Installed inground basketball hoop?

[Mac1337]

I have one sitting in my garage. It is a Spalding with 52" back that comes with a sleeve. I really like the ones with steel plate but that is another story.The manual asks for a hole 18" wide and 2 feet deep. There are two problems with this. They don't sell 18" concrete tubes. The biggest is 12". Also two feet is pretty shallow it seems. What do you think of a 12" hole going down 3 or 4 feet? What is the rule of thumb for number of 80# cement bags per foot?

[MGS_forgot_password]

Why do need a tube? Does the hole need to be perfectly round?

When I was in school, about 20 years ago, I helped my dad put up a basketball hoop. I just dug the hole and poured in the concrete. I can't tell you how deep or how many bags we used, but it's still standing today.

One hint I learned from somebody: After you put the pole in the ground and the concrete has hardened, fill the post with sand. It will be more stable and won't move around as much when the ball hits the backboard.

[Filliam H. Muffman]

[quote Dakota]They don't sell 18" concrete tubes. The biggest is 12".
The biggest they sell by you is 12". I found a couple of sites online that have them. I do agree with MGS for the most part. Tubes/forms are more for building inspectors to look into a hole that you are going to fill with cement and know how deep/wide it will be, or for a nice finish above ground. If you have a kid that might be hanging off the rim, I would make it 4' deep.

[Mac1337]

I will be using an auger to dig the hole. I am not about to use those silly doodads for sure. Tube just makes it look finished. Thanks for the sand suggestion. Makes sense.

[OWC Jamie]

Frost depth here is three feet.
Three and four feet tubes of various diameters.
On the shelf, even at Home Depot.
Building code(s) often specify minimum diameter for what ever is being supported.
Tubes are easiest way to have minimum amount of concrete.




For a basketball steel hoop tube, I'd use rocks rather than concrete, but I've got tons of rocks.

[Maddog]

Here is a better idea. Buy the kind of post/hoop assembly that bolts to a plate. When you pour the concrete, you set the threaded bolts into the wet concrete at the appropriate locations. After curing, mount the post to these bolts. This allows you to remove the hoop in the future, replace it, etc. Of course, this doesn't work well if you already own the other kind of post.

[vision63]

Amare Stoudemire must be kept far away during sleepovers.

[Dubya]

Installed a Lifetime hoop last year. Same specs on hole. Just dig to approximate measurements and make 2x4 form at the top. Lifetime also says to insert a piece of rebar into base tube and filling with concrete. Very solid base.

Good Luck...

[Seacrest]

[quote vision63]Amare Stoudemire must be kept far away during sleepovers.
Puhlease.
I would worry if Darryl Dawkins moved into the neighborhood, though...