Instructions for a Cantilevered Mailbox
Property owners are responsible for ensuring the proper installation and maintenance of their mailboxes. This can be as simple as installing a post, or as complex as using a cantilevered method to avoid damage from occurring when snowplows have to remove snow from the roadways. An all-wooden setup is the most cost effective way to construct a cantilevered mailbox, which you can do with some common tools. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Tape measure
- Post hole digger
- Concrete
- 4-by-4 pressure treated lumber
- Post level
- Speed square
- Circular saw
- 2-by-4 pressure treated lumber
- Four 3-inch exterior screws
- Eight 2-inch exterior screws
Instructions
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1
Determine the farthest point that the mail carrier can reach and use a tape measure mark the ground four feet from that point. Dig a 40-inch deep hole with a post hole digger or auger.
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2
Insert approximately four inches of dry concrete in the bottom of the hole. Center an 8-foot pressure treated 4-by-4 in the post hole. Fill the rest of the post hole with dry concrete. Use a post level to ensure the post stays plumb. Measure 42 inches from the ground and mark the post with a pencil and speed square. Cut the post square at that level with a circular saw.
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3
Measure and cut a pressure treated 2-by-4 at 60 inches long. Measure and mark the 2-by-4 lumber at 18 inches. Set the cut 2-by-4 on top of the 4-by-4 post with the 18-inch mark sitting on the edge of the post opposite the roadway. Attach the 2-by-4 lumber perpendicular to the 4-by-4 post using four 3-inch exterior grade screws. Space the screws 3/4 inches from each edge on the 4-by-4 post.
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4
Mark a 45-degree line on the end of a 1-by-6 with the speed square and cut the angle off the lumber. Lay the 45-degree side against the 4-by-4 post at a height that the 1-by-6 lumber's bottom edge will cross through the top corner point of the short side of the 2-by-4. Scribe a mark on the 1-by-6 at the top edge of the 2-by-4. Cut the 45-degree angle off the 1-by-6. Attach the 1-by-6 in that position with four 2-inch exterior screws evenly spaced on each end. Attach the mailbox onto the end of the 2-by-4 lumber.
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Tips & Warnings
Attach reflective strips on the arm and post of the cantilevered mailbox.
Paint won't stick properly to pressure treated wood that's still saturated with chemicals.
Follow local code variations.
References
- Photo Credit Thinkstock Images/Comstock/Getty Images
