About everything. How to make a beautiful mailbox for a private home: first-hand master classes Do-it-yourself mailbox made of wood

Owners of their own houses or summer cottages still receive letters, subscribe to newspapers and magazines, and there is also a need to deliver bills or parcels. And in order for all this correspondence to be delivered to the addressee, he needs to have a special cell at his place of residence. Of course, the modern market offers a wide variety of models and variations of this product, but it’s so nice to make a mailbox with your own hands, put a little of yourself into it, and even thanks to the unusual design, decorate a residential building or summer cottage. This article will talk about how to make a mailbox.

There are plenty of options for creating a mailbox with your own hands. They may differ from each other in shape, size, color, design and material of manufacture, as well as in design style. What types of mailboxes are there?

Types of mailboxes for a private home

Most of the models discussed are quite easy to do yourself, and you do not need to purchase expensive materials or equipment. So, what kind of mailboxes can you find today? First of all, it should be said that the style of the post determines the overall appearance of the site or the exterior of the house.

It is also important when creating a mailbox to take into account the amount of correspondence sent. That is, if the owner receives a lot of letters, magazines, newspapers or advertising booklets every day, then a more capacious product will be needed, but if there is a minimum number of letters, then you can build a small box with an original decoration. Very often, a mailbox is used not for its intended purpose, but as a decorative element. The product is installed in a visible place and perfectly complements the overall appearance of a private house or garden area.
There are several style solutions for designing a mailbox. The most famous American and English designs for receiving correspondence. The traditions of Europe and America are somewhat different from domestic ones. For example, in American cities, postal boxes are needed not only for receiving letters, but also for sending. If there is correspondence in the box, the postman takes it and takes it to the post office. But how can you determine that a message needs to be sent? It was for this purpose that special flags were invented on every mailbox in the states. If the flag is raised, it means the postman needs to look inside; if it is lowered, it means the box is empty.

Another feature of such structures is that they are installed not like the usual structures on walls or a fence, but on lawns or areas near paths leading to the house, and are fixed on vertical supports (metal, wood and even stone). In shape, such products resemble a small container or house, which has a semicircular hinged lid at the end.
This is a standard look, but in many states there are often competitions for the most original letter box. That is why near some houses you can find unusual structures in the form of fairy-tale characters, animals or any abstractions, as well as mounted on various stands. In addition, very often purchased products are simply decorated in a special way and thus stand out from the crowd of others.
A slightly different tradition exists in UK cities. Here, mailboxes are installed directly on the ground near the front door or near the path with the entrance to the property. In appearance, this design resembles a small cabinet, which may have brick or stone walls. Of course, other materials are also used - wood, metal and even plastic.

Such a structure should be compatible in style with the house and the site, that is, if the walls of the building are made of brick or have it in the design, then the mailbox will be made of this material, or a stone gate, usually complemented by stone structures for receiving letters and press . To make it easy for the postman to put the correspondence, and for the owner to easily retrieve it, the boxes are installed as if on a stand, which is an inseparable continuation of the structure. That is, this product is stationary and does not involve moving from place to place.
Still, the most common type of mailboxes in our country are traditional ones, or otherwise called standard mailboxes. Their main feature is that they are rectangular in shape, and correspondence enters through a small slot. In order to remove letters or newspapers, you need to open the door or move one of the walls. Such structures are very often installed on apartment doors. These products are slightly larger than American mailboxes and more mobile than English ones. They can be made from a wide variety of materials, and also have different shapes.
Of course, modern mailboxes are no longer just a rectangular box; there are decorative elements and an original appearance. It is these products that are the easiest to manufacture, convenient to use, and at the same time can perfectly decorate any building, be it a multi-level cottage or a small country house. They are installed on fences, walls of homes, and even on a free-standing stand.

How to make a mailbox with your own hands

So, if standard, commercially available products are not the ultimate dream and you really want to create something of your own, original, then it’s time to get creative. First of all, you need to decide on a specific idea, the appearance of the future mailbox. Then, you should decide what materials will be needed to implement the plan. Let's look at how to create your own wooden mailbox. This is the simplest option, and at the same time it is possible to create a real masterpiece from which it will be so pleasant to take letters out.

