Last year, we returned to a blizzard that left our (unplowed) driveway impassable.
This year, we returned to a tree (partially) across the driveway and scattered mail.
We have one of these:
This year, we returned to a tree (partially) across the driveway and scattered mail.
We have one of these:
We bought it to replace the aged metal one left by the previous owners. In the condition shown, it lasted less than 1 winter. A plow hit it. If you look closely, you'll notice 2 slots in the front of the post-cover, and a sliding-rail connection between the post-cover-and-newspaper segment and the mailbox proper. The slots are for the screws that hold the cover to the post. When struck by a plow, the torque is sufficient to (1) knock the segments apart (they're held together mostly by friction) and (2) wrench the lower segment around and off the post.
I purchased a Swing-Away Mailbox Bracket from Lee Valley. The mailbox, proper, was undamaged. I mounted it on the horizontal arm, and it was OK for a while. (The swing bracket has been excellent. Aside from the minor matter of it not returning to it's original location after being struck. It's endured multiple plow hits.)
The second flaw in the mailbox became apparent only recently. It's held closed, at each end, by a magnet. Obviously, the magnets don't work on plastic. There's a small steel plate screwed to the top of each opening. The screw is small, not a bolt, and penetrates one layer of plastic. Over time, the screw ceases to effectively hold the plate. The plate rusts, interfering with the magnet's ability to hold. Eventually the screw fails, or the magnet does. The doors fall open.
The small-town Post Office here isn't good at following directions. Previously, we've left directions to hold our mail until we retrieved it. Inevitably, despite our instructions, it would be delivered en masse on the first day of resumed postal service. So, this time, we bowed to the inevitable and left instructions for the accumulated mail to be delivered. Of course, we returned (at dusk!) to find the mailbox had been struck, the doors open, and (presumably) a week's worth of mail scattered in the 30 MPH wind. We found some of it. It's also possible that the Post Office kept the mail (because, of course, that would be exactly what we didn't instruct them to do). What we found was very dry (for having lain on the newly-snow-free muddy lawn), so probably not on the ground long, and about what we'd expect for a single-day's delivery.
I'll be replacing the mailbox. Soon. Or maybe I'll just epoxy the magnets into place.
Did I mention the tree partially across the driveway?
I purchased a Swing-Away Mailbox Bracket from Lee Valley. The mailbox, proper, was undamaged. I mounted it on the horizontal arm, and it was OK for a while. (The swing bracket has been excellent. Aside from the minor matter of it not returning to it's original location after being struck. It's endured multiple plow hits.)
The second flaw in the mailbox became apparent only recently. It's held closed, at each end, by a magnet. Obviously, the magnets don't work on plastic. There's a small steel plate screwed to the top of each opening. The screw is small, not a bolt, and penetrates one layer of plastic. Over time, the screw ceases to effectively hold the plate. The plate rusts, interfering with the magnet's ability to hold. Eventually the screw fails, or the magnet does. The doors fall open.
The small-town Post Office here isn't good at following directions. Previously, we've left directions to hold our mail until we retrieved it. Inevitably, despite our instructions, it would be delivered en masse on the first day of resumed postal service. So, this time, we bowed to the inevitable and left instructions for the accumulated mail to be delivered. Of course, we returned (at dusk!) to find the mailbox had been struck, the doors open, and (presumably) a week's worth of mail scattered in the 30 MPH wind. We found some of it. It's also possible that the Post Office kept the mail (because, of course, that would be exactly what we didn't instruct them to do). What we found was very dry (for having lain on the newly-snow-free muddy lawn), so probably not on the ground long, and about what we'd expect for a single-day's delivery.
I'll be replacing the mailbox. Soon. Or maybe I'll just epoxy the magnets into place.
Did I mention the tree partially across the driveway?
