Letter Box – A New House

Letter Boxes – Is Bigger Better?

One of the big signs to potential burglars that there is no one at home is a letter box stuffed with post and junk mail after its gone dark in the evening.

In a post about letter boxes I talked about minimum sizes.

After seeing a couple of larger letter boxes I can see some real advantages in thinking again about you letter box.

For Instance:

- - - Not everybody has neighbors, or nearby relatives that can clear your letter box when you are away.
    - Why do most houses still have a tube for the newspaper when most newspapers now get wrapped in clingfilm and thrown from a moving car.
    - A large letter box means that a week or more of post and even junk mail stays hidden and dry
    - Some boxes have spring loaded flaps can trap the mail half in / half out exposing it to the weather, and the gaze of anyone passing by.
My next mail box is going to be big enough to take several days post and junk mail and have on open slot, with weatherproofing, so the post drops out of sight.
Perhaps something like the one in this photo.

The Settling In Section contains lots more advice on what to do after you have moved in your new house

Your letter box

I know that a lot of communications come via Email and Facebook now but I still like to receive mail.

A nice card means a lot more to me than a Happy Birthday tweet.

If you are like me and like to get letters, make sure that you take a bit of care with your letter box.

After all how hard can it be?…………Unfortunately from my experiences its too hard for lots of people!

Here are just some of the faults that I commonly come across:

Difficult to find
The box behind and below the fence line
The letter slot too small
The box can’t fit a normal envelope without folding
The box is too low

So what should you do about a letter box for your new home?

Have a look at a DIY store you will see plenty of choice. A good tip is to get a piece of card at least 230mm x 325 mm and try it in each box you like.
If you have the skills why not make one. I think they are far more interesting than the run of the mill boxes.
Make sure the box is on the boundary and not obscured by the fence or bushes.
These are the important dimensions when choosing, making, and installing a letter box:

- - A delivery opening of at least 235mm x 30mm
  - Minimum internal dimensions below the delivery opening of 240mm x 340mm x 160mm
  - The delivery opening should be no lower than 900mm and no higher than 1200mm above the ground.

One question I do have is . . . . . Why do they still have a newspaper tube? . . . . I have had a daily newspaper delivered for more than 25 years and its always thrown on the garden. . . . never put in the tube!

NB These dimensions are slightly different to the Australia Standard Dimensions, but better too big than too small.