slb@drutx.UUCP (Sue Brezden) (01/21/86)
> I want to build a plywood box large enough to hold the largest mail > I get, and deep enough to hold three or four days worth of the amount > of mail I usually get. Friends tell me that it is illegal to deliver > to a mailbox not certified by theGrand PooBah General in DC, so if > I put up my own box, I would have to pick up my mail at the PO. > Is this true? If I were to submit blueprints to DC for approval, I > would probably have retired by the time I got a response. I have heard this too--but it may be apocryphal. Because I have also seen some very strange rural mailboxes. In Nebraska that's one thing farmers love to do is put up an original, personalized mailbox. And ours is a slot in the side of the house. I can't imagine someone sending that in to Washington. (By the way, that's *really* the way to get crunched-up mail) Why not call your postmaster? It may be as simple as showing it to a postal inspector to certify that it will keep the rain out. You can complain about the delivery at the same time--it won't do any good, but you will feel better. By the way, I have seen *incredibly huge* mailboxes for sale in stores. Ones that would make good doghouses. That might be your answer. -- Sue Brezden ihnp4!drutx!slb ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To search for perfection is all very well, But to look for heaven is to live here in hell. --Sting ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
wasser@mosaic.DEC (John A. Wasser) (01/24/86)
I think that only RD mailboxes (the ones by the side of the road) are regulated. For home mail delivery, any old mailbox will do if you can get the mailman to use it. I recommend getting a mail slot for the door. I bought a big wide mail slot door (spring loaded extruded aluminum) and have had very little trouble keeping mail out of the rain. If you go out of town for a few days, no one can tell because the mail doesn't accumulate outside. -John A. Wasser
hollombe@ttidcc.UUCP (The Polymath) (01/24/86)
In article <302@drutx.UUCP> slb@drutx.UUCP (Sue Brezden) writes: >> ...Friends tell me that it is illegal to deliver >> to a mailbox not certified by theGrand PooBah General in DC, so if >> I put up my own box, I would have to pick up my mail at the PO. > >I have heard this too--but it may be apocryphal. Because I have also >seen some very strange rural mailboxes. In Nebraska that's one thing >farmers love to do is put up an original, personalized mailbox. And ours >is a slot in the side of the house. I can't imagine someone sending that >in to Washington. ... Most of the custom mailboxes I've seen were actually shells built around approved type mailboxes. Keep in mind the P.O. is an enormous bureaucracy, run mostly by petty bureaucrats, and they can get _very_ picky about rules and regs if they want to. The slot in the wall box is a common type found all over the country. The original design was approved by the P.O. long ago. One type that's no longer approved is the slot at the bottom of a door. Too many carriers were filing workman's comp. claims for back problems. (When I worked as a mail carrier one summer I had to deliver to a whole neighboorhood of these. _Not_ my favorite route). >By the way, I have seen *incredibly huge* mailboxes for sale in stores. >Ones that would make good doghouses. That might be your answer. Probably the simplest solution. -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ The Polymath (aka: Jerry Hollombe) Citicorp(+)TTI 3100 Ocean Park Blvd. Geniuses are people so lazy they Santa Monica, CA 90405 do everything right the first time. (213) 450-9111, ext. 2483 {philabs,randvax,trwrb,vortex}!ttidca!ttidcc!hollombe
ron@brl-smoke.ARPA (Ron Natalie <ron>) (01/28/86)
> > > I think that only RD mailboxes (the ones by the side of the road) > are regulated. For home mail delivery, any old mailbox will do > if you can get the mailman to use it. > > I recommend getting a mail slot for the door. I bought a big > wide mail slot door (spring loaded extruded aluminum) and have > had very little trouble keeping mail out of the rain. If you > go out of town for a few days, no one can tell because the > mail doesn't accumulate outside. > Not true. My parents bought a home in Washington, D.C. about five years ago. Every other house on the block (each about 6 months older) has a mail slot, however some new regulation bans delivery to mail slots on new buildings, so at the end of the row of houses with mail slots is a standard Postmaster General approved box (red flag and all) for my parents place. Just be lucky that you have a box in front of your house. These days they also mandate "cluster" delivery which put the boxes from my previous house down the street with everybody else in the neighborhood. -Ron