How to Build a Cantilevered Mailbox
The mail is delivered whether there is rain, sleet or snow, but if there isn't a mailbox, the service cannot be fulfilled. Cantilevered mailboxes may be essential to install in areas where snowplows are necessary to keep the roads maintained. There are two basic types of cantilevered mailboxes: pipe and wooden. Both will provide the functionality needed for continued mail services without hindering snowplows or getting damaged by them. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Post-hole digger
- Premixed concrete
- 4-by-4 lumber post
- Post level
- Speed square
- Pencil
- Circular saw
- Nails
- 2-by-4 lumber
- 1-by-6 lumber
- Mailbox
- Paint
- 24-inch steel pipe with 1 1/4-inch diameter
- Steel pipe coupling, 1 1/4 inch
- 2 45-degree 1 1/4-inch steel elbow
- 9-inch steel pipe
- 33 1/2-inch steel pipe with 1 1/4-inch diameter
- 2 muffler brackets
- 2 U-bolts
- 4 washers
- 4 nuts
Instructions
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Installing Mailboxes With Wood Posts
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1
Dig a hole 12 inches in diameter and 36 inches deep with a post-hole digger. Pour dry premixed concrete into the post hole approximately two inches deep.
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2
Set an 8-foot, 4-by-4 lumber post in the center of the hole and pour dry premixed concrete around the perimeter of the hole. Fill the hole level with the ground. Use a post level to keep the post plumb.
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3
Use a speed square and pencil to mark the post 42 inches above ground and cut level with a circular saw. Mark and cut 2-by-4 lumber at 66 inches long. Nail the 2-by-4 lumber horizontally to the 4-by-4 lumber post, leaving 14 inches hanging past the post on the side opposite of the road.
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4
Cut an eight-foot 1-by-6 lumber in half. Use a speed square to place one piece on the side of the 4-by-4 lumber post and 2-by-4 lumber and angle it at 45 degrees with the bottom edge of the 1-by-6 lumber crossing through the top corner point of the 2-by-4 lumber on the side away from the road. Mark both ends of the 1-by-6 lumber at the top edge of the 2-by-4 lumber and road-side edge of the 4-by-4 lumber post. Cut the 1-by-6 lumber and nail it to the 4-by-4 lumber post and 2-by-4 lumber in that position. Use the other piece of the 1-by-6 lumber to mirror the support on the other side.
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5
Attach the mailbox to the top end of the 2-by-4 lumber on the road-side of the 4-by-4 lumber post. Paint the post and support to protect it from the weather.
Installing Mailboxes With Steel Pipe Posts
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6
Use a post hole digger to dig a hole 36 inches deep and 12 inches in diameter. Fill the hole with dry premixed concrete 12 inches deep.
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7
Set a 1 1/4-inch steel pipe that is 24 inches long with a threaded end in the center of the hole. Thread on a 1 1/4-inch steel coupling onto the 24-inch pipe and fill the remainder of the hole with dry premixed concrete until it is level with the ground. Leave the top of the coupling 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch above level ground.
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8
Thread on a 33 1/2-inch long steel pipe with threads on each end to the coupling, ensuring the pipe is plumb. Thread a 45-degree elbow to the top of the post.
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9
Screw in a nine-inch long 1 1/4-inch steel pipe with to threaded ends into the 45 degree elbow. Thread on another 45 degree elbow to the end of the nine-inch pipe.
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10
Thread a 42 1/2-inch long 1 1/4-inch steel pipe with one threaded end to the 45 degree elbow. Use a speed square and level to ensure the post and support are plumb and level pointing toward the road.
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11
Cut 2-by-8 lumber to fit the bottom of the mailbox. Attach the mailbox to the 2-by-8 lumber. Use a muffler bracket to mark holes in the bottom of the 2-by-8 lumber. The two sets of marks are spaced evenly on the 2-by-8 lumber approximately 13 inches apart with the first set four inches from the front of the opening on the mail box.
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12
Drill each mark all the way through the 2-by-8 lumber and mailbox the same size as the thread on the U-bolts. Place even on the end of the steel pipe and bolt down with washers and nuts. Paint the piping to prevent rusting.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Place mailboxes according to local specifications.
Pressure treated wood can be used for the post to help protect it from the weather.
If wood posts do not have concrete under them, they will wick moisture through the bottom and rot.
References
- Photo Credit Comstock Images/Comstock/Getty Images
