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Custom Home Plate Halo Installation Instructions

How to Install a Home Plate Halo on Your Baseball or Softball Field

Custom home plate halos are becoming increasingly popular with teams and fields to provide a professional look and provide protection for players and the field. Proper installation for your custom home plate halo is important for the best look, longevity and protection.

To correctly install your new home plate halo, you must first lay your concrete footing. For the best results, make sure to follow our official instructions.

Lay Your Concrete Footing For Your Home Plate Halo

1. Nail a string to the back tip of your home plate and measure out 13 feet. Create a mark in the ground to mark the inside edge of the halo area, creating a semi-circle that extends 2 to 3 feet from each foul line. The appropriate distance may vary depending on your field, contact your sales representative for guidance.

measure-halo-distance2. Repeat semi-circle step at 18 feet for a 5-foot halo or 23 feet for a 10-foot halo. Run a line connecting the 18 foot and 13 foot semi-circles.

3. If you ordered a halo with wings, align your area with the edges of semi-circle. Add 13.28-foot line on the inside edge and a 10-foot line down the outside edge – running parallel to foul lines. connect ends of lines to enclose area.

4. After defining all edges, excavate all material to a depth of 4-6 inches.

5. Start bender board forms inside excavated area. Make sure to have exactly 5 or 10 feet between bender boards to ensure proper concrete padding.

bender-boards666. Pour concrete into excavated area. Make sure to leave 1/4-inch of space to dirt line for plain halo or 5/8-inch space to dirt line for halo with shock pad.

6a. Pour 4-6 inches with wire mesh support. Like you would if you were installing a sidewalk.

7. Pour concrete to exactly 5 or 10 feet (depending on halo size) to prevent shortage or the need for trimming.

pour-concrete8. Lightly broom finish the concrete. Smooth surface will not bond correctly, nor will a very rough surface.

9. Let concrete cure for two weeks to ensure proper adhesive bond.

broom-finish-concrete10. Wash off concrete two to three days before installation of turf to remove acid residue.

11. Make sure concrete has completely dried before installation of turf.

After installing your concrete footing and allowing proper curing time, it is time to install your turf for the halo. Make sure the concrete footing is completely dry before beginning the process, and make sure to turn off all watering systems at least 24 hours before starting your installation. This will make sure there are no surprise sprinkler sessions that would lead to an incorrect bond. This would lead to bigger problems, so make sure they are off in advance.

Installing The Turf For Your Home Plate Halo

1. Make sure your pieces line up to fit correctly on the concrete footing.

anchor-center-turf-piece2. Start with center piece. Weigh down half of the piece. Lift non-weighted half and spread recommended glue under piece. Repeat on other side then completely weigh down the piece, making sure it stays perfectly still.

2a. Glue. We recommend Turf Claw adhesive glue for halo installations. This glue is solvent free, works in humid or moist conditions, and is designed to bond to most synthetic turf backing.

2b. Cure times will vary, and will be affected if overnight temperatures fall below 60 degrees.

3. Repeat process with remaining pieces of halo. Make sure each piece is weighted down to ensure proper bonding between turf, glue and cement.

glue-down-halo-pieces4. Roll with 50-100 pound carpet or lawn roller to ensure proper glue transfer. Repeat process 24 hours later.

5. Make sure glue has 24 hours to dry by covering with a tarp or tent if wet weather is expected.

6. Keep halo weighted until glue has properly bonded. Remove weights and fill and open areas around your halo for safety.

weight-down-halo-to-keep-perfectly-still

With the custom home plate halo now properly installed, it is time to show off your new, professional-looking field. The turf is steel spike proof, preventing tearing when your players and coaches walk over it.

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