Table of Contents
Introduction
Our cedar mailboxes date back more than fifteen years and many of them are showing signs of age. Some of the problems are rotted posts, rusting doors, and cracked and peeling paint.
A committee was formed to develop a remediation plan. It consists of Suzie Severson, and Sayed Ahmed.
Mailboxes Sources
Local Suppliers
Local is attractive because of no shipping cost to Ann Arbor. Still, we will have to pick up items and move them to our site.
Fingerle Lumber
Fingerle gave us a quote for mailboxes. The price does not include installation. In many cases mailboxes can be ganged together to reduce the number of posts. No newspaper box is included here.
| Cedar Mailbox Post CC5R | CC1R Red Cedar Rural Mailbox | CC-2R Cedar Chalet Mailbox |
| $49.95 ea | $29.95 ea | $59.95 ea |
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Home Depot
Gibraltar Arlington
This mailbox looks and feels extremely durable. Looks even more attractive in-person.
SKU: 248050
Price: $49.75ea
Delivery: approx. 3 weeks
Orders starting at $2500 are routed through their Pro Department where they will quoted with a discount (Sharon 734-975-4783).
Online Suppliers
Double, Triple and Quadruple Configurations with newspaper boxes
Remediation Plan
- Survey existing condition: DONE written survey and photo survey (McMillan)
- Write out a parts description for full replacement: DONE
- Get quotes for new mailboxes: DONE
- Get quotes for repair of existing mailboxes: All VENDORS REFUSED
- Gather samples of proposed mailboxes (salsbury shipped on 4/18/2011)
- Solicit neighborhood input: meeting held attended by 12 of 36 households (ten for new mailboxes, two against)
Quotes
Approaches
- do nothing
- repair: replace only failed parts and apply a coat of paint
- replace all
- with something similar to existing boxes
- with upgrade on mailbox only
- with upgrade to low-maintenance materials (e.g. cast aluminum) for all parts
Another possibility is to try to take the Home Depot Mailbox below and fit it to the parts from Salsbury Industries (motivation is that HD mailbox is half of salsbury price yet still made of a durable looking cast aluminum).
Original Documents
Parts description
Quotes should be for the following:
- 10 double units: two mailboxes, two newspaper boxes, twin spreader (horizontal member), post, and address on each door - installed
- 5 triple units: three maiboxes, three newspaper boxes, triple spreader, one or two posts, and address on each door - installed
Currently, there are eleven double mailboxes, four triple mailboxes, and a single mailbox. We can combine 2009 Tibbits with 2019/2029 to turn one of the doubles into a triple.
The mailbox materials are left open to start. They eventually need to be specified. The current mailboxes are thin sheet steel boxes ($20) embedded in a decorative cedar housing (?$). A sturdier and longer lived alternative is the aluminum die-cast mailbox, but we should also consider lower cost alternatives.
Color must also be selected
Survey
| address | mailbox | covering | newspaper box | posts | flowerbox |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2112 | F | F (warp,chip) | F | G G (cuff) | F |
| 2106 | B (dent,rust) | F (warp,chip) | F | ||
| 2100 | B (dent,rust) | F (warp,chip) | F | ||
| 2070 | G | F | G | G (cuff) | G |
| 2060 | F (rust) | G | G | ||
| 2050 | B (dent) | F (chip) | F (rust) | F | F |
| 2040 | B (dent) | F (chip) | G | ||
| 2030 | G | B | B | B B (rot,cuff) | F |
| 2020 | B | B (dmg) | F | ||
| 2010 | B | B (dmg) | F | ||
| 2009 | F (dent,rust) | B | F | F (cuff) | N |
| 2019 | F (dent,rust) | B | G | B B (rot) | B |
| 2029 | F (dent,rust) | B | G | ||
| 2039 | F | B | F | B (crack,cuff) | B (warp) |
| 2049 | F (rust) | B | G | ||
| 2059 | F (rust) | B | B (crack) | F (crack,cuff) | F |
| 2069 | F (rust) | F | F | ||
| 873 | G | F | F (rust) | B B (rot,cuff,crack) | G |
| 881 | G | F | G | ||
| 2111 | B (rust, dmg | F | G | ||
| 866 | F (rust) | F (chip) | F | F (crack,cuff) | F (chip) |
| 856 | F (rust) | F (chip) | F | ||
| 846 | B (rust) | F | F (chip) | F (cuff) | F (chip) |
| 836 | G | B (dmg) | F (crack) | ||
| 857 | G | F (chip) | B (crack) | G | F (chip) |
| 865 | G | F (chip) | F | ||
| 841 | F (rust) | F (chip) | B (crack) | B (crack,rot,cuff) | F (chip) |
| 849 | B (dmg) | F (chip) | F | ||
| 817 | F (rust,chip) | F (chip) | B | F B (rot,cuff,crack) | B (rot) |
| 825 | F (rust) | F (chip) | F | ||
| 833 | F (rust) | F (chip) | F | ||
| 816 | F (rust) | F (chip) | F | B (crack) | B (crack, rot) |
| 806 | G | B (dmg) | G | ||
| 801 | F (rust) | F (chip) | B (crack) | F (crack, cuff) | B (warp) |
| 809 | F (rust) | B (dmg) | F |
B - bad F - fair G - good N - none
- chip - painted is chipped
- warp - boards are warped
- dent - dented
- rust - either sheet metal or fasteners showing rust
- cuff - missing or rotted post cuff
- rot - wood shows rot
- crack - wood is cracked
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Notes
Associations and Mailboxes
Lake Forest Highlands has a procedure for mailbox replacement.