MrsFychan

ok so the postman doesn't take the extra 20ft it would need to put mail through a letter box in the front door. No we have to have a post box at the start of the land (bottom of small drive for us). So how on earth are we to keep the post dry? any tips on good rain proof letter boxes are is it just a case of another little quirk of living in NZ

jmh

Ours is at the end of the right of way so it's quite a trek out there. I would probably stump up for a good quality one with a decent sized cavity.

I so love the UK way of the post through the door. Even when I lived on a third floor flat the post and the paper came through the door.

BEVS

Tough one MrsF.

Whichever box you choose , you have to rely on the postperson actually putting the post into the box in it's entirely. What we've seen and experienced is that often it is partway sticking out and so subject to the elements. I once had what was obviously a calendar folded into 3 and then stuffed partway out in the drizzle.

From this, I have just decided that a MEGA LARGE postbox with a huge slit and a canopy over the top of that is the way to go. <nods head at the idea >

Bo-Jangles

Yes, wet and snail chewed mail is the bane of my life and particularly horrible when you get sodden wet bithday cards with photos and the like enclosed. I think the only way around it is to get a PO Box at the Post Shop

You have to check out the post office regulations with regards to standards required for your letterbox.

It's not suffice to whack up a box it has to be the right height and have the right amount of spring in the opening. I got a letter from the Post Office telling me mine was not of the right standard and was apparently impeding Mrs Postie from doing her job properly as she had to stop and get off her bike to deliver my mail.

Bo-Jangles

Just in case you think I am kidding, I had no idea until we were threatened with having our mail withheld:

http://www.nzpost.co.nz/home/receivi...specifications

Snap Shot

Ye gods Bo ! It beggars belief, oh, that's right, we're in New Zealand. Oh I better admit right now I didn't read the link. Just sympathising with your post.

Hey, that's an unintentional pun, honest !

I had no idea mail boxes could be so traumatic. 'I want my letterbox back' is one of my whines in NZ. You know, a proper one in the effing door. None of this miniature chicken coop in the fence business.

We purchased our mail box last year from the d.i.y. Mega Store that is Mitre 10. This was so the carpenter could cut a hole for it in the new fence he had built for us. I just assumed it would be ok. No complaints so far.

Except for some comedy dvd's my husband had ordered from Amazon arrived yesterday. I'm glad I fetched them out of the mail box at lunchtime as it poured with rain all yesterday afternoon.

One postal operative had the intelligence to put a larger than average envelope around the back of the house.

However, I too have had my share of soggy mail.

What's wrong with having it all on the floor behind the front door when you walk in so you can tread on it ? That was ok, that worked.

jmh

Actually it's quite a good idea to have the larger opening at the front rather than the back. It means the postie is more likely to put large post in the box properly. I have one of those because ours are built onto a fence and our post is not often wet. The Herald sometimes need a dry out though.

Charismatic

Personal preference really isn't it?

kaihoe

If we all had slots in our front doors there would be nothing for the vandals to damage at the weekends...!!!

Bo-Jangles

Blooming things have a life off their own, eh? Out of site at the end of the driveway misbehaving when they cant be seen, it seems quite a lot of them are prone to playing with the traffic and jumping out in front of fast moving cars.

Snap Shot

Oh ok, fair's fair !!

MrsFychan

this thread has gone weird

Charismatic

Though, this being BE, it's all relative .

kiwigeordie

You also have to remember some of the unfriendly dogs that people have roaming their properties.
If the postie had to negotiate them to reach a letter box in the door it could be messy.
Pete

ellenarosemary

Our letter box is useless, enclosed at the front, totally open at the back, consequently if the wind and rain is at a certain angle everything gets soggy - the amount of post and flyers etc which have become paper-mache I have lost count. At least a company from which I ordered a book from recently had the sense to put it in a sealed plastic bag inside the large brown envelope before posting, as the envelope had all but disintegrated by the time I retrieved it.