Concrete mailbox vs Honda Civic

I cracked up at Home Depot not long ago when I noticed the mailbox models. The "Glendale" The "Ambrose"....

Who actually gives a flying berk?

In reply to NermalSnert (Forum Supporter) :

These people.

In reply to Mndsm :

At our Ace, they literally meet you at the door and walk you to the product.

What do we need today?

Glue.

Okay, what are we gluing together?  

They swarm us at ours too. I always say "I'm making this up as I go" 'cause usually I am and don't really know what I need until I see it.

David S. Wallens said:

In reply to Mndsm :

At our Ace, they literally meet you at the door and walk you to the product.

What do we need today?

Glue.

Okay, what are we gluing together?  

I sneaky kinda like that though.  Like, I don't need help, but I do appreciate that you pretend to care what I'm doing, haha. 

David S. Wallens said:

In reply to Mndsm :

At our Ace, they literally meet you at the door and walk you to the product.

What do we need today?

Glue.

Okay, what are we gluing together?  

It's cool that they do that, but I tend to find it annoying. I would much rather wander around the store looking for myself because it gives me a chance to remember all the other things I need but didn't want to make a special trip for. 

Luckily, I'm in there enough to know where just about everything is and they remember that and pretty much leave me alone unless I ask. 

I bought some rural property and put a big mailbox up on a 4X4 post, set in concrete. I was only out there about once a month but as I didn't use that address for mail all that accumulated in the box was junk - so no loss. 

One day I came out and found the mailbox about 50ft up in the grass and the post snapped off at the ground......I also found lots of headlight and turn signal debris, and found one piece big enough on it to say "Ford", so I kinda knew what to look for. This was on a dead end road so I figured a drunk neighbor. I drove thru the 'hood slowly and found an Explorer parked up close to the garage door - walked around it and sure enough the right headlight was gone. Knocked on the door with the broken piece in my hand and the neighbor sheepishly said where did I get that? I explained about my broken mailbox and he said "Oh, did I do that?" I suggested we could call the sheriff and talk about it or he could just pay to replace it and I'd let it go.

I replaced it with an even bigger box on a 6X6 set in new concrete and he paid for it all.

I thought about the old trick of putting a smaller box in the big one and filling the space between them with concrete (mostly for the baseball bat crews) but decided I didn't want the liability hassles.

So, during lunch I went outside to look at the mailbox in the daylight. It was barely holding together last night. It was sad.

First, looks like I got a free garbage pail as someone left one at the end of the driveway. Black. Ace logo. I left it there so its owners can fetch it. I should post something on Nextdoor. 

The mailbox, hanging by a thread last night, had finally succumb to gravity. Very sad. Sorry, no pics, but picture all the pieces that make up a traditional wooden mailbox post sitting in a pile. 

Nothing actually looked broken, though. Could I put Humpty back together again?

Yup–just pounded the nails back in place. Or call it good enough to get us through the weekend. 

I proactively replaced mine the other year as we had a guy stealing mail in the neighborhood and we moved to a locking mailbox. Decided to replace the plastic post the slid over a 1' 4x4 with a 4" metal post set in concrete 2' deep and filled the post with concrete for good measure. 

Anything can be destroyed, but at least they are gonna feel it. 

David S. Wallens said:

In reply to Mndsm :

At our Ace, they literally meet you at the door and walk you to the product....

Ha!  When I was 14 I went to an Ace with my father, same deal four  retirees hanging out by the front door, "What can I get for you". My father said blah blah blah.

Old guy fetches it, WE NEVER LEFT THE DOORWAY.  It arrives, old guy takes money, rings it up and walks the change back.

Dad says:

 "See this face?  Won't see it again".

We all know guys pick up trinkets along the way, we spend, leave us alone ....

Wait, so you guys are complaining about receiving amazing service now?  I'd much rather have that problem then wandering around in a Home Depot not finding what I need....

docwyte said:

Wait, so you guys are complaining about receiving amazing service now?  I'd much rather have that problem then wandering around in a Home Depot not finding what I need....

I know, right? 

And do we like this setup?

My desires: traditional looks and easy to install. I’m also not looking to create a roadside hazard with something full of concrete. 

Also, the found trashcan belongs to our neighbors across the street. (They’re very nice.)

In reply to David S. Wallens :

That anchor is the kind I went with, except a plastic sleeve goes over the post to match the box.  It's a bit flimsy, doesn't feel very secure but it's lasted since March/April whenever this started.  Didn't mess with concrete at least.

In reply to docwyte :

Not complaining, just observing missed opportunity & sales.

In reply to David S. Wallens :

Jerry said:

In reply to David S. Wallens :

That anchor is the kind I went with, except a plastic sleeve goes over the post to match the box.  It's a bit flimsy, doesn't feel very secure but it's lasted since March/April whenever this started.  Didn't mess with concrete at least.

Can you tell if the flimsiness is between the anchor/ground or the anchor/post?

In reply to David S. Wallens :

Feels like the anchor/ground.  Not quite spring-like but I'm still careful when I open & close to not just yank on the door in the back.

Hmmm, might pay to just reuse the hole from the current mailbox post. I mean, it’s already there. 

New mailbox post installed. Reused the old hole in the ground. Took an extra minute and hit the mailbox with some quick detailer.

The biggest surprise: Once out of the ground, you could see that the post was originally painted blue. Our house was originally blue–same shade–when it was built in 1977. Was this the original post? We’ve been here for 20+ years and lived around the corner before that. I don’t recall ever seeing this house in blue....

914Driver said:

David S. Wallens said:

In reply to Mndsm :

At our Ace, they literally meet you at the door and walk you to the product....

Ha!  When I was 14 I went to an Ace with my father, same deal four  retirees hanging out by the front door, "What can I get for you". My father said blah blah blah.

Old guy fetches it, WE NEVER LEFT THE DOORWAY.  It arrives, old guy takes money, rings it up and walks the change back.

Dad says:

 "See this face?  Won't see it again".

We all know guys pick up trinkets along the way, we spend, leave us alone ....

You want old coots at a hardware store. Guys who will leave you alone until you've had time to look around and collect a few things in your hands, and when you get stalled they ask what you're trying to do. Not what you're looking for, what you're doing. Because almost nothing in a hardware store is used as intended. 

We used to have an Ace a block from my house that was full of super -helpful young staff. You could not get in the door without them asking to help you. But they never gave you the required time or space - and they were useless. I went in one time for some brass fittings and got intercepted. Told the guy what I was looking for so we walked over to the brass fittings and he proceeded to search through the drawers exactly like I would have, but slower because he didn't have the mental image of the part. No added value, just friction. It was like that every time. I stopped going and started heading to a further store that had old coots.

They went out of business. The store with the coots is going strong.

I recently saw that we‘re getting another Ace in town. 

Keith Tanner said:

They went out of business. The store with the coots is going strong.

I <3 old coots at the hardware store. Ace has that market cornered, and it's a big reason why I stop there instead of Home Depot.

The really good ones size you up based on shoes, haircut, and hand callouses to make a decision for how long to leave you be.

Re: ACE, I can look and act like a old curmudgeon and get them to fade back into the woodwork if they don't catch the first hint or two.

One of the old coots at my local hardware store (which has an entire aisle of those wondrous sliding drawers full of stuff that are never used for their intended purpose)  wears his Corvette club shirts to work. I like that coot.