Hogan Company Square Concrete Stakes: Why Square Beats Round

Introduction

Some tools are quietly better than the alternatives, and square concrete stakes are one of them. For years, people who build for a living have preferred square stakes over round ones, yet finding them has been surprisingly difficult. Hogan Company in Southern California manufactures square concrete stakes and ships them directly, and as far as we understand it, they are the only domestic manufacturer of square stakes still left. If you have been looking for them without success, they do exist, they do ship, and they are worth having in your collection.

What Square Stakes Are Actually For

One of the first and most fundamental uses of a concrete stake is building layout. If you have not yet discovered this yourself, many times a simple line stake will do the job instead of having to set up a full battery of boards. Stakes get driven into the ground and lines get fastened to them, which makes them useful for far more than concrete forming.

The truth is that everybody who does anything physical eventually needs a small collection of concrete stakes. A stake is essentially a long nail you can drive into the ground and fasten something to, and once you have a few on hand, you will be amazed how often you find a use for one.

The Tape Measure Advantage

Here is the real comparative advantage. A square stake holds the end of a tape measure. With a round stake, the tape hook tends to slip and pivot, which makes accurate measuring frustrating. With a flat square face, the tape end sits securely and you can pull a measurement with confidence.

It sounds like a small detail, but on a layout day, small details compound. If you measure between two square stakes set 56 inches apart, you get a reading you can trust. Try the same thing on round stakes and you will see the difference immediately.

Which Lengths to Buy

The stakes covered here are the 24 inch length, which is a very good middle-of-the-road size. Hogan makes them in a range of lengths including 16, 24, 30, and 36 inches, and each has its place.

If you are not in the trade and only pour concrete occasionally, you do not need a large quantity. Even ten or twenty stakes will go a long way. Sixteen or eighteen inches might be enough for light duty around the house, but occasionally you will wish you had a 30 or a 36 inch stake for deeper setting or heavier fastening, and maybe a 16 for small jobs.

A Tool That Waits for Its Moment

Fair warning: stakes may lean up against the wall of your shop for a year, two, or three before you need them. That is fine. On a particular Saturday, when a particular project comes up, you will say to yourself that it is finally time to go get one of those square stakes. Tools like this earn their keep over years, not days.

Buying Advice

If you need square stakes, or if you think you will ever need them, Hogan Company can ship them to you in a box just like any other order. They have been good to work with and they wanted to demonstrate that square stakes are not a rare item that no longer exists. You saw what they look like before they ever encounter concrete or dirt, and that is exactly what arrives when you order.

Conclusion

Square concrete stakes hold tape measures, lines, and forms more reliably than round stakes, and Hogan Company remains the domestic source to buy them from. Get a modest collection in a couple of lengths, let them lean against the shop wall, and they will be there when the project that needs them finally arrives.