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The Mail Must Go Through
Apr. 12th, 2025 11:22 pmSam was good enough to come over today and help me remove the old mailbox post, which was sunk in quick-setting cement when we originally installed the beastie. This was made much easier, because Sam brought along a jack of ginormous size. When the chain was attached to a bolt that he threaded through one of the holes in the steel post (normally hidden; now a twisted ruin inside the outer aluminum post), the whole assembly lifted easily out of the ground. This made it possible to throw that mess in the trash and finish digging out the new hole.
The big problem was that the hole in the ground was much larger than the amount of cement that we wanted to put into it. At this point, Sam suggested running to Home Depot and picking up some Sonotube to use to confine the cement. This seemed not entirely unreasonable, even it it turned the project into a two-tripper. I noted that I had a big sheet of corrugated cardboard in the garage that might be cut for this purpose.
And then I realized that I had the box that the new mailbox had come in. Half of that, sunk into the ground and surrounded by dirt, was just about the right size for the cement pour. Adjustments were made, the box placed in the ground, and the cement poured in. K was good enough to come out and help, attaching the hose to the well-covered spigot in the front of the house so that we could easily add water to the mix.
After that, we went in to rest for an hour while the cement set around the post (enough). K was delegated to comb through the removed dirt to remove the larger rocks and chunks of concrete and throw them in the trash. We then filled in the hole with dirt, attached the mailbox with minimum difficulty, and declared victory.
The new mailbox is slightly shorter than the old one, but appears to be within regulations. And just *slightly* further away from the curb, although I think there is no possible (legal) placement of the box that will prevent some damned fool from backing into it. (The previous mailbox was -- with high likelihood -- destroyed by one of the city snowplows backing up into it.) The new box is black, so it will contrast well with snow and sky, assuming that drivers bother to look.
I am considering the virtues of an international orange mailbox. I am not sure if anyone makes one.
And when I checked the new box late this afternoon, it contained mail.
The big problem was that the hole in the ground was much larger than the amount of cement that we wanted to put into it. At this point, Sam suggested running to Home Depot and picking up some Sonotube to use to confine the cement. This seemed not entirely unreasonable, even it it turned the project into a two-tripper. I noted that I had a big sheet of corrugated cardboard in the garage that might be cut for this purpose.
And then I realized that I had the box that the new mailbox had come in. Half of that, sunk into the ground and surrounded by dirt, was just about the right size for the cement pour. Adjustments were made, the box placed in the ground, and the cement poured in. K was good enough to come out and help, attaching the hose to the well-covered spigot in the front of the house so that we could easily add water to the mix.
After that, we went in to rest for an hour while the cement set around the post (enough). K was delegated to comb through the removed dirt to remove the larger rocks and chunks of concrete and throw them in the trash. We then filled in the hole with dirt, attached the mailbox with minimum difficulty, and declared victory.
The new mailbox is slightly shorter than the old one, but appears to be within regulations. And just *slightly* further away from the curb, although I think there is no possible (legal) placement of the box that will prevent some damned fool from backing into it. (The previous mailbox was -- with high likelihood -- destroyed by one of the city snowplows backing up into it.) The new box is black, so it will contrast well with snow and sky, assuming that drivers bother to look.
I am considering the virtues of an international orange mailbox. I am not sure if anyone makes one.
And when I checked the new box late this afternoon, it contained mail.