Assembling the structure is somewhat reminiscent of creating a birdhouse; many people were probably involved in this type of activity in childhood. To build a mailbox, you will need a simple set of tools: a hammer, a saw, a ruler, a pencil, a screwdriver, hardware or glue. The materials you will need are wooden boards, boards or sheets of plywood, chipboard, MDF, etc.
Next, determine the size of the mailbox. Specific parameters are selected based on what you plan to receive. If these are only letters and small advertising booklets, then a small product will be enough, but if the box is designed to receive large-sized magazines, then its dimensions should be appropriate. In any case, it is always better to make it a little larger than the standard one, then you won’t have to worry that not all printed materials will fit inside.

The next step is to define the design. This concerns not only the features of the form, but also what elements will be needed for decoration. After all, the box for the press and letters must be combined with the exterior of the house, which means that some details must have something in common. This stage also involves the selection of a specific material and future color scheme.

When the choice of shape, materials, colors and decorative elements has been made, you can begin to manufacture the parts.

Step-by-step instructions for creating a mailbox

For work you will need blocks of wood, plywood, preferably moisture-resistant (or use special impregnations that will help make the parts sufficiently resistant to precipitation and other weather conditions), metal corners, wood glue, a screwdriver, self-tapping screws and a hand or automatic saw or jigsaw will also be useful . In addition, depending on the design of the lid, it is necessary to prepare a hinge device, as well as a lock with which the door will be locked.

Since our box has a more complex shape than just a rectangle, it is recommended to first create a frame from beams. For this purpose, it is enough to use slats with a cross section of 20-10 mm. The length will depend on the specific model, but approximately 20-40 cm is sufficient. The resulting base for the product will be shaped like a cube, but will have a small triangular roof.
The next step is to secure the walls. Durable plywood is perfect for this purpose, but ordinary boards of small thickness can also be used. You will need two pieces for the side walls, two for the front and back panels and two for the top and bottom, as well as two pieces for the roof. Of course, we should not forget that all parts should be treated with impregnations, which will protect the finished structure from natural factors and extend the service life for a longer time.

The plywood is screwed to the frame using corners and self-tapping screws; for greater reliability, the bottom of the mailbox can be additionally glued with adhesives, and all joints of the finished structure can be coated with moisture-resistant sealant. Don’t forget to make a cut on the front or top panel. Through this gap the postman will place letters and press inside. It is also necessary to make an opening door. It is possible that the roof of the house will serve as the opening part. To do this, attach this element using hinges.
In cases where it is difficult to make a gap in plywood, for example, with insufficient experience, you can use a little trick. Use not a whole piece of plywood, but two halves that will not reach each other at a certain distance. Usually, a 1-2 cm slot is enough for these purposes, but when you plan to receive larger correspondence, you can leave more.

Having completed all of the above procedures, we can assume that the box is almost ready. All that remains is to paint it or decorate it in any other way and install it in a permanent place, and also take care of protecting letters, magazines and newspapers from rain. Indeed, in cases where the slot for incoming correspondence is located at the top, moisture can easily penetrate inside. This is why you should install a special canopy over the box. It is best if it is made of metal.

The described method involves creating the simplest version of a mailbox, which you can do yourself even without special skills. Of course, in cases where it is possible to make more complex shapes and designs, you should not deny yourself such pleasure. After all, a mailbox is not just a box for receiving letters, it is also a wonderful decorative element.

