Anchor Plates
Any time a light pole anchor rod is embedded in concrete, it requires some form of nut, plate or template combination to provide pullout resistance. Anchor plates are typically made from A36 steel which is a low carbon, mild steel. The plates are most commonly square or rectangular; however, they can also be round. Anchor plates can be manufactured to any thickness and size. The anchor plate is fixed to the rod by tack welding it to a nut or by sandwiching the plate between two nuts.
Templates
Templates are commonly used with light pole anchor rods to provide correct alignment for the light pole base once the anchor rods are cast into place in the concrete. Once the concrete has been poured, and assuming the anchor bolts have been set correctly, the base of the pole will fit perfectly over the bolt pattern thanks to the template alignment. Most straight rod anchor bolts require templates for proper installation.
The position at which the holes for the anchor bolts are placed in the template is determined based on the bolt circle diameter. The term “bolt circle diameter” refers to a measurement based on an imaginary circle that passes through the center of all the bolts in a circular pattern. The bolt circle diameter is determined by the type of light pole that is being used. Both the pole base and the template will have matching bolt circle diameters so that the anchor bolts will fit perfectly once the concrete is set.
There are multiple types of templates used in the lighting industry. Templates are typically manufactured in these three patterns: Round, Square and Rectangular.
Round
Round templates are manufactured in various thicknesses with an inner diameter hole to allow for the electrical conduit to run from beneath the concrete into the light pole and four or eight smaller holes for anchoring the pole to the concrete. The placement of the smaller holes is determined by the bolt pattern of the light pole. The bolt pattern can be circular, rectangular or square, depending on what is needed.
Square
Square templates are also used with varying thickness patterns depending on the pole size. These plates have a square pattern to fit the base plate. The standard plate will have an inside diameter to provide an opening for the electrical conduit to pass through and four smaller holes along the edges of the template to create the bolt pattern.
Straps
Rectangular templates, also called template straps, cross over each other to form a triangular 3-bolt pattern. When using template straps, one set of anchor bolts typically refers to 3 anchor bolts, 6 template straps, 4 nuts and 2 washers.