My mailbox is a hinged lid on the top of my gate. To late to take a good picture but even with a knob to lift the lid and a mail box flag screwed to the lid I have post ppl that don't realize it's the mailbox. If I get a new one I have to leave mail hanging out the lid for a few days so that they realize. Moral of the story is don't assume the mail person is capable of logical thinking if it's not a traditional mailbox.
Good call, Stampie. Mine would be a normal, Postmaster-approved, round-top mailbox. It's just the post I want to make fancy.
In front of my home....
This was in the Detroit area (Southgate)
Seemed right for Detroit. I think the USPS has regulations or suggestions on boxes.
I pass this often as it's the next town over on the way to work.
I have a gutted gearbox and tail shaft housing (from a Mk 1 Escort) that I want to use for my mailbox but SWMBO won't let me 
Go weird.
In reply to Grtechguy :
Reminds me of the art from this movie:
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
The only cool mailboxes are the ones with stainless headers. Just ask patrick.
I live on a small hill that curves to the left, on the right side. I'm wondering how many regular boxes the previous owner went through before this.
In reply to Jerry :
The plow truck drivers in Delaware seemed to take a perverse pleasure in destroying mailboxes. I lost three in one season before I had enough and embedded steel in 4' of concrete. About a week later I heard "BANG!!!!!" and walked outside to see the truck with his hazards on and my untouched mailbox last in a line of like 4 casualties. Truck driver had the balls to tell me my installation was illegal. I wrote a note to DelDOT (with some pictures of the destruction) and either the box or letter got some relief for our street.
Be sure to check with the USPS before you start. After about twenty years, Mom's mail box was getting pretty rusty and the post was leaning back so the door was pointing upward. I bought her a new box, printed nice legible address with my vinyl cutter and straightened it up. Less than a week later, she got a message from the mail carrier that it was six inches too short. Old and busted was fine, but new hotness had to meet regulations. Just saying.
In reply to Flynlow (FS) :
That's actually likely true that it was illegal. In the case of an accidental mailbox/car interaction, the mailbox is supposed to lose. Just like street signs are on breakaway bases now. The days of stone pillar mailboxes are over around us, I know that.
drock25too said:Be sure to check with the USPS before you start. After about twenty years, Mom's mail box was getting pretty rusty and the post was leaning back so the door was pointing upward. I bought her a new box, printed nice legible address with my vinyl cutter and straightened it up. Less than a week later, she got a message from the mail carrier that it was six inches too short. Old and busted was fine, but new hotness had to meet regulations. Just saying.
Agreed. They have funky rules and I understand why.
My thought was to just install it at the same height it is now. None of my post designs I have in mind would infringe on anything for delivery or parking. Haven't heard any complaints in four years, but it does warrant some digging. (pun intended)
We never had an issue with the plow growing up, and my current house the mailbox is on the house. But I wonder if there is some kind of breakway system that could work. Protect the box itself, mount it on some beefy steel tubing, and have it attached to the ground via plastic somehow. Plow hits it, plastic breaks, mailbox falls. Replace the plastic, put your mailbox back and be on with your day.
When we built our house 7-8 years ago, I did the old 4x4 into the ground and a standard box on top. Twice I had the mail delivery person slide on ice and knock it over. Both the winter we moved in! No admission, no apology for driving too fast. When I did the landscaping at the road frontage, I made an "apron" back approx 12' from the road edge. After researching the USPS height requirements and discussing its final placement with my mail carrier, we agreed where it would go. I'm out of the legal right-of-way and wholly on our property. I set the basic blocks and when she came by, I asked if it is a good placement and height. After she agreed that it wouldn't be a problem, I did the masonry work. It's built with 16"x16" chimney block covered with the same fieldstone veneer as the house and matches the posts that flank the driveway. A copper/brass mailbox is fit inside and a bluestone cap. The look fits right in with all of the stonework here and since it's so far back from the road, no chance of the snowplow getting it. Having to plow the area between the road edge and stone border is a small,price to pay for not having my mailbox destroyed and having to rebuild it.
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
That's what I did. Just straightened up the old post and put the new box on. Seems the old box was "grandfathered" in, but when I put the new one on the same post it didn't meet regulations. If I had painted the old one it would have been okay. But since I removed it, it had to meet the new regulations. Not sure how old the "new " regulations are, the box was there when she moved in. Just changed the name.
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