So I came home today to see my mailbox standing up crooked. I got out and pushed it back straight. Although it doesn't want to stay completely vertical, it's close enough. The post is just loose in the ground. The lower right front corner has some damage to it but not enough to keep it from working ok. I found some bright blue and white paint on the corner. How many cars have bright blue AND white paint? It's got to have been the mail truck.

Here's the thing: It's not really enough damage to deserve replacing the mailbox. The post is loose enough to annoy me, however, I don't think I'll be living there long enough to justify digging it up and pouring cement again.

Anyone know if the ground will firm up again around it? How long you think that'll take?

I haven't decided what I'm going to do but if I were going to report this, should I call Raleigh PD since it's property damage or should I just report it to the post office?

1/18/2010 7:00:25 PM

Pack some dirt around it and it should be fine. This happens to my parents' mailbox ALL the time (but never the mailman lol).

You could report it but it'd be a waste of everyone's time.

1/18/2010 7:08:44 PM

any time a letter carrier has a collision with a mailbox or a collision with ANYTHING, he/she is immediately supposed to stop, call the supervisor and they come out, assess the damage, and take the proper action.

If you suspect it was the letter carrier, then call the post office and inquire about it. However, if it was one of the traditional mail jeeps (pictured), which part do you think hit the mailbox?
http://richkyoung.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/usps-mail-truck.jpg

1/18/2010 7:10:05 PM

Quote :

"Pack some dirt around it and it should be fine."

Cool. That's what I was figuring and hoping to hear. I'll just pack in some dirt and be done with it.

^, I think it was the front section near the blue stripe since I have that color blue paint and white paint on my mailbox.

1/18/2010 7:19:16 PM

http://www.brentroad.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=533535

1/18/2010 7:23:56 PM

^ That's usually why my parents' mailbox gets hit.

1/18/2010 7:27:05 PM

today's a federal holiday

no mailman today

(yes, you should call the police with exactly this story starting with "so, I came home today"...)

[Edited on January 18, 2010 at 7:53 PM. Reason : .]

1/18/2010 7:52:37 PM

^, sonofabitch. Good call.

Well fuck. Who do I blame this on now?

I feel a little better knowing that someone will have to repair their own car with their own money.

1/18/2010 9:11:14 PM

We filled ours in with playground sand, which worked surprisingly well and was cheaper than a bag o' dirt. The guys down the street have a lot of parties and I think they got drunk and stole the whole mailbox, because it was gone for a week and then suddenly reappeared minus the mailbox door. We replaced the actual box (which is pretty cheap if the box damage bothers you) and the sand has held up for several months.

1/18/2010 9:11:27 PM

I hammered a thin strip of scrap wood into the gap next to mine.

1/18/2010 9:24:07 PM

For Christ's sake, the man brings your worthless magazine and catalog-laden trash that you dare to call "mail" directly to your lazy, worthless ass six days a week, regardless of ice, rain or subzero temperatures. Since you can't be bother to waddle the mile or two to the post office to pick it up yourself, I would think you'd be grateful enough to this nameless servant to take your heavy ass foot and pack the dirt back in.

But I suppose you could try to get him fired instead, since you've never actually met him nor consider him an actual human being. Who gives a shit, right?

1/18/2010 9:42:09 PM

^

1/18/2010 9:49:39 PM

1/18/2010 9:51:46 PM

^^^ wow, I never realized that mailmen were volunteers

I'll be sure to leave cookies and milk by the mailbox tomorrow morning

1/18/2010 9:57:13 PM

Some people do. I've also known those who bake treats for the sanitation workers or give them gifts at Christmas. Just because you haven't included them in your personal feces-throwing monkey sphere doesn't mean others exclude them as well.

1/18/2010 10:45:50 PM

I just put a rattlesnake in my mailbox here and there.

1/18/2010 10:47:16 PM

It keeps 'em on their toes.

1/18/2010 10:57:18 PM

holy fuck

you actually made a serious thread about this.

it's been said, but

-backfill with dirt/sand
-pour some concrete in there
-or just pull it out (hehe) and start from scratch
-shim it
-don't be lazy, at most this will cost 10-15 bucks and take 20 minutes assuming you don't buy another mailbox

1/18/2010 11:09:51 PM

When mine started leaning forward I found a couple of relatively flat wedge shaped rocks, pushed the mailbox back into place, and hammered the rocks down to firm it up.

1/18/2010 11:44:40 PM

You should bring in a geologist to make sure that the tectonics there will actually support a mailbox to begin with. After that I would recommend a feasibility study, though in all honesty its going to take some significant foundation work. The process of soliciting bids should follow. Once excavation starts I would recommend bringing in an archaelogist to make sure that you aren't disturbing anything important. Scaffolding and heavy equipment rental will probably end up costing you about $4k by the time it's over. Once you figure in labor and materials the total cost shouldn't exceed $25,000.

1/19/2010 12:05:04 AM

Quote :

"For Christ's sake, the man brings your worthless magazine and catalog-laden trash that you dare to call "mail" directly to your lazy, worthless ass six days a week, regardless of ice, rain or subzero temperatures. Since you can't be bother to waddle the mile or two to the post office to pick it up yourself, I would think you'd be grateful enough to this nameless servant to take your heavy ass foot and pack the dirt back in. But I suppose you could try to get him fired instead, since you've never actually met him nor consider him an actual human being. Who gives a shit, right?"

Oh my bad, I thought that postage I was paying got the mail all the way there. Guess I misunderstood. God forbid I expect him to do his job right and not fuck up my shit.

Nowhere did I say I had a vendetta against the fucking postman cause he hit my mailbox and wanted to get him fired. Stop making shit up just so you can argue with someone. I thought for a minute, literally, that they could reimburse me for the concrete and the hour of time it would take to fix it but I judged it not to be worth the trouble.

Quote :

"don't be lazy, at most this will cost 10-15 bucks and take 20 minutes assuming you don't buy another mailbox"

Where did I say I wanted them to do it for me? No ones being lazy. This won't cost me anything if I just pack it with some fill dirt from the backyard. My mailbox has never been hit before and I wanted to make sure I could just pack in some dirt before I went and pulled it out and poured more concrete.

1/19/2010 12:23:01 AM

^^That sounds like you must be referring to a job done by the state of North Carolina.

1/19/2010 6:16:53 AM

haha i was thinking the same thing Apostle

1/19/2010 8:14:44 AM

"Who do I blame this on now?'


Karma, for being a dick over a crooked mailbox.

1/19/2010 9:30:35 AM

Quote :

"regardless of ice, rain or subzero temperatures"

Not true.

1/19/2010 10:49:22 AM