5 Tips for Choosing an Access Mailbox

Emails and messages in instant messengers have replaced a huge amount of paper correspondence, but humanity will hardly be able to completely abandon it in the coming years. Utility bills, periodicals, important letters from government agencies and banks still come in paper form, and this is not counting advertising booklets. For all this, mailboxes are installed in each staircase. Probably, each of us is familiar with this simple design, but, nevertheless, not everyone thinks that the boxes are different. Some, for example, are deformed one month after installation and are opened with a simple paper clip or with a gentle palm stroke, while others are protected from breaking and advertising. So it's not as easy as you might think. Let's deal with the intricacies of choosing a mailbox for the entrance.

Types of Mailboxes

What is a mailbox? This is a container for letters, newspapers and other correspondence; the postman and the addressee have access to it. Mention of the first mailbox dates back to the 16th century. Then in Florence, near the main church communities, boxes were installed with a gap at the top. Everyone could throw an anonymous letter, reporting a possible enemy of the people. Many years passed, but the idea of ​​a mailbox did not undergo significant changes.

All mailboxes are divided into two fundamentally different types:

• for outgoing letters - These are the boxes that hang in the post offices;
• for incoming mail - those boxes in which the postmen dump all correspondence intended for a specific addressee.

Mail employees can dump incoming correspondence into a cell in subscription mailbox. Such are installed in post offices, and a person needs to go there from time to time and check letters. It’s not very convenient, but nothing will be lost for sure and will not be stolen by hooligans. This type of mailbox is often used by legal entities, as well as individuals who are very worried about the safety of their letters and newspapers. Mailboxes installed in close proximity to the addressee's place of residence have become much more popular. Yes, yes, these are the very boxes that meet us at the entrance to the entrance. We will talk about them.

Access mailboxes can be divided into several types:

• single-section or individual. IN tenement houses rarely used. This is an option for private homes and offices. Nevertheless, in some entrances you can see similar products. Some tenants just want to stand out. Someone receives a lot of correspondence and prudently installs a larger box so that the paper does not wrinkle in the standard cell of a multi-section box. There are also private entrepreneurs and legal entities, they receive more correspondence and put forward increased security requirements for their mailbox, and you can put a lock more securely in your individual locker;
• multi-section boxes - classics of the genre. Their slender rows are usually placed immediately after the front door, or on the landing between the first and second floor. Usually use vertical boxes, the number of sections will vary, varies from 4 to 10, but any configuration can be created on order. Horizontal placement of boxes is extremely rare, and then only in small houses.On the door of each box there is an apartment number and a keyhole. Correspondence enters through the gap provided for this. Typically, the doors of drawers are made deaf, and to understand if there is anything inside, a person needs to open the drawer and look. There are more thoughtful models with a transparent window. The recipient will immediately see if there are new letters in the box. Such an analogue of the indicator of new messages in the smartphone. A transparent insert is made of durable plastic, but even despite the resistance of the material to mechanical damage, these types of boxes are recommended to be placed in porches with a concierge;
• vandal-proof mailbox outwardly very similar to the usual vertical multi-section, but if you look closely slots for correspondence cannot be detected in it. Such a hole can be used not only by the postman, but also by attackers to steal letters, as well as to distribute advertising. The design of the anti-vandal box takes into account all the risks. How does correspondence get into such a design? Everything is simple. The postman has a key to the whole section of boxes, he opens them, throws them in each letter and closes the entire section. The recipient with his key can open only his box. Another difference is thicker steelwhich can not be crushed with a light blow. In addition, locks are used more burglar-proof than in conventional drawers. It turns out that annoying ads will not get into your mailbox, and it will be very difficult to damage the cell. Such boxes are recommended to be placed in houses without protection.
  Mailboxes from a warehouse in Moscow from the manufacturer

  
  

Metal thickness

The vast majority of mailboxes are made of steel. Low-cost products are covered with a layer of ordinary paint, more expensive models get a durable and durable powder coating, which is excellent protects metal from corrosion. The life of the box and the safety of correspondence is affected not so much by the type of coating as the thickness of the metal used.

The metal may have a thickness of 0.5-1 mm. Crates made of steel 0.5 mm thickare inexpensive, and therefore they are often installed in the most common entrances of five- and nine-story houses. But such savings will soon come to the residents sideways. Thin steel is very easy to bend. This can happen even from a not very strong blow, when something more or less overall is brought into the entrance. It becomes difficult to use deformed cells; the question arises of buying new boxes or constantly repairing existing ones. In general, such a saving in most cases does not bode well.

