i can haz unfolded books?
May 8, 2009 9:44 PM   Subscribe

DIY mailbox on the cheap? What kind of box could I repurpose as a mailbox?

I'm tired of my letter carrier helpfully folding large paperback books in half to shove them in my mailbox, so I want a great, big, broad mailbox. I balked at the hardware store's prices. I figure a big (at least 12" x 10") box that I can mount on a wall and that has a hinged flap has got to be had cheaper than $70.

It's not curbside (which the DIY mailbox projects I found online tend to be.) It'll go on a semi-enclosed porch, so exposure to the elements is minimal. I'm not looking for something lockable or secure. And Mrs. Zed isn't the function-before-form vulgarian I am, so it needs to look presentable enough for me to talk her into it.
posted by Zed to Home & Garden (17 answers total)
 
I don't have any designs for you, but I just thought I'd suggest that before you actually start building, you might want to run your design past your local postmaster. The USPS can basically refuse to use a custom-made mailbox if they think it doesn't "meet the same standards as approved manufactured boxes…" (see D041 Customer Mail Receptacles).

The DMM is vague on custom-made wall-mounted receptacles (depending on the reading it might say that approval of USPS Engineering is required, but that might only be for multifamily boxes) and deals mostly with custom freestanding boxes, but I expect the same rules would apply. Assuming it's method of operation was obvious (lift flap, insert mail) and there's no hazard to the carrier, I don't think you'll have a problem, but I'd hate for you to build something and then not be able to use it.

Anecdote: A neighbor once wanted to use an old milk-bottle box that sat on their porch as a mailbox, and the carrier for whatever reason refused to use it. They had to get a regular one and attach it to a post instead.
posted by Kadin2048 at 10:02 PM on May 8, 2009


You may know this, but just a little FYI before you begin. From the USPS:
The Postal Service requires “USPS Approved” curbside mailboxes whenever a mailbox is newly installed or replaced. You can find them at most hardware stores. You may use a customer-built curbside box if the Postmaster gives prior approval and if the mailbox generally conforms to the same specifications as approved manufactured mailboxes. Please contact your local Post Office before erecting a custom-built mailbox!
(Do I really need to say I'm not the OP's lawyer as I post this?)
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 10:04 PM on May 8, 2009


Response by poster: Not curbside, not centralized; I'm reading that reg as inapplicable, but thanks for calling my attention to it.
posted by Zed at 10:16 PM on May 8, 2009


Old Macintosh computer case mailbox
posted by hortense at 10:40 PM on May 8, 2009


Look at the Federal Register (PDF), I think the definition of "curbside" may actually be very broad and could very well apply here:
Curbside mailboxes are defined as any design made to be served by a carrier from a vehicle on any city, rural or highway contract route. This standard is not applicable to mailboxes intended for door delivery service.
Is your mail delivered by someone who uses a vehicle?
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 10:53 PM on May 8, 2009


I'd interpret that as being delivery by someone who stays in the vehicle as they stuff the mail in the box, in the typical rural-delivery fashion. If your box is on the porch, the mail carrier is going to be on foot when they use it.
posted by hattifattener at 10:57 PM on May 8, 2009


Yeah, I think hatti is probably right. I should have just listened to the OP when he said it wasn't curbside. :)
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 11:05 PM on May 8, 2009


Best answer: Now that we've gotten past the curbside/not-curbside issue..

Ammo boxes!

They're large and cheap and waterproof/airtight to boot -- this one is 10x5.5x13in, around $16. I'm sure you can get them cheaper if you look around -- there's probably an army surplus store somewhere in your neighborhood. Spray paint it white, mount it so that the door swings sideways or down, stencil a red 'MAIL' on the swinging 'door'/lid...
posted by suedehead at 11:50 PM on May 8, 2009


Best answer: A single 11/16" or 3/4" laminated pine shelf 12"wide and 6' long, a pair of spring loaded hinges, a few #6 screws, and possibly a knob and some paint would do the trick.
  1. Cut board into 6 pieces; 4 12" long and 2 (12-2t)" long where t=shelf thickness.
  2. Screw together a four sided box using the two short pieces and two of the 12" pieces.
  3. Screw the third 12" piece to one end
  4. Attach one side of the hinges to the edge of the remaining 12" piece
  5. Attach the other side of the hinges to the edge of the box at the open end.
  6. Affix optional knob to door opposite the hinges.
  7. Paint to match or contrast house
  8. Affix to house with appropriate fasteners making sure the door open down.
  9. Enjoy almost a cubic foot of flat book handling mailbox.
The board will be ~$20 or less; hinges between $10-$20; a knob $1. Inside dimensions would be 10.5X12.