Mailbox decoration options

There are several fairly common ways to decorate a mailbox. First of all, you can use paints and apply any patterns, ornaments, and sometimes entire paintings to all structural elements. Even without artistic skills, you can accomplish this task yourself. Stencils made of paper, cardboard or plastic can help with this.
Acrylic paints are best suited for painting on materials such as wood or metal. In order for the image to last for more than one season, it is first recommended to cover the entire surface with a layer of white primer, and apply a moisture-resistant varnish on top of the image, which will also protect the structure from damage caused by rain or snow.
The next decoration option assumes that the mailbox will be decorated with a type of creativity such as decoupage. This is also a fairly simple method that does not require special skills. It is enough to select the required design depicted on a napkin or decoupage card. Next, the surface of the structure is painted white (this is one of the standard solutions), and then small fragments or the entire design are glued to the walls of the mailbox using PVA glue. When the glue is completely dry, apply several layers of varnish on top.

Another solution that will help make the mail original is to attach several decorative tassels, beads, shells and other elements to the box. In order for such decoration to hold securely and last for many years, you should choose good glue.
Even an unusual coloring will make the mailbox an original decoration for the entire summer cottage or private house. And if you turn on your imagination, use improvised materials and various artistic techniques, you can get real works of art. With the right approach, you can even decorate the box with fresh flowers, which will grow in small containers on the sides of the structure.

Original solutions for creating mailboxes

Not only can decorations add originality to a mailbox, but it is also possible to use unusual items to create the design itself. Old interior items or unnecessary things are suitable for these purposes. For example, a product made from a plastic bottle or large-diameter PVC pipe will look very unusual. This option is perfect for people who do not subscribe to a lot of newspapers and receive correspondence in small quantities. It is enough to attach a round door to the tube, which will serve both for delivering letters and for removing them.
A similar option would be a box made from a round log or thick log. Here you should remove the core and place a suitable container inside; it can be a metal pipe, sealed on one side and with a welded door on the other. At the same time, this lid can be decorated with tree bark so that the feeling of naturalness is complete.

If a more spacious design is required, then an empty system unit would be an excellent option. This product can be installed on any support and can even be screwed to a fence. All that remains is to build a door and decorate the box accordingly, so that the postman immediately understands that this is a box for letters and newspapers.
In general, making a mailbox that you won’t be ashamed to install in your own home is not that difficult. You can use plexiglass, metal, wood and even cardboard using gluing, welding or assembly technologies. In addition to choosing the material and shape, it is equally important to properly secure the finished box or install it in a permanent place.
The installation location can be a fence, a gate, a house wall, or even a separately placed support. It is important not to forget when designing a product to think in advance about the method of fastening. For example, in cases where mail is placed on a gate (wooden or metal), it is necessary to make small holes in the back wall and secure it with nuts and bolts. If you plan to install the structure on a stand, then the fasteners should be in the bottom panel.

To summarize, we can say that despite the fact that technological progress in the world has reached unprecedented heights, paper letters and the press have not gone out of fashion to this day. This means that products such as mailboxes are still needed. And not always things bought in a store can perfectly complement the style of a private home or summer cottage. That is, if you really want an original decorated and designed place for receiving correspondence, then the best solution would be to do this element yourself.

Usually the need for a mailbox is present not only in a country house, but even in a summer cottage. After all, just like a house, it has its own address. That is why any building with a postal address must be equipped with a mailbox.

There are many options for shape, color and material in the manufacture of a mailbox. It can be cardboard and wood, metal and plastic. All of them may differ from each other not only in material, but also in model, design and price. It’s not difficult to make a mailbox, if you have the desire.

Most of the mailbox models can be made independently. This applies more to simple mailbox options. As for more complex structures, for their manufacture you will need certain skills. In this case, it is better to buy a mailbox ready-made.

Types of mailboxes

As previously noted, all boxes are divided into several types. Which option should be preferred when making a mailbox, you will have to choose yourself. The main thing is that the production of the chosen option is feasible.

In addition, when giving preference to a certain type of structure, you should take into account the overall style of the house, the required capacity and the place for its installation. It is very important to consider the purpose of the mailbox. If it is planned to use it only for its intended purpose, to receive correspondence, then a variant of the form may be of a simpler form. But if the mailbox must also serve a decorative role, then its design must be original in accordance with the interior of the house.

Several styles can be used to construct a mailbox design. Today there are only three of them.

