles near you!

Luckily, flagpoles are easier to ship than you think! We are able to ship flagpoles anywhere in the U.S. and have been doing so for over 30 years. Whether you’re looking for a residential in-ground pole, house mounted pole, or are a commercial buyer, we have all the flagpole options available.

If you don’t know where to start, that is completely okay! Give us a call during regular business hours at 1-888-697-3524 to get you to the flagpole you need!

Looking to Purchase or Upgrade Your Flagpole? Try our flagpole catalog or Get A Quote Now

Not everybody can get a flag pole for free! That’s because flagpoles can range in price depending on a few different factors.

First, the style and manufacturing location will dictate the price. On the cheaper end, there are flagpoles manufactured in other countries that you can find online on sites like Amazon.com. These tend to be thin and lower quality as a result of the size of the poles, but can still be a great option for you if you are on a budget and are okay with purchasing imported poles!

The lowest cost pole we carry at Gettysburg Flag Works is a stackable or sectional flagpole. The 20’ economy sectional pole starts at 239.95 and can easily be installed!

Other residential poles like a single piece aluminum or fiberglass flagpole will range depending on the height you are looking for. These residential poles will cost anywhere from $1,000.00 to around $3,000.00.

Beyond that, commercial flagpole options will vary in cost dramatically, based on location, lift cost, installation time and the pole itself! These variable factors make it difficult to know the full cost, but if you’re interested in a commercial pole, you can reach out to us for an exact quote on any job!

Buying cheap will typically give worse performance. This makes knowing how much wind a flagpole can take is important.

The strongest wind grading in our residential pole collection is given to our single piece fiberglass flagpole - Coming in at over 200 mph (170 with a flag attached). This is because the fiberglass material has a substantially higher wind grading when compared to any aluminum, telescoping or sectional flagpole.

Our flagpole wind load chart is a great way to tell how much you need to withstand in your area!

If you are looking for the strongest flagpole available commercially, it’s a hard question to answer. This is because flagpoles can be made to fit any specification you want! Steel flag poles can withstand just about anything, but it comes down to cost and it’s always best to find out more about your location to fit the best material, set up and height to get the ideal situation for the weather and your wallet!

Where should a flagpole be placed on a house?

Placing your flagpole can make a big difference in the overall appearance of your home. Factors you should consider when deciding the location is if there is anything that the flag can hit while it is flowing in the wind.

If the house mounted flagpole is placed too close to the overhanging roof, gutter or can touch anything else like lights or tree branches, it will likely get caught and torn much sooner than it ordinarily would.

Other than that, you should place your pole wherever you like the most! If you’re looking for a flag set that is easy to set up on your house check out our Worry-Free Flag Set! It comes pre-assembled and ready to screw in and mount! Our beautiful Oak Outrigger is an absolute statement piece for any home!

Flagpoles have a few different mechanisms that help them work smoothly! The main system that is used is a halyard rope with a pulley and clips at the top of the pole. You’ll find this on most basic poles because it is cost effective and long lasting! make sure you attach your clips to the halyard rope of a grommeted flag correctly. You can follow this guide to make sure you restring it correctly! Or just watch the video below!

The External Single Stationary (ESS) and External Single Revolving (ESR) flagpoles are the absolute best external halyard poles available

Check out all the flag pole hoisting options and their more detailed breakdowns to understand the options better. These choices allow for easy movement up and down the pole and we want you to feel confident in your final decision!

This is especially important if you want to avoid vandalism and tampering long term!

Who Sells Flagpoles?

Flagpoles are made all over the world to varying qualities and standards. You can easily purchase smaller, thin poles on Amazon that are sourced from other countries.

In our experience, these poles tend to be lower quality or take a long time to arrive at your location, but don't take our word for it, this popular instagram influencer thought they were getting a deal on their pole, but they really just got a headache!

There are a few main manufacturers of flagpoles in the US that are 100% American made and offer higher quality poles. Many companies in the US will help distribute flagpoles locally and some will even travel to help with the installation process, as it can be cumbersome for people with no construction background to do!

Here at Gettysburg Flag Works, we serve the upstate New York area and give away resources for installation guides and deliver the most useful information on how to “tip” your own poles so you don’t pay an arm and a leg to get it done!