Slightly more complex would be to make the box 10-11" high by 12 wide. This would leave 2-4" of board after cutting which could be fitted at the inside bottom of the open side of the box (behind the door) as insurance against things sliding out. If you anticipate a lot of weight in the box you could add a pair of those stamped tin shelf brackets underneath for mounting to the house, they are a dollar or two a piece. Or you could buy a 8' board and make the mounting side 24" extending the 12" extra upwards. IE: from the front the box would look like a "b" or "d" depending on whether you wanted a left or right hand mounting.

If you used a cabinet hinge like this you would need to either cut the door shorter or you could leave it oversize and the 1/2" or so that would stick up could be used to open the door.

Considering your location is protected you could cut a simple half circle in the top of the door to be used as a handle.

If you can't find spring loaded hinges a simple counter weight could be be used to keep the door shut. Affix a right angle triangular piece of wood to the side of the door; right angle at the hinge, one side flush with the front of the door. Hang a weight from corner of the triangle not touching the door. This will work best if the triangle is somewhat longer than it is tall. Or use a cable attached to the top of the door strung through a hole in the back and attached to a weight.

Write Mail and your name on the door as a precaution against possible confusion.
posted by Mitheral at 1:35 AM on May 9, 2009


I use a cigar box that sits on the entryway table. Juuust big enough to fit the Netflix envelope. It never occurred to me to check with the PO.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 5:43 AM on May 9, 2009


We used one of these growing up to both receive milk and mail. My folks apparently couldn't decide on a mailbox.
posted by plinth at 5:43 AM on May 9, 2009


I have seen a tool box mounted on the inside wall of a porch. A zinc window flower box could be used, I suppose.

When I removed my mailbox to paint my porch, and left it on the floor, my maillady kindly explained that she could not place the mail in it unless it was raised. I put it on a chair until the second coat of paint was dry.
posted by francesca too at 6:04 AM on May 9, 2009


I live in a building that didn't have mailboxes when I moved in, and still does not have mailboxes, so people have crafted mail boxes out of space heater boxes, shoe boxes, bird houses (mine), and a MacBook laptop box. I don't believe any of them checked to see if the postmaster would deliver to these boxes, but I do know that the key to getting your stuff delivered is to have written very very clearly, "MAIL BOX OF ZED SURNAME STREET ADDRESS CITY, STATE ZIP+FOUR ZIP" - I think as long as you have that and your address is already a valid mailable address, you're golden.
posted by banannafish at 6:50 AM on May 9, 2009


Lab boxes. Great for unfolded books, biohazards and bodily fluids.

Alternatively, you could use a real estate brochure box.
posted by Andy's Gross Wart at 7:41 AM on May 9, 2009


I have a mailbox integrated into the side of the house but was getting enraged at my magazines getting all mangled to fit in there. I put a basket outside underneath it with a note in the bottom that read "oversize mail and magazines here please" and for the most part that is now where they end up. My regular mail still gets into the slot too. Thanks mail carriers!
posted by amanda at 8:29 AM on May 9, 2009


Been there, done that.

I hated all the easily available/affordable mailboxes, so I built my own. Pretty much the same situation: porch, wall mounted, etc. though my reasons did not include unfolded books. The Postman has never complained. I did check the general dimensions of commercial mailboxes to make sure that my was reasonably similar in size, but as long as you build something bigger not smaller that shouldn't be an issue.

I was in an adult continuing ed welding class at the local high school, so I built it out of sheet steel. A simple box with a hinged sloping lid -- one piece bent into a U with end pieces tacked on, simple hinges riveted on to swing the lid, all painted green with spray paint.

You probably don't have easy access to a sheet metal brake and a mig welder, but it would be simple to do something very similar in plywood.
posted by Quinbus Flestrin at 10:12 AM on May 9, 2009


Make a box with a hinged lid. Put a sign on it saying "Mail Carrier - Please put packages in here. Thank you."

There are specific standards for mailboxes.
posted by theora55 at 11:32 AM on May 9, 2009


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