Mailbox styles

This could be the style:

Standard design, traditional letterbox style;
American performance style;
English;
Original style.

A traditional mailbox is a conventional, standard design of a mailbox with a slot for correspondence. This is the easiest way to make a mailbox, which can be made from any material.

American style They can be different in appearance and decorativeness. Such boxes are installed only in a horizontal position, which requires nested correspondence; postmen first have to roll it into a tube.

A distinctive feature of an American style mailbox is the specially placed flag. With its help, the postman can easily determine whether there is correspondence to send. Indeed, in this case, the sender attaches letters for sending and raises the flag accordingly.
Such a box is installed only on a separately installed support in the form of a pipe, or the support can be made in the form of some kind of figure.

English style The mailbox looks like a column cabinet. Typically this type is made using brick and durable metal. This design is installed near the entrance of the yard to the house. This type of design is more like a miniature house, made taking into account the structural features of the house, than a mailbox. The capacity of this type of mailbox is very large, which allows you to put received correspondence in the box without much difficulty.

But there is also an original look for mailboxes. This type includes boxes made in accordance with the interior, using design ideas in the form of fabulous transformations of various objects into a mailbox.

To make a mailbox in an original style, you can use wooden materials, brick and metals. But it should be taken into account that to produce metal, in addition to the material itself, you will need welder skills and a welding machine.

Whatever option and style of mailbox you choose, do not forget that the mailbox at home should not disturb the harmony and should fit perfectly into the overall interior.

Designing and making a box for newspapers and letters is as easy as shelling pears. It is possible to do this with your own hands. But before you get started, you should use some tips and tricks for making a high-quality mailbox design:

When making a structure using wooden material, all its elements must be interlocked with the help of corners. Thus, the product will gain increased strength and will facilitate repair work in the future;
If the intended slot for inserting newspapers and magazines is located in its upper part, then to prevent water from entering in rainy weather, a special canopy should be installed above the slot - protection. Thus, you will protect received letters and newspapers from the effects of rain and snow;
The door for removing correspondence should be located at the bottom of the box. It is better if it is made in a folding version;
When placing a newspaper removal door on the front of a mailbox, everything needs to be carefully designed to prevent gaps between the mailbox panel and the door.
To protect your mail from unwanted readers, it is better to include a device in the mailbox design for locking it. This can be either a padlock or an internal one, which is installed on the inside of the door and drawer;

In addition, you can show originality. For example, you can install an alarm in your mailbox to provide a sound notification that mail has been received, which is very convenient, especially on days when the weather is bad. But this will require special skills and abilities.

How to make a mailbox on your own?

In order to design and make a box using wood material, for example, plywood, you should:
prepare the following materials:

veneer sheet or plywood sheet (630*630 mm);
plywood must be at least 10 millimeters thick;
wooden beam within the size range of 1000*75*50 mm;
loop made of brass or stainless steel (120 mm);
sandpaper sheet;
internal or padlock;
screws and staples for a padlock;
adhesive composition for gluing wooden surfaces;
colloidal silica;
two-component epoxy adhesive.

The entire process of making a box is carried out in several stages:

The prepared wooden beam must be divided into three equal-sized parts and sawn. Three lines are drawn on one sawn part of the timber. Among which, one is the central line. The remaining two are transverse lines, and the distance between them should not exceed 300 mm. After this, the main curve is drawn and the bend for the edge is cut out and cleaned using a hacksaw.
Similar work should be done with the remaining two pieces of beams, observing, at the same time, exactly in relation to the work done on the first piece of the beam.
The finished bars are glued together.
Plywood is cut into pieces according to size.
The cut sheets of plywood should be at least 8 pieces of 320*160 mm each. After this, all the workpieces must be laid on the concave section of the block and treated with epoxy glue. Next, you need to lay a paper sheet on the main block as the first layer, and then a plywood sheet. In order to avoid mistakes, before gluing it is necessary to first place the veneer sheets in accordance with the design. In this way, you will check that all the details match, which in turn will show whether everything was done correctly and whether there are any gaps in the mailbox.
Once the glue has dried, the finished cover can be sanded and adjusted to fit the dimensions of the back and front of the mailbox.
On the front part it is necessary to cut a slot for placing mail and a special opening for removing mail from the box.
A piano hinge is cut along the width of the door and attached with screws.
A mortise lock is installed on the door.
A lid is attached to the box.
After installing the door, the product is sanded using sandpaper.
If desired, the finished mailbox can be opened with varnish or painted.

