How to Design a Brick Mailbox

Distinctive brickwork appropriate for a brick mailbox

Design a custom, indestructible, brick mailbox that reflects your personal style, prevents vandalism and adds a perfect touch of class, beauty or even whimsy to the home. Consider choosing bricks that match the bricks of the house. Think about matching the shape of a brick house itself. Or complement a non-brick house with an original brick mailbox design. Add lights, planters or other elements to the mailbox design as desired. Research existing designs and materials. Draw brick mailbox designs that please you as you consider actual construction.

Things You'll Need

• Tape measure
• Notebook
• Camera
• Examples of brick mailboxes
• Drawing paper
• Pencil
• Graph paper

Instructions

1. Survey the area you're considering for the mailbox. Check to see how a brick design will blend with the backdrop visually. Measure the space available for the project with a tape measure and note observations and dimensions in a notebook. Photograph the space and background for later reference.

2. Check out existing mailbox designs online, in books and in upscale neighborhoods. Ask friends where they've seen brick mailboxes to find more examples. You'll see columnar brick designs with flat, steepled, or arched tops most commonly. Notice quoin corners (brick design with indentations or protrusions), attached planter beds and other additions and different shapes. Take special note of the variety of bricks themselves.

3. Consider the general theme for the brick mailbox design. You might choose a simple, stately column, a matching house shape, a miniature castle complete with turrets or a shape with personal symbolism for you.

4. Decide if you want a multi-purpose brick design. Gauge the desirability of adding a paper box or address plaque to the mailbox. Picture an attached, matching brick planter for flowers, a bird feeder, a light or a sundial. Think what else might make a useful or attractive addition to the design.

5. Learn about the materials. Research size, shape, color and quality of bricks. Although most bricks are made of clay, you might want to incorporate glass or stone bricks into the design. Examine mortar colors and how they match brick colors. Find out about the actual mailbox liners and inserts and don't forget the variety of mailbox flags available.

6. Draw designs on paper with pencil, referring to earlier notes and photographs. Look once again to see if the brick designs complement the backdrop. Choose your favorite mailbox designs and draw them on graph paper to scale.

7. Return to the area you're considering for the mailbox with the drawings. Adjust designs as necessary as you consider actual implementation.

Tips & Warnings

• Note that brick mailbox kits and plans are available online as well as from custom brick mailbox contractors.

• Remember as you design that you'll need a heavy slab of concrete to hold up a brick mailbox.

• Find out if there are any buried water, gas, or telephone lines that might block the digging necessary to install a brick mailbox.

• Check with the local Post Office for specifications of required distances from curbs or streets as well as height requirements for mailboxes which may affect your design.

References

• The Brick Mailbox Resource Page
• Brick Doctor
• Quality Mailboxes

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• B4UBUILD.COM
• Pine Hall Brick