A few months ago we moved into a cute, suburban 1970’s split-level home. This house has been well-cared-for over the years but lacks intentional style and oomph– we’ve found so much joy in providing that oomph during this historic time in quarantine. One of the biggest changes yet was swapping out the original mailbox for a sleek, modern one.
I had a fairly long list of “wants” during house hunting, but towards the top was finding a home outside of an HOA. I wanted the freedom to alter the exterior how I felt a house needed to be altered and I cherish neighborhoods with different housing styles mixed throughout. With an HOA we would have never been able to replace our old mailbox— which was dirty, dented, donned the previous homeowner’s surname and had a colony of insects living inside with an upgrade from ModernistMailbox on Etsy.
I’ll admit, I was a bit intimidated by the idea of replacing a mailbox. The intimidation stemmed from me picturing that I’d need new concrete footers and would be squashed while dealing with it on the edge of the main road we live on. In delightful contrast, the installation was a breeze. Firstly, the package came fairly quick, given the fact that we’re in a worldwide pandemic. As for the package itself, everything had a spot and was well-protected. Included in the mailing were our free house numbers (which we chose in black) and the extra actual mailbox (which we also chose in black) with instructions to cover them all.
Contrary to my fears, this mailboxes’ posts plummeted into the ground with sheer force (assisted by a rubber mallet— not included!) based on the suggested USPS guidelines in regards to the overall height and distance from the curb. No *requirement* to pour footers. The installation was broken down with a template that showed the exact distance each post should be placed. Having this made it a breeze to hammer them into the right spot. We made sure to check for level every few hits until we were perfectly square and 18” into the ground.
I chose to pour a loose concrete mixture into the bottom of where one of our stakes entered the ground. It was in the same spot as the old mailbox post and some extra structure was required because of the open hole. After a day we went out to put the wood top over the stakes and were pleasantly surprised to see that they had dedicated slots in the design for strength and ease of placement.
The included house numbers required only some pilot holes and construction adhesive. You can choose between a flush placement (like we did!) or floating numbers. I loved the idea of floating numbers, but felt it offered too much a chance for an unflattering shadow at different times of the day.
In closing, I’m so happy with this purchase. We (me) are handy, but with all of the other projects we’re juggling right now, building a custom mailbox was just not going to happen. We easily have one of the most impressive mailboxes in the hood now and it has helped us with providing guests a “lookout point” when finding our home— for that day that guests can actually come, that is.
I can’t wait to share all of our other projects around the house soon. Let me know what you’re curious about. I hope you’re hanging in there. Stay safe!
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