Making an American mailbox

In order to make the simplest model of such a box, you can use sheets of metal in its manufacture. It is from them that the blanks are cut in accordance with the dimensions and in accordance with the shape for the mailbox manufacturing project. The two main components are rectangular in shape with different sizes, and the third part should be a little larger in the form of a semicircle for the roof. The side sheets must be cut to the same size.

The structure is fastened using either welding or nuts and bolts. The door and handle for it are also attached.

If the American type of box is made of wood, then it can be made in the form of a small house with a door through which mail can be placed in the house.

Metal mailbox

This type of mailbox manufacturing is the most complex and time-consuming type of manufacturing among all types. First of all, you can’t do without special devices to make it. First of all, this is an angle grinder, a drill, and a welding machine. But nothing is impossible; if you have the desire, you can overcome any difficulties. But, if you consider that a metal mailbox is much stronger than all the others, then the game is worth the candle.

The process of making a metal box is almost the same as making a wooden box. The only difference between them is the material and method of fastening.

Creating an English-style mailbox

In this case, there can be no limit to imagination; for a post office house you can use all available material that does not get wet and does not deteriorate under the hot rays of the sun. The main thing in this matter is originality. In general, plastic bottles and pipes can be used as containers for placing mail.

You can also construct a mailbox from an old wooden clock, a child’s school bag, an old system unit, a tape speaker, in general, from anything you want.

An original mailbox can be a piece of log. The core is taken out of it, a small door is screwed on and fastened in any direction, horizontally, vertically or even in an oblique direction, but most importantly - in such a way that the mail hole is not directly exposed to precipitation, and everything else is the result of your imagination.

Mailbox installation method

The mailbox can be installed in different ways and in different positions. If we talk about the American type of mailboxes, then this type is installed on a special support, the English type of mailboxes is installed on a built-in monolithic structure.

Today, simpler and more standard methods of installing mailboxes are used.

Here are examples:

A mailbox is installed on the fence. This can be done using special fasteners or by screwing the box to the fence using bolts and nuts.
Mailboxes are attached to gates, which can be made of wood or metal. Depending on what the gate is made of, the type of fastening used is either clamps for fastening or nuts and bolts.
A very common way to mount a mailbox is to mount it on the wall of the house. This can be done using dowels and anchors.

In general, as you can see, if you have the desire and time, you can not only design an original house for posting mail, but also, thereby, give your country estate an original style, where the mailbox can act as a business card of your property and your taste.

Anyone who builds a house will understand me! Having installed electricity in my country house, I encountered a problem, although there were already enough of them. The postman had no place to leave the mail. After torturing myself and the postman, six months later it struck me whether to buy or make a box. It’s too early to buy - the façade of the cottage is not ready yet, so, getting angry, I used for these purposes the most elegant canister I found. It’s a pity, not a pity, but there’s no way without mail yet! Thanks to the narrow size, there was no need to look for other housings (for example, for power tools).

To make a mailbox we will need:
- any plastic container corresponding to the size of a sheet of paper standard A4 or A5.
- 2 dowels.
- knife, ruler, wire cutters, pliers, drill, drill, screwdriver and felt-tip pen.
- a hammer drill, or just a hammer to hammer in dowels.

