Mailboxes
Posts that survive a plow, set so the door still opens. We do this across Monmouth and Ocean County from Ocean Township. Call and we come look before we write the scope.
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Mailboxes, on one written scope.
Posts that survive a plow, set so the door still opens.
What’s included on a mailboxes visit.
We inspect the cause, check what else it touched, and leave a written scope with materials and timing. The visit is free and there is no obligation to book the work.
What to know before the visit.
Have ready
Have the new box and post on site if you are supplying them, and know where you want the box to face. The technician will want the carrier side of the road pointed out. Clear the ground around the old post of plantings and toys. First comes the existing post height and how far the box face sits from the road edge, because a carrier has to reach it from the vehicle. Then how deep the old post was set and whether it rotted at grade. Then the hardware, because a rusted hinge fails before the post does.
- Post set below frost
- Box height
- House-mounted boxes
- Old post hauled away
The visit
A post is set below frost so the plow does not lean it by February. The box height is set so the door opens and the carrier can reach it. House-mounted boxes go into framing, not into vinyl siding alone.
A rusted rural box on a 4x4 that has rotted at grade gets a new post, not a new box on the same stump. The stump is the failure.
Permit
No building permit covers a mailbox post, because a post is not a structure and no inspector looks at it. The limits that actually matter come from somewhere else. The postal service fixes the box height and how far the face sits from the road. Towns often restrict what can stand in the strip beside the road, and a masonry column is a separate project that may need a footing. Utility locates come before digging.
On the Shore
Two things kill a mailbox here. Salt air rusts the box, the hinge, and any plain steel fastener, so the door stops closing and rain gets in. Then freeze-thaw in the sandy soil heaves a shallow post, and the first plow of the season catches the overhang and leans the whole assembly. A pressure-treated or cedar post set below the frost line on a concrete footing solves most of it. Coated or stainless fasteners and a powder-coated or aluminum box last far longer.
When we leave
Once the concrete has set, the technician checks that the box door opens and closes through its full swing and that the latch catches, that the box height matches the carrier reach and sits level, and that the post is plumb. The old post and its concrete are hauled away. The care note is to keep the post clear of snow piled by the plow and not to hang a heavy newspaper box on the same post, because that load bends it.
Built with
The materials are a pressure-treated or cedar 4x4 post, a bag of concrete mix, galvanized or stainless carriage bolts or lag screws, and a box rated for outdoor exposure with a powder-coated or aluminum finish. A wooden backer board spreads the load where the box mounts, so the fasteners do not tear through thin sheet metal. The post is the structural part and gets the attention. The box is replaced only when its hinge or latch has actually failed.
Do you move a box for a new driveway?
Yes, and we patch the old hole. The new post goes where the carrier can still reach it without driving on the lawn.
Brick mailbox columns?
That is a masonry visit. A wood post is this visit.
Cluster boxes?
Those belong to the postal service. We repair the post and the individual box at a house.
What about a lock on the box?
We can fit one made for the box. A padlock hasp screwed through thin sheet metal tears out.
Will you match a black box and a cedar post?
Yes. We set the post plumb even if the lawn slopes, and the box is leveled on the post, not on the horizon of the street if the street dips.
Old post concreted in?
We cut it off below grade or pull it. A new post next to a rotten one looks like a mistake.
How deep does the post need to go?
Below the local frost line, on a concrete footing, so frost cannot lift it. A post set two feet down in sand is the reason so many lean by spring. The hole is widened at the bottom so the concrete locks it against heaving.
Can you put the box on the house instead of a post?
Yes, if the carrier delivers to the door. The bracket is fastened into framing or a solid backer, not into vinyl siding alone. Siding will not hold a loaded box, and the holes it leaves let water into the wall.
The plow keeps hitting my mailbox. What can be done?
The post can be set deeper and the box moved back within the postal service limits for reach. Some homeowners want a breakaway mount for the worst months. The technician will set what the carrier can still reach without driving onto the lawn.
Do you repair a box that was knocked off the post?
If the post is still sound and the box is not crushed, yes. A post that cracked at grade or rotted at the base gets replaced, because rebolting a box to a broken post only lasts until the next wet season.
Other landscaping jobs we handle
Fence and Gates
Privacy fence, posts, and gates that actually latch.
Power Washing
House, deck, and concrete washed without cutting the surface.
Gate Repair and Hardware
Dragging gates and hinge posts, fixed at the post rather than the hinge.
Drainage and Regrading
Grade, downspouts, and low spots corrected so water leaves the foundation.
Tell us what is wrong. We will tell you what it takes.
(732) 333-7800- Call24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- Shop7 Brook Dr, Ocean Township, NJ 07712
- EmailInfo@wedoitallhandyman.com
- EstimateFree on-site look. Written scope before work starts.
Licensed & insured · NJ HIC # 13VH09886800
Free on-site look · No obligation