Telescoping flagpoles are a great flagpole option if you are the type of person that doesn't want to deal with all the extra bits and pieces that flagpoles require. There are no extra clips, and no messing with stringing halyard or cleats to worry about when you have a telescoping flagpole. All you have to do is push in a button and manually adjust the height to whatever you want! By the way, we go over how to adjust the telescoping pole later on in the list!

They are pretty strong in the wind and installation is a fairly simple undertaking for a weekend project! All of our poles come with installation instructions, but you can look at our ultimate guide to telescoping flagpoles to understand the whole process!

How does shipping work for flagpoles?

All of our flagpoles (with the exception of telescoping) require freight shipping due to the size and weight of the products. That means there will need to be somebody present to sign upon delivery and help unload the pole(s). Detailed delivery instructions are on every product page and on our delivery and installation resource page.

What are the components of a flagpole?

Flagpoles can be made with many variations in build materials and parts from internal halyard to special internal wired rigs! There is also a lot of different flag attachment variations to keep in mind depending on the size of your pole! A lot that goes into the flagpole part list, but it’s important to understand how it all works together so you can identify issues, troubleshoot problems, and get the right help for your pole!

Some of the most popular items included in a flagpole set are:

• The Aluminum, Fiberglass or steel pole itself
• Ball, Eagle or any finial topper you want
• Rope Halyard for hoisting the flag
• High grade swivel snaps to install on your rope
• A beautiful American flag or any flag you want to fly
• Mounting Cleat for secure halyard attachment
• Ground sleeve for installation
• Depending on the size of your pole - A corrugated Steel ground spike for secure placement

An even greater breakdown of flagpole options for finding the right pole for you is often needed to make the best decision, but if you'd rather have somebody else ask you the right questions and give you the best recommendation based on size, location, budget and so much more, you can call us during normal business hours to go over the options! We can’t wait to help you!

How To Install A Flagpole

Installing flagpoles doesn’t have to be extremely difficult or time intensive. Large pole installations will require dig safe approval, cranes or a team that can use a lift properly, but a residential pole can be done much easier!

We’ve created the ultimate guide to flagpole installation so you know what every step entails. It’s the most detailed guide on the internet so you can take the unknowns out of buying a flagpole. The proper flag sizing is also important for all sized poles so you don't accidentally purchase a flag too big or too small for your pole! Of course if you have any questions, feel free to reach out anytime or callus during normal business hours to speak with one of our experts!

Streamlined Installation & Maintenance

We know that choosing a flagpole is only part of the journey. Our detailed installation guides and support services like replacing halyard and clips help you every step of the way. If you need more help give us a call at 1-888-697-3524

How To Install Flagpole On House

House mounted flagpoles are typically very simple to install. For example, our Worry Free Flag Set requires you to find a place on any wall, column or even the siding of a garage. Then you can place the bracket securely with a drill or screwdriver, using the screws supplied in the package or your own if you would prefer. From there, you’ll be able to slide your pole into the bracket and enjoy your new flag display!

Learn how we instruct our customers to install their new spinning poles so you can see how simple this process can be!

Finding a company to install your pole can be difficult. If you are in the greater Albany NY area, you have Gettysburg Flag Works to lean on when it comes to your pole installation. Other flag companies may provide flags, but not all of them deliver and install poles, which could force you to work with a local contractor, fencing company or landscaping company.

Most of the time, you’ll be able to do most of the work yourself, but it always helps to have somebody that has set concrete before to help you out! Calling around to local businesses that work in the home improvement area or landscaping, may be the way to go!

If you have any questions or would like our input on the flagpole installation process, give us a call or use our resources like the Gettysburg Flag Installation guide.

"How-To" Flagpole Questions

Check out the full catalog of visual guides with our How-To Video Catalog for additional instructional videos on installation and maintenance.

Tying flagpole halyard doesn’t have to be over complicated! You can look over our extensive restringing deep dive on restringing your pole with halyard rope or take a look at the video below. This video will go over all the steps to restring your flagpole. Our, ”how to tie a rope on a flagpole” video goes over all the materials you need such as the clips, snap covers and halyard!

There is no exact requirement for flagpole distances but there are a couple guidelines to think about while planning your flagpole placement.

Depending on how much space you have to work with, 1-2x your flag width is the distance you should separate the poles. The main goal here is to keep the poles far enough away from each other to prevent any interference from the neighboring flags.

If you don't know what size flag to put on your pole the flag to flagpole ratio page will help you with that!