First you need to clean the canister with detergent. After letting it dry, we begin manufacturing. Having first removed the label, use a knife and a ruler to cut a longitudinal hole. Using pliers, cut off a centimeter along the sides so that you can bend a small visor to protect from the rain.
At the bottom of the mailbox, mark a line for the windows with a felt-tip pen. Using a drill and a drill bit, drill 3 holes. Drill d=12-20mm. I had to use a 10mm drill; the drill couldn’t fit into a larger diameter. But, I advise you to find a cutter of the appropriate diameter or make a larger window so that you can see the contents of the mailbox. You can also tape a piece of plexiglass on the inside. If burrs have formed during the drilling process, you can smooth them out using fire, from a lighter, for example.

Now let's work on the back wall of the product. In order to remove mail, you need to cut an opening on the back of the mailbox. Also in the upper part, you need to make two holes using the same drill and carefully, using wire cutters, cut off the grooves for the screws. This way the box can be hung on the wall.
Next, use a tape measure to measure the distance between the holes of the hinge and transfer them to the wall where you want to place the mailbox. You can also directly mark the placement of the mounting holes with a pencil or marker. Using a hammer drill, we drill holes and tighten the screws. The screw heads should be larger so that the plastic body of the canister does not fall out. To get to the mail, we remove the box and open the back cover, and then put it back on. But, during the work, it turned out that you can attach it to the wall with screws and simply lift the box up to access the contents. Who can guess?

You can also do without a hammer drill by using construction concrete dowels and a hammer or nails. Don't forget to please the postman with the distinctive signs of the postal service, otherwise he will pass by in bewilderment at the sight of the canister on the wall. To do this, use a thick felt-tip pen to draw an image of an envelope or write the corresponding text, whichever language is clearer to whom.

Well, well, I hope that my little house will not be confused with a car repair shop. Temporarily or permanently, my mailbox will fulfill its function and show its reliability.
We are waiting for the postman!

"Useful homemade products."

A mailbox is an integral part of any home. How to make your own mailbox, unique in design and having a notification function about the arrival of mail, is described in this article.

If you have a house, then you have your own address to which you receive mail - press, letters and other notices. To receive correspondence, you can buy a mailbox at any appropriate store and hang it on the front door. This solution, in addition to being expensive (high-quality mailboxes are quite expensive), is also bad because the ready-made options are faceless and, accordingly, are not able to decorate your home. We will tell you how you can make a unique mailbox with your own hands, which has two undeniable advantages over purchased ones:

located on the inside of the fence, that is, located on the territory of the personal plot, and having a decorative appearance, it will serve as a decoration for the garden;
the box is equipped with an autonomous mechanical mail arrival alarm, that is, the box will have a simple, reliable and fail-safe mechanism that is triggered when mail arrives, thereby informing the owner that the mail has arrived.

In the end, such a mailbox will cost you less than a purchased one, and you can make it yourself in one day.

So let's get started.

Tools and materials

To make a mailbox house we will need:

Circular saw or hand saw.
Drill or screwdriver.
Tin sheet or any other sheet material. A cut tin can will do just fine.
Lumber trims.
Wooden skewers. We will use them as dowels.

Manufacturing instructions

1. We start by making the base platform. To do this, we use a rectangular piece of plywood 20 mm thick. We cut out a rectangle according to the dimensions indicated in the photo, sand it with sandpaper and cover it with primer.

2. We cover the edges with decorative coverings.

4. After painting the platform to the bottom using self-tapping screws, we fix the stand and the slope, which are made of a profile pipe.

5. We fix the platform at the place where the mailbox is installed.

6. We make a damper on the outside of the fence. We cut a vertical hole in the corrugated sheet of the fence. From a metal plate 1.5 mm thick we make coverings for the gap and the damper itself. We fix the damper using a self-tapping screw in its upper part to the coverings on the crack. The flap moves to the left or right, thereby opening the entrance to the slot through which mail enters.

7. Let's start manufacturing the mailbox parts.

8. Assembling the frame. We additionally secure the parts at the gluing points with wooden dowels.

9. We fix the left side wall to the frame and begin to make the signaling device. It consists of two metal plates connected to each other by a metal axis and located in relation to each other in perpendicular planes. We fix the plates to the axle using metal rivets. On the plate that will be located outside the mailbox, we apply a thematic design (postman), use metal scissors to cut along the contour of the design and paint with acrylic paints. The second plate should cover the entrance hole from the inside of the box. Thus, the empty box is made ready by lifting the right plate. When placing mail in the box, the plate falls, raising the left plate with the postman drawn on it. It is its appearance that signals the presence of mail.

