How to attach a flagpole to your house ahead of Memorial Day

Memorial Day and the Fourth of July are coming soon, so it’s a great time to think about installing a flagpole bracket on the front of your house so you can honor America on other special occasions as well.

Over the years, we’ve talked a lot about how to fly the flag, but some homeowners may wonder how to secure a bracket on the front of their house for a small flag pole.

First, see if there’s an available location on the front of your home — near the front door or garage door. Try holding up the bracket in various spots until you find a site that works well. You don’t want the bracket and flag to interfere with landscaping or outdoor lighting. You don’t want the flag hanging under a downspout from the roof either.

Of course, you want the bracket to be attached securely. If you have a stucco finish on your home, start by sanding the area until the surface is smooth for mounting to the stucco. Use a stud finder to locate a wall stud as attaching only to the stucco system could cause damage. Then use a pencil to mark screw holes in your bracket on the stucco at the right locations.

Drill holes for screw anchors into the stud where you marked the wall. Your drill bit should be about half the diameter of your screws. Then hold the bracket in place and put the screws into the holes. The screws should be no shorter than 2½ inches. Once in place, the bracket is ready to use. If you have a masonry home, you will need another size bit. You should also use specially designed masonry screws to secure the bracket.

Here are some other rules and suggestions from the U.S. Flag Code:

It’s best to display the U.S. flag only from sunrise to sunset outside. But it can be on view 24 hours a day if lighted properly at night.

In rain or snow, a flag can still be flown if it’s made of all-weather material. It might be good to take it down in monsoon season to prevent the flag from blowing out of its bracket.

A soiled flag can be washed or dry-cleaned. But when it gets too tattered to display any more, it should be destroyed properly, preferable by burning. American Legion posts and other groups sometimes dispose of damaged flags in special ceremonies.

To fly the state flag of Arizona along with the U.S. flag, there is special etiquette as well. The American flag should be larger than the other flags to be flown with it. But if other flags are the same size, the U.S. flag should be flown higher. If there is a group of flags on the same level, the U.S. flag should be flown to the right of all other flags.