There are fewer paper letters, but mail activity is not decreasing - the direction of activity is changing. In the mailbox comes advertising correspondence, receipts for payment for services, other materials. This item can also serve as a decoration for the house, emphasize the individuality of the owners.
Types of Mailboxes
Mailboxes can be divided into several groups:
- Traditional. These are boxes installed at the entrance to the building or on the first floors of apartment buildings. They are often made of metal, but there are also wooden ones. Blue metal mailboxes are known in Russia. In other countries, they are performed in a similar form, but use different colors.
- American They are placed on a metal or wooden support near the house or at the entrance to the site. Typically, such mailbox is filled with incoming correspondence and letters requiring sending. The postman understands that you need to pick up the items according to the flag on the box: if it is raised, it means that outgoing documents and materials are in the box.
- English These are separate booths installed near buildings, spacious, durable. Models made in the same style with the house look interesting. Then the composition becomes one.
How to choose the best option
All types of mailboxes are mass-produced, you can buy them, ready to install. Models do not differ intricate appearance. But you can make an original mail receiver yourself.
The best material for this is plywood, thick cardboard.
It is important to choose the right model. It is necessary:
- Determine the maximum number of letters arriving at a time. If a lot of correspondence comes to the address, you need to choose a standard model. American ones are not very large, newspapers for them must be folded into a roll.
- If you want to establish the American type of box, you need to evaluate whether the postman can recognize the destination of the letter and get to it. In some cases, you should arrange with your local postman so that there is no misunderstanding.
- Determine in advance where it will be located. For a private house surrounded by a fence, you can choose the traditional option, attaching it to the fence, the English model, which should bear the postage, or the American box, also indicated for the correspondence delivery man.
In Russia, postmen rarely independently collect outgoing letters, so it is worth using central installations in public places, offices.
Preparation for manufacture
The first thing to do is to create a drawing, according to which the details will subsequently be cut. You can download ready-made schemes on the Internet: the network offers many options.
Making sketches and drawing yourself is the best way to create an original home mail receiving point.
A few guidelines for charting:
- It is necessary to provide a visor above the place of lowering correspondence. It will protect the interior from the penetration of rainwater, wet paper. For greater efficiency, the slot itself can be equipped with a soft rubber sheet that blocks the water inlet.
- You need to consider the location of the hinged door to remove letters. Usually it is placed on the front or bottom of the box. Need to think about the lock on the door.
- The scheme should contain the most accurate dimensions of all component parts for absolute tightness of the box.
For a private house, it is advisable to install 2 mailboxes: for receiving the main correspondence and for paper mailings, which periodically fill up mail receivers.
Alarm function
It happens that the correspondence in the box goes unnoticed for a long time. In order to avoid such cases, it is possible to foresee a signal supply system when lowering any messages into the box.
To do this, another thin bottom is installed in the bottom of the box. Under it are placed magnetic plates from a magnetic relay or telephone switch (see diagram – photo). Contact wires are brought into the house, where they are connected to a battery with a light bulb. When the newspaper falls into the box, the light in the house lights up, the addressee finds out about receipt.
Making a traditional mailbox
The traditional box is spacious, easy to manufacture. It can be made from wooden materials in a few hours. You will need:
- plywood or thick cardboard;
- circular saw or other tool for cutting;
- lock and hinges for him;
- door hinges for a hinged door;
- PVA glue or wood glue;
- corners, small screws;
- pencil;
- ruler;
- sandpaper;
- prepared drawing.
Action plan:
- A drawing is transferred to the base of wood. This must be done carefully so that subsequently all the details fit together well.
- Saw blanks are cut exactly along the contour.
- Each sawn end is cleaned with sandpaper.
- All parts are joined with PVA glue or wood glue. To strengthen the box, the straps are attached to the corners.
- Separate parts are assembled: the door is hung on hinges, a lock is attached.
Making a mailbox at home is a simple task that does not require special skills.. An equally interesting process is its decoration. To do this, you can use:
- acrylic paints for painting;
- thematic and plot stickers;
- various objects for applications: buttons, beads, figures from composite clay and so on.
Making an American version for a private house
The American box brought to the territory near the house is easy to do. The main difference from the traditional is a separate stand. It can be made from a small tree trunk, metal pipe, sculpture. Sometimes the box is attached to a tree standing on the site.
Procedure:
- A correspondence box is created.
- The box is attached to the support.
Any material is suitable for making the box. To get an arched shape, take rails or bars. They are fastened together by self-tapping screws and carpentry glue in a semicircle.
Another option is to make a miniature house out of sheets of plywood or bars. To do this, a mock-up is assembled, a receiver for letters is made in it, a folding wall or a roof for picking up items.
The last stage is the landing of the finished product on a support.
Making an English box
A stand-alone stand is rarely found in Russia, but if desired, it can be made and installed on its own site. In England, cabinets are made of metal and brick. The easiest and most affordable way is to build an English-style mailbox from a tree. To do this, you will need:
- boards or sheets of plywood;
- a beam for the installation of the foundation;
- material for the roof: boards, siding, tile.
First you need to make a diagram of the desired structure. According to her, the constituent elements are cut out. Then:
- The timber foundation is deepening.
- At the base are wall-boards. For fixing, a rail is used, which is inserted into the corner between the beam and the boards, or building corners.
- A door is inserted for opening, the roof is mounted.
You can make a box without much effort from improvised materials. It takes a little imagination, a few hours of work. Unusual receivers of correspondence are able to become an adornment of a house adjoining space, apartment buildings.