Topic: Mailbox Post

[duh]

I've been told that it's a highschool graduation prank to go around and break everyone's mailboxes.

Mine has been broken since I moved in.  I've been trying to think of ways I could fix it that would cost little to nothing and that I could do on my own.

My thought processes are very slow.

I finally concluded that the best fix would be to build a wooden casing around the current one. 

So today I measured the post.  And figured out that I had enough wood of an appropriate size and type to encase the front and the back.  I cut the back piece and then headed up there with my drill and the wood plus some long screws.  Forgot the drill bit of course.  Had to go back for that.  Then went back up and of course the 18 volt drill decided it didn't have enough of a charge to put the screw in.  So now all of my drills and screwdrivers are being charged lol. 

For some reason it is always a saga with me.

But at least I got started.

[bestofour]

Tammy, you are so industrious.  We need a new mailbox too.  If you were here I bet we could build one 

[Tina]

I have I think four different 18 volt drills. Most have at least two batteries and appropriate chargers. I'll be darned if I can find the one I want at any given time with the right battery all charged up. That is some of what I'm trying to sort and organize around here since John died. I have done most of my projects closer to the house with the plug in tools. Then hauled them where I need them to go.

[duh]

I bought the mailbox last year and took the old one down and installed this one.  Why I didn't do the post at the same time is anyones guess.  I think I forgot it was broken.

They have some mailboxes that are really something.  I've seen ones that are models of the houses they are infront of, ones that look like airplanes (I love those), Many are made to look like birdhouses but really fancy ones.    I would be so tempted to have one of those if I had money to burn.  Where is that lottery ticket.

[bestofour]

Johnny has always wanted a brick mailbox but when he called someone to have one built he was told it's against the law on a highway to have brick.  We didn't check to see if that's true but no one on our highway has brick.

[Dianna]

We thought about bricking ours in when we moved here, but ours is on the highway, too. The very first day we put it up, someone came along and threw a beer bottle at it and put a big dent in it.

We just bought a new one recenty. This one is black so it is harder to see at night. The white one was a target for vandals...

[bestofour]

it was probably some 18 or 19 year old boy trying to get your attention Dianna.

[Dianna]

I'll give him some attention if I catch him around my mailbox...

 

[duh]

One of my neighbors built a step pyramid post for his mailbox with concrete blocks.  It looks very art deco.  It has a flat front and back.  Nobody is knocking his down.  Although they could still damage the mailbox. 

my problem with a brick post is that the post is where the ground is not level.  Does that suprise anyone?  lol.  So getting an even post would be way beyond my skill/strength level.  I could have just bought a new 18 dollar post and dug a new hole in the ground and then cemented it in place except I can't dig a 2 foot hole in my clay/rock soil.  And I don't think I could work an auger.  And how would I get the auger home once I rented it - no truck.  And it just continues.  But that's why I didn't go that way when I was thinking of ways to fix it.

[duh]

Well the drill was fully charged this morning and I lost that paper I had the measurements on so I went out with the measuring tape and the drill and measured the front again so I could cut the front piece.  Then I tried to screw in the screws and had the wrong head.  So back to the shed I went.  I cut the front piece checked the fit of the screw bit and took everything back up to the mailbox.  Now the front and back is reinforced and all I have to do is wait for payday.  Well until after the car is seen to.  That will determine if I have enough money for finishing the mailbox or anything else for that matter.

[bestofour]

I suppose one good thing about living on a highway is a person would have to be an idiot to hang out of their car at 60+ mph to knock down my mailbox.

[Dianna]

I hate to tell you that living on a highway doesn't help, Sheri. Seems like there are lots of idiots around hanging out the backs of pickups with a baseball bat...

Tammy, are you having car troubles?

[duh]

Not car troubles yet.  But April is my safety inspection month and I've noticed a strange sound when i turn left even if it's just going around a curve.  So that needs to be looked into before it can become a problem.  Hopefully it will be something that can be fixed cheaply.  I'll know after the 5th of the month.  That's when my appointment is to see the mechanic.

I'm surprised they don't wrench a shoulder or otherwise hurt themselves when they do that to mailboxes.  But, maybe a 4x4 is easier to break than I think. 

[Penny]

Fingers crossed its an easy fix for you Tammy.

[Sunflower]

I've been told that it's a highschool graduation prank to go around and break everyone's mailboxes.



 

Here the snowplows break them instead....they've banned them. We now have to use designated steel ones that are placed every mile apart.

[duh]

No way could I make it a half mile to the mailbox.  I'd have to drive.

[Sunflower]

I'm lucky the one mile mark is just across the road for me...everyone else has to drive.