Secure Mounting/Anchoring Strategies

Depending on the manner in which a site element is to be used, it may be secured or mounted in place in a number of ways. There are many specific methods, but the general categories for mounting site furnishings are:

Embedded

The most secure method of installation, the product is inserted into a pavement base slab, usually concrete. A hole is cored into the pavement at each attachment point, to receive a post or other extension of the furnishing being installed. Once installed, the element is secured in place, usually by adding a grout or mortar to lock it into the hole.

Surface Mount

A less invasive (and also less secure) method of installing site furniture at the surface. This method involves using a template for the foot or attachment point of the furnishing, and setting J-bolts into the pavement below prior to installing the object. The contractor or installer will then come back once the pavement has set, and simply bolt the furnishing into place, sometimes using anti-tamper hardware to prevent vandalism or theft.

Removable

As the name implies, some site furnishings are designed to be removable by key, should the client or user desire to do so. This mounting type is most common with site features such as bollards, and enables them to be removed for emergency or other vehicle access.

Movable

Movable site furnishings are either not secured to the ground, or are chained to an anchor to allow some flexibility of movement. Tables and chairs are the most common site furnishings to be mounted this way, as the flexibility to arrange and rearrange seating orientation is sometimes desirable.

See a word or term you don’t recognize? Our glossary may be able to help clear things up.