Mail Box for Garage Door Mail Slot

[summer2007]

I have a mail slot in my garage door and the mail just falls on the ground.


I have been trying to build a box for it to land into but I'm not sure on the design.

I just wanted to see if anyone built on of these and how you did it?

Jim

 

[REWahoo]

No reason to make something, just buy yourself one of these custom mail receptacles:

 

[Rustward]

If your garage door is an overhead one you may want to attach REW's custom mail receptacle to the door with one hinge, just under the mail slot to prevent dumping of mail when the door opens.

 

[Bestwifeever]

And then put one of these near the custom mail receptacle (roll logs from junk mail as well as newspapers)

Lehman's - Products for Simple, Self-sufficient Living

 

[UncleHoney]

Hang a basket on a small hook under the door slot. It will pivot as the door goes up and not dump the mail.

Link to mail baskets. Bottom of the page.

Mail Slots for Doors in Bronze & Brass. Mail Baskets, Mailbox Slots & Mailslot Hardware

A funny story about mail slots in doors.

Neighbors had a mail slot in their front door. They had their hardwood floors refinished and then the postman delivered the mail. They didn't get home till the varnish was nice and dry.

 

[TromboneAl]

Although it might be aesthetically pleasing and fun to have the mail drop into a well-designed little box, why not just let it fall on the ground? Unless there are muddy tire tracks there, or puddles of water, leaving it alone could be the simpler solution.

 

[Westernskies]

Do you have a cat?

 

[harley]

We just used a cardboard box under the slot. Of course we weren't using the garage for a car so we didn't need to worry about running over it.

 

[skyline]

Cheap and simple: Attach a cardboard box to the garage door just under the slot with a few screws/washers so it can catch the mail and you don't need to worry about driving over it. My box was free (Amazon delivery box), and it's lasted almost ten years now.

 

[kaneohe]

One consideration if you put something up......will it fill up if you are on an extended vacation. Carriers tend to be unthinking sometimes....they just keep stuffing until things stick out and everyone knows you're not home.
I made a custom box out of wood and eventually just removed the back and put a cardboard box underneath to take of this problem. If the door is up the carrier can't reach the slot anyway and just puts it in the
cardboard box.

 

[TromboneAl]

I remember a cartoon that that showed a house with two mail slots labeled "Mail" and "Junk Mail." The junk mail slot was above a garbage can.

 

[harley]

One consideration if you put something up......will it fill up if you are on an extended vacation. Carriers tend to be unthinking sometimes....they just keep stuffing until things stick out and everyone knows you're not home.
I made a custom box out of wood and eventually just removed the back and put a cardboard box underneath to take of this problem. If the door is up the carrier can't reach the slot anyway and just puts it in the
cardboard box.

We travel back and forth beteen our two homes fairly constantly, so I make great use of the online Hold Mail feature with the USPS. They don't mind (I asked them), and it solves the above issue nicely. I guess if you don't trust your Postal employees it would be an issue, but our mail gets delivered at our rural location. The employees are very nice and friendly, so its not a problem.

 

[Ronstar]

We travel back and forth beteen our two homes fairly constantly, so I make great use of the online Hold Mail feature with the USPS. They don't mind (I asked them), and it solves the above issue nicely. I guess if you don't trust your Postal employees it would be an issue, but our mail gets delivered at our rural location. The employees are very nice and friendly, so its not a problem.

Thanks for the online Hold Mail info! We travel frequently and I hold the mail at the post office. But I always rush to the post offive at closing time to fill out the paperwork. What a PITA.

 

[summer2007]

Thanks everyone

What happens is the mail lands in melted snow and gets wet. Also who ever delivers the mail seems to push the mail through the slot kind of hard and it goes all over the place.

I worked on it yesterday. I put a few screws in the door to hold a small box by the lid so that it will pivot if the door is opened....time will tell if it works ok or not.

Jim

 

[harley]

Thanks for the online Hold Mail info! We travel frequently and I hold the mail at the post office. But I always rush to the post offive at closing time to fill out the paperwork. What a PITA.

Yeah, it was great when I found it. It requires an end date, but I always set it up so that I come in to pick up the accumulated mail. They don't restart delivery until I come get it, so even if we stay away longer than expected the mail gets held. Again, this might be because of the rural mail office. I doubt they'd be so accomodating back in good old Northern VA.