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June is almost here (although it felt like summer this weekend) and more people are spending time outside sprucing up their yards and improving their curb appeal. As you drive down my street you are greeted by beautiful lawns, flowers, and {screech!}my peeling mailbox.
{Insert sad frown here.} My mom and I painted this mailbox shortly after we moved into the house. We had a lot of fun painting it together and I took all the necessary precautions of priming it and sealing it with polyurethane. But sadly we made the mistake of painting a few cute bumblebees on the top. Within a week of installing the mailbox I went to retrieve my mail only to find the bees had been pecked off the box. “What the…?”
I’m fairly certain a bird had just perched on top of my mailbox and was ready to partake in a buffet of bumblebees. After the paint had been chipped, it allowed water to seep underneath and slowly over the course of a few years we have the sad looking mess of a mailbox show here:
I wanted a unique mailbox that looked like a mini-me of our house. Plus, I wanted it to be tall enough to accomodate a priority mail box. So, I set about building my own custom mailbox and now you can too!
Now, before you jump up and ask if my custom mailbox is approved by the Postmaster General, the answer is yes. But, to be sure, I’d take your mailbox built (but not painted yet) to your mail distribution office and get your postmaster’s approval. Our postmaster told me that as long as it had a flag, an easily operated door, and it keeps the mail dry it should be approved.
There are actually more regulations on the mail box post than there is on the box, but I’ll go over that later this week.
Ready to get started?! Me too!
Materials:
- 2 – 1″ x 8″ x 8′ Pine Board
- 1 – 1″ x 12″ x 6″ Pine Board
- Gorilla Glue
- Clamp
- 1 5/8″ Deck Screws
- Cup Hook
- 2 Small Hinges
- Magnetic catch
- Timberwolf Composite Shims
- 2″ Machine Bolt with Nut and 2 Washers
- Task Force Scraper set
- Gatehouse Black Arched Cabinet Pull
- Paintable Window and Door Caulk
- Wood Putty
- Putty Knife
- Drill
- Drill Bits
- Miter Saw
- Table Saw
- Sandpaper Medium & Fine Grits
- Sander
Instructions :
Cut lumber to these dimensions (use a miter saw for the quickest and most accurate cuts):
2 – 1″ x 12″ x 19″
1 – 1″ x 8″ x 19″
2 – 1″ x 8″ x 21″
Rip the edge of the two 1″ x 12″ x 19″ boards at a 45˚ angle. (Best achieved on a table saw.)
Spread a thin line of Gorilla Glue onto the two side edges of the 1″ x 8″ x 19″ board (mailbox base).
Raise the base up (approximately 3/4″) by resting it on another board. Clamp the two sides to the base.
Pre-drill and drive a few deck screws through the sides of the 1″ x 12″ x 19″ sides and into the 1″ x 8″ base of the mailbox.
Dry fit the two 1″ x 8″ x 21″ boards together as show below:
This will create the roof. But, one side of the roof will be longer by approximately 3/4″ (the width of the board). Cut off the excess width from the lower board.
As you did with the sides, add a thin line of Gorilla glue. Pre-drill and fasten the roof pieces together using deck screws.
Before you attach the roof, lay the mailbox upright on its side and trace the front and back openings onto your leftover 1″ x 8″ boards.
Cut along the pencil marks (can be cut on the miter saw.)
Clamp both ends between the mailbox sides. Pre-drill and attach ONLY the back of the mailbox, using deck screws.
Attaching the Roof:
Center the roof onto the walls of the mailbox. Use a pencil lined up with the wall to make a mark onto the roof. Repeat on the opposite side and draw a line connecting the two marks. This will be your guide for inserting the screws.
Secure the roof to the walls by pre-drilling and driving three screws per side through the roof.
Handy hint: It is easier to start drilling at a 90˚ perpendicular angle from the roof and then tilt it straight down (plumb) with the walls.
Caulk all the seams of the mailbox. Fill any screw holes with wood putty.
After the putty dries sand down the entire mailbox.
Dry fit the front door.You will probably need to sand down the sides until it fits loosely. You may also need to countersink the hinges into the floor of the mailbox for a cleaner look.
Handy Hint: Add a cup hook to the outside of the door so you can pull the door back out.
Attach the door to the mailbox by installing the hinges.
Installing the Flag:
Cut an inch and a half off the fat end of the wood shim.
Drill a hole through the shim and the paint scraper large enough to feed the bolt through.
Drill a pilot hole through the right side of the mailbox. Then attach the flag by threading the pieces onto the bolt in this order:
- washer
- paint scraper
- washer
- composite shim
- mailbox wall
- nut
Tighten the nut until the flag is secure but can be raised or lowered without extreme force.