10. The signaling device axis is fixed using corner metal hinges to the platform with self-tapping screws.

11. Fix the front wall and insert a thematic drawing into the opening of the future window.

12. We make parts of the window frame. Before installing the frame, we insert glass into the opening.

13. Glue the right side wall. In the center of the wall we make an imitation of a door and decorative cashing from fiberboard. We also make a back wall from fiberboard with a vertical slot into which mail will flow into the mailbox.

14. We decorate the outer corners of the house and the lower part with wooden corners.

15. Let's start making the roof. Glue the roof base frame together.

16. Glue a piece of fiberboard to the bottom part. Next, we glue two pairs of rafters onto the frame. All connections must be additionally secured with dowels.

17. We attach the roof frame to the house using small hinges, since the roof will serve as a mailbox lid.

18. We make the roof gables from fiberboard and glue the ebb on the front side.

19. We attach a rough roof from scraps of boards or clapboard to the rafters.

20. Using small nails, we fix tiles cut from tin onto the rough roof.

21. After fixing the tiles, we make the ridge and wind strips.

22. Making a porch.

23. We install the structure in place. Your unique mailbox is ready.

Evgeny Dubinin, rmnt.ru (based on materials from user Valley)

There are many options for making a box from scrap materials. They differ in shape and design, as well as in the material used to build them, and in price. Many models can be easily created with your own hands, using fairly cheap materials. Some are made using specific skills that require enormous effort and considerable expense.

What types are there?

When choosing a design, first of all you should pay special attention to the general style of the house, the expected capacity, as well as the location of the drawer. It is very important that the owners initially decide whether it will be used only for its intended purpose or whether it will perform additional decorative functions.

The style of execution of the product can be very diverse. The most commonly observed types are:

standard or traditional;
English;
American;
original.

Traditional mailboxes with a special slot for placing letters, newspapers and other correspondence are the most common in post-Soviet countries and can be made from any material.

Today, traditional structures are increasingly being decorated, thereby giving them a more unique and interesting look. Standard boxes are most often installed on gates or fences. They are very easy to make and use in the future.

For example, an American mailbox: they are all similar in structure, but when it comes to decor, each of them has no equal in this regard.

Each type has a special flag that, when raised, indicates that it contains a letter that needs to be sent as soon as possible. Postmen in America take out such letters and mail them themselves. In post-Soviet countries, you can also work according to this scheme, but for this you need to agree on this service in advance with the postman.

Such structures are mainly installed on some kind of separate support made of any material: wood, metal or others.

Traditional versions of boxes are more spacious, unlike American ones. Based on this, before you decide to make an American-type box, you need to know exactly the amount of correspondence you receive.

As for English mailboxes, they are presented in the form of a kind of column-shaped cabinet made of brick or any other durable material. It is customary to install them on the ground just a few meters from the threshold of the house or the entrance to the territory of your site. Outwardly, they resemble a small house, are very roomy, and their strength cannot but surprise.

If we talk about original types, then these include all models that have a very interesting and attractive design solution. Even various household items can be used in such a way that it will be impossible to take your eyes off.

To make a box of any type and type, you can use brick, plastic, wood, metal. If you make it yourself, it is best to give preference to a wooden or plastic variation, the construction of which will not take much time. If you decide to make a box from metal, then you need to resort to using additional tools and have welding skills.

The most durable and very reliable boxes are considered to be those made on the basis of brick or metal, in other words - for the press, English style.