For instance, if you are putting two 25 foot poles next to each other and flying a 3x5’ American flag, the poles should be set a minimum of 5 feet apart.

The flagpole material type will also affect the amount of swaying that can occur in the pole. A fiberglass pole will sway slightly at the top giving it one to two feet of extra movement at the top of the pole. Additionally, the halyard tends to get blown out with the wind which will affect the reach of the flag! So if you live in a windy area be careful with what pole you decide on!

Budgeting for this extra sway and halyard room will help when distancing your flags. That’s why we suggest the width of the flag as the minimum distance to separate your flagpole! At most 2X your flag length will separate your flagpoles but that may be excessive for most applications!

If you have any questions, please give us a call to go over your situation for the best recommendation!

How to install a residential flagpole?

Installing residential flagpoles will be a great project to get done in a weekend. It may involve a little bit of expertise, but nothing you can’t figure out with a little bit of grit and elbow grease ;) Installation guides are essential to understanding every step of the process, so use our resource page as a tool to help you figure it all out and let us know if you have any issues!

How tall can a residential flagpole be?

There technically isn’t a cap on how tall a residential pole can be. Sometimes if you are a part of an HOA, near an airfield or have county guidelines, you’ll be restricted from some of the tallest flagpoles offered.

Most of the time you shouldn’t have any issues getting the tallest 35’ residential flagpole in your yard! Be sure to check with your county or town hall before making the decision! Here at Gettysburg Flag Works, we’ve installed simple 15’ poles all the way up to a 100’ flagpole at a residential estate!

How to install solar light on flagpole?

Thinking ahead is a big deal when you are installing a solar light on top of your pole. We get calls all the time about not being able to get up to the top of a flagpole (because it often requires a lift). So, if you have the opportunity to mount your light before the pole goes in, that is ideal. Otherwise you are going to need to rent a lift locally to get to the top of your pole. Then, follow along with our solar light installation video to make sure you do it right!

Pro tip: Make sure you know the button is switched to the on position before mounting. Learn how in the video above!

When you’re ready to replace or are just looking to buy your first solar light, take a look at our UFO solar light! It’s bright and reliable!

Flagpole lighting etiquette is also a big topic at hand when it comes to solar lights. Our guide to lighting etiquette is the one stop shop for the flag code around lighting your American flag and making sure you are following all the guidelines!

How much flagpole rope do you need?

Usually, we recommend to order your halyard length, twice as long as the height of your flagpole. The reason we say this is because every rig is going to be a little different, and when you can order halyard by the foot or wire centered halyard, it makes sense to get double the pole height so there is wiggle room for tying knots, connecting clips, or extra space for a secure cleat tie off!

For example: a 30' flagpole, multiply by 2 = 60' of halyard. It is better to have a little extra than not enough.

Of course, if you have an internal cam cleat or winch setup, your pole will require a little bit more attention, and talking to our flagpole install team is probably best. Simply call us at 1-888-697-3524 and we would be happy to guide you in the right direction.

After you get your halyard you will want to know how to restring your pole. Take a look at this video to see a full restring process from start to finish.

And don't forget to get Half-Staff notifications for when flags are being lowered in your area!

How to raise and lower the telescoping flagpole?

Now this may seem silly, but it is so easy to pinch your fingers and get frustrated every time you have to raise and lower your telescoping flag pole. To avoid this, all you need to do is bring a pen out with you when you are lowering your pole, or bringing it to half staff! Simply push the non-tip end of the pen into the telescoping pole button, to release each section of the pole. This will protect your fingers and make it a lot easier to lower your pole!

Pro tip: When raising your pole, look for the little arrows to indicate exactly where the buttons are!

That’s quite the flagpole guide! Did we miss any questions you still have? Let us know so we can answer it for everybody.

Additional Resources & Next Steps

If you didn't know, we do a lot more than just flagpoles here at Gettysburg Flag Works.

We have created one of the longest lasting American flags on the market with our Battle-Tough Nylon and Steadfast Polyester American flags.

We also create Custom flags for Businesses and individuals every single day. Check out the portfolio here!

Ready to get started? Whether you’re ordering a new flagpole, replacing your halyard, or simply need a little more guidance on flag etiquette, our team of experts is here to help. Contact us today at 1-888-697-3524 or get in touch online. We will get back to you ASAP!