Adding hardware:
Position the magnetic catch 1 3/4″ back from the edge of the roof. Screw in the mounting screws.
Attach the metal plate to the door where the catch will strike when the door is closed.
Center the drawer pull onto the front of the mailbox door. Predrill holes for the mounting screws. Install the pull.
And now your mailbox is ready for painting! Check back this week for the tutorial on painting the mailbox.
Isn’t it cute? A little miniature of our home.
And lookey here! A priority box fits perfectly inside!
I’m so thrilled with the new mailbox, it is a big improvement over “the flake”.
Disclosure: I have partnered with Lowe’s as a Lowe’s Creative Influencer. I was provided with a Lowe’s gift card to complete my project. The tutorial, photos and opinions expressed in this post are my own. I was not told what to write. #LowesCreator
Sharing with: Home Stories A2Z Tips and Tutorials, Thrifty Decor Chick Before and After Party
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Oh, and I am following you on Pinterest too. I love your boards! That is where I first saw the mailbox house.
I signed up for the magazines! Woohoo free magazines, can’t beat that
I want to try to make the Rustic Benches for our outdoor space. I’ve never made anything before so I need to start simple!
http://www.lowescreativeideas.com/idea-library/projects/rustic_benches_1109.aspx
love the mailbox…see if my husband will make it for me thanks
like u on fb Julie A Scott Laws
get the Lowes creative magazine
You are so creative using that putty knife as a flag for the mailbox. Way to think outside the box!! And love that the mailbox is big for packages!!
And because of you and this post, I just signed up to receive some Lowes magazines in my mailbox!! Yipee!
That is a beautiful mailbox.
i love the mailbox! Sadly, we live on a rural route and that gorgeous mailbox would be too enticing for the kids that play mailbox baseball periodically! (hence the ugly green rubbermaid mailbox)
I just tried something from Lowe’s Creative Ideas- I stenciled curtains using the stick-on felt- it was great (and cheap!)
I already receive Lowe’s Creative Ideas!
I love your mailbox. Makes me wish we HAD a mailbox! The mailman delivers mail to the door here, so all I have is an ugly black metal mailbox that hangs on the wall.
Digicats {at} Sbcglobal {dot} Net
I follow you on Pinterest as cezovski9
Digicats {at} Sbcglobal {dot} Net
I like you on Facebook (Carolsue Anderson)
Digicats {at} Sbcglobal {dot} Net
I follow you on Twitter as MsCarolsueA
Digicats {at} Sbcglobal {dot} Net
I really like your mailbox. You did a good job!
I follow you on Pinterest as Jennifer Keefer
I follow you on Facebook as Jennifer Keefer
I follow you on Twitter as Jennai
I really like the incredible details that you posted. One of the best DIY articles I have read. I would love to win and fix things up for my hardworking and grateful wife
dvdgossett915@gmail.com
Following on FB as David Gossett
Following on Twitter
@slg915
I love your mailbox. Unfortunately, I won’t be making as our mailbox attaches to the house & I don’t have the appropriate tools to make it anyway.
I follow a bunch of your boards on Pinterest.
I love the DIY fabric headboard on Lowe’s Creative Ideas.
LOVE the mailbox – very cute!
I follow you on pinterest
I signed up for the Lowes newsletter – great ideas there!
I love the vertical planters / rack. Really great for a small patio or deck space.
I love your mailbox! Our current mailbox is mounted on a metal ornamental windmill, and I would love to use your idea to make one that looks like an old red barn. I LOVE getting my Lowe’s magazine…I never throw them away. And of this moment, I am following you on Pinterest. LOL! Thanks for the great tutorial!
I just love the mailbox! I just spray painted mine- orb. I think that I need to paint my post white it looks great on yours, maybe tomorrow if it doesn’t rain. Would love the gift card to my favorite store. Have a great weekend, Brittany.
I love your mailbox! We have a plain ol’ black one and I was just looking at Lowe’s to replace it with something snazzier. Yours is so unique and clever, I think I need to try making one like my house!
I follow you on Pinterest and Facebook!
I think the lemonade stand is cute in the creative design magazine. I used an idea from the magazine a few years ago to organize my laundry closet. Yes, I only get a closet- not a beautifully organized room like you recently did.
I follow you on Facebook.
I love it! I wish we had the drive-up mailboxes on our street as with the walking mailmen, I think a mini-me house mailbox would look odd actually on our house itself.
What a pretty mailbox! Looks like there are little people living inside your box!
I follow on twitter @catlady90005
Hey B:
I just sent you our photo permissions document so we can make sure we credit your site properly for the images. Just respond to the questions and email back. Sorry for all the comments!
Deirdre @ houselogic