A beautiful mailbox, reliable and very durable, you can make it yourself. There are several basic recommendations that are responsible for the quality of the product:

If the product is made of wood, then it is best to fasten each element of the future structure with special corners, which will give the mailbox additional strength and, in case of urgent need, will facilitate repair work.
If the slot intended for receiving correspondence is located at the top, a special protective canopy should be made that will prevent precipitation from getting inside the box.
In order to remove letters, it is best to make the door at the bottom. It would be nice if the entire lower part of the structure folded back.
If the door for removing mail is located on the front panel of the structure, you should accurately calculate all the necessary dimensions, as well as adjust the main parts to prevent the formation of gaps.
To ensure that no one except you can retrieve your correspondence, especially during absence, you need to install a lock.
To prevent all kinds of advertising leaflets and flyers from being thrown into your mailbox, install a separate wooden cabinet next to it designed for this information.

Instructions for making a wooden or plywood box

In order to make a box out of wood, you will need to stock up on the following materials:

wooden sheet (veneer or plywood) - 65*65 cm;
plywood 0.9 cm thick - 65 * 43.5 cm;
special pine beam - 100*0.75*0.5 cm;
specially prepared piano loop - 13 cm;
sandpaper to smooth out unevenness;
mortise lock;
screws;
glue for woodworking;
colloidal silica;
epoxy adhesive consisting of 2 components.

First of all, the existing pine beam will need to be cut into 3 equal pieces - 33 cm. On one of the beams you will need to draw 1 main and 2 transverse lines, with a distance of 30 cm. Using a pattern, draw a smooth curved line. Using a hacksaw, the required bend is cut out, and the edge is thoroughly cleaned. The 2 remaining bars should be processed in this way.

Then they need to be properly glued together. Plywood measuring 0.9 cm will need to be cut into pieces.

Wooden mailbox option

8 sheets measuring 32*16 cm are cut out of thin plywood or veneer. After this, all the pieces are carefully glued together. It is important that no gaps are formed during gluing.

As soon as the glue dries, the finished lid will need to be properly sanded and adjusted to the required dimensions.

In order for correspondence to be placed in the mailbox, a special opening will need to be cut on the front wall using a hacksaw. It will be necessary to make the opening necessary for the door.

After this, a piano hinge is cut out across the entire width of the existing door, after which it is attached to the base using screws.

In the same door, you need to decide on a place to embed the lock, then cut out the keyhole and install it.

After this, the lid is attached to the top. Then the door is installed and the finished box is sanded using sandpaper.

If desired, the structure can be decorated with all sorts of colors or simply varnished.

A wooden mailbox is very easy to make. The main thing is desire and compliance with all the rules during the manufacturing process.

Instructions for creating an original mailbox

Mailboxes that have been approached with an individual design approach will look very interesting and very unusual on your site. A mailbox can be easily made from unnecessary household items and available funds.

So, a mailbox made from a plastic bottle is perfect for those who receive a small amount of press. A huge plus is that its creation and installation will not take much time, money or special effort.

An antique cuckoo clock can make a wonderful mailbox. To do this, you will only need to disassemble this watch and attach the front side to an ordinary wooden box. The place where the cuckoo once jumped out will be used by postmen to place the press.

If you have an old unnecessary computer system unit, then make a mailbox out of it. To do this, you just need to gut all the insides of the system unit and place it on some kind of wooden or other sufficiently strong support.

The postal version can also be safely built from cardboard, the main thing is that the material is durable. When creating such a structure, it is necessary to take into account its location.

Installation methods

People are most interested in installing traditional mailboxes. The most common installation methods are:

Installation on the fence. For this type of installation, you must first make 2 cuts on the back of the box, through which the metal clamps necessary for fastening will be threaded. You need to level it by tightening the clamps.
Installation on any hard surface. Very often you can see that mailboxes are installed on metal or wooden gates. In order to carry out such an installation, it is necessary to prepare in advance a certain number of holes not only on the back panel of the box itself, but also on the gate. The finished product should be secured with nuts and bolts.
Wall mounting. In order to produce it, you should make 2 holes, both on the product itself and on the wall. The structure should be secured with dowels.

Having a great desire and a certain amount of free time, every owner can easily make a mailbox with his own hands, without the help of professionals.