Sunday, March 11, 2012

White Trash Mailbox


We've been having some mailbox issues lately. We live in a subdivision where the mailbox doesn't come standard with the house, and as a result, our neighborhood is full of a mish mash of eclectic mailbox set-ups. Ever since we moved in, we've had a boring metal mailbox cemented into a ratty old wine barrel planter.

I never loved the mailbox, but our choices were pretty limited given that the sidewalk cement has been curing for years, and bolting anything into it at this point requires specialized equipment. Equipment that we don't have.

The picture you see above is our updated mailbox. We replaced our ratty white mailbox with a shiny new, black mailbox, and I had Janae cut me some fancy gold vinyl numbers for the sides. I love the numbers. 


Then Peanut Head and I went shopping for a new pot for our shiny new mailbox, and we found a pot that I loved.


Even after the concrete dried and popped our pot open, I still loved it. I rationalized that I could find some matching caulk and patch it up once Spring came. No problem.

Yeah. That was my first mistake. I think I've mentioned before that it's a wee bit windy in Idaho.

So windy that it toppled our mailbox over several times.


I don't think I can fix this mess with caulk.


Especially since now we have to prop our new mailbox up with our old mailbox.

It looks so white trash, I'm sure our neighbor loves having his sturdy mailbox standing next to ours. It look as if our mailbox is threatening to take his mailbox out with the next big gust of wind, doesn't it?

Peanut Head and I are now brainstorming ways to fortify our mailbox. I've always wanted to try bricklaying. Maybe we could encase the bottom half of the post in bricks and mortar?

We're rather stumped here. Do you have any suggestions? We can't be the only people with this problem, can we?





10 comments:

  1. I'm up waaaaay too late. This really made me chuckle...try the brick laying. Probably the best option.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What type of subdivision doesn't come with mailboxes? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of! I like the idea of brick laying.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I say, if you're not friends with your neighbor already, Jill, make friends! Since he is cemented in, I would ask if you could extend a piece of wood across to your post {that would be attached to his post} and then attach your mailbox to that. You might have to take it out of the pot and just have the post be a snug fit between the sidewalk and the wood base piece. You know, enough where you have to use a rubber mallet to tap it into place snug. {This is suggested based on one cup of coffee and a bad night's sleep so I apologize if it is "stupid"!}.

    I think it's probably because the pot you have it in is too small. Another option is if you went with something wider. Or, of course, you could try the brick laying route, but I'm surprised you can't contact someone {town, county, HOA if you have one} to come break up a hole for the post.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've been reading your blog for a couple of years, and I should know better by now than to read one of your posts while swallowing liquid of any kind. That picture of your "white trash mailbox" sent coffee all over my keyboard! I love your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I was amused by the title, and just had to read it. Here, our mailboxes are attached to the house. I need a new one as the one I have is rusted and has an eagle or something on it, (it came with the house). I also want one that's a bit bigger so that it doesn't stay open when anything bigger than a standard envelope is in it.

    In the newly built neighborhoods it seems they all have a community mailbox in the middle of the neighborhood. I guess that's good in that no one will steal your mail, but I'd hate having to go all the way down the street to get my mail. Then again, maybe it'd be less stressful because I wouldn't notice the bills right away. haha! But I have a friend who didn't know she had a parcel delivery notice in her box because she didn't go check her mail for 2 weeks, and then it got sent back to the sender since she didn't pick it up in time. oops.

    Apparently some neighborhoods say your mailboxes all have to match. :/ (not here that I'm aware of but I have a friend in another city who tells me that about her neighborhood).

    ReplyDelete
  6. They make a bracket that you can screw down into the concrete, then place your 4x4 post in, and screw the bracket to the post. We used the bracket and 4x4 post for a fence gate that needed to go on concrete. Unfortunately, I'm thinking it still may not be strong enough, so as Kathy said above, I would ask about connecting it to your neighbors for some added stability. Best of luck!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sorry... no help from me. We live in the country where our mailbox has been smashed to smithereens by numerous snowplows, drunks, baseball bats & rocks. Currently ours looks kinda 'rednecky' too. Plans are for a some type of hanging one, so that when it gets hit it doesn't wreck it.

    I think the brick thing would be nice. Then of course, you could always make the kids stand out there with their mouths open... I know the mail would fit easily into my kids' mouths.

    ReplyDelete
  8. So a few options:
    I saw one stuck in a 5 gallon bucket. I'm guessing they just put concrete right in the bucket and stuck in the mailbox?? Pretty simple and cheap!

    I have an old cast iron black pot that used to be Grandma&Grandpa Jones - bet I could ship it to you for a zillion bucks!

    I'm pretty sure you cuold get braces/brackets that would screw into the concrete (rent a hammer drill).

    ReplyDelete
  9. We had a smiliar problem. Except it wsn't the wind knocking over the mailbox, it was cars. We live in a cul-de-sac, and our driveway is the preferred turn around spot. Unfortunately, our mailbox was curiously in the way, being on the sidewalk and all. Soooooo, long story short, we did the brick thing. 5 years later, mailbox is still standing. Cars are all dinged up, but mail box is awesome.

    I am so insired by your blog! Thanks for the recipes, crafts and giggles :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Peanut Head seriously doesn't have a concrete drill bit? (Or does that not work on cement?) Even so, the neighbor might have the tooling he could borrow since he put his in!

    ReplyDelete