If you want to buy a durable product, then pay attention to boxes with steel thickness 0.7-0.8 mm or more. In anti-vandal models, thick enough steel is always used. Yes, such products are more expensive, but also serve many times longer, preserving the original appearance and ensuring the safety of incoming correspondence.

The mailbox can be made of wood. This is very rare and, rather, exclusive. Such models are placed in the entrances of elite houses, where every detail should talk about the status of residents.

Mailbox lock

There are two types of mailbox locks:

• mounted;
• mortise.

Padlocks used primarily to protect individual mailboxes. The degree of burglary resistance can be different, but most of these locks will not be able to resist the bolt cutter, which is enough to just bite the handle. If you receive serious documentation by mail, then the castle will have to choose the most reliable. But here it is worth remembering that he will save from hooligans, but hardly from experienced thieves. If your correspondence is extremely important and may contain secrets and secrets, then it is better to send it by registered mail or rent a mailbox at the post office.

Most commonly used mortise locks. These are very simple designs, the main element is the tongue, which, when the lock is opened, rotates 90 degrees and stops holding the drawer door. Much less common are locks like door crossbars. Such designs show themselves more reliably, they are more difficult to crack, but they also cost more.

Mortise locks for a mailbox come in several forms:

• with a diameter of 20 mm - the most popular option, suitable for boxes made of thin steel;
• a lock with a diameter of 25 mm is placed in boxes of thicker steel, it is more difficult to crack;
• locks with a diameter of 30 mm are intended for wooden boxes, this is a rarity.

In addition to locks with ordinary keys, there are also combination locks. Their advantage is that you can’t simply open them with a paper clip or master key, but it makes sense to spend money on such a lock only if your correspondence contains extremely important or secret information.

The cheapest are Chinese castles, and in most cases there will be enough of them. If only receipts arrive in the mailbox, then more is not required. If there is a sense in additional protection, then pay attention to the products of European manufacturers. Some Russian companies are also showing good performance.

When they put mailboxes in the stairwell, then they set standard locks on everyone. Of course, everyone will have different keys - even the simplest locks have at least 500 different key combinations. In addition to the standard one, everyone has the right to put his own lock in order to strengthen the protection of the box. Putting a lock will be easy with your own hands, if you know how to handle drill and follow the installation instructions.

Mailbox color

About the color of the mailbox, few seriously bother. The walls in all porches are usually painted, plastered or whitewashed in neutral shades. It is white, gray or cream color. Beige drawers work well with beige and white walls, and gray with gray. However, all these neutral shades are in perfect harmony with each other. Many manufacturers can color to your taste. So, for example, if the entrance of an elite house is decorated in a classic style with forging and dark wood elements, then the boxes can be made brown using the powder painting method. Such products look very elegant. In modern homes often put boxes of bright colors.

When it comes to individual boxes, there are many more options. This is any color, an interesting design with imitation of antique, for example.

note on boxes with a transparent insert on the door. It allows literally at a glance to understand whether there is a letter inside. Very convenient and practical, but a little more expensive than a box with blank doors.

What else to consider when choosing?

When buying mailboxes for an apartment building, you must:

• immediately calculate how many boxes and how many sections you need. If, for example, the house has 36 apartments (the standard when placing 4 apartments on each floor of a 9-story building), then you can take six 6-section boxes, or four 9-section ones - the choice depends on how much space is allocated for boxes in the entrance , as well as personal preferences;
• think over the location of the boxes. The most popular option is the first floor, but if there is not enough space there, then the boxes can be installed between the first and second floors. Other options are used less frequently;
• Choose products that match the class of the apartment building. Thin gray lockers in an elite new building and powerful, obviously expensive drawers in the entrance will look equally ridiculous typical Khrushchev;
• give preference to drawers in which there is a back wall;
• pay attention to roominess. Most boxes have angled sections. This design allows for the minimum occupied space to provide the ability to put correspondence in A4 format in a box and not to wrinkle it. The sizes of the boxes differ, but not significantly.If you can look at the product before buying, try putting a magazine in the box;
• do not forget about numbering of boxes. Most manufacturers and sellers of these products offer special nameplates that can be easily glued or mounted on boxes. Of course, you can save on this expense item - just print all the apartment numbers and gently stick them to the boxes. It is better if all the boxes get numbers in the same style, because if one cabinet is signed with a marker, the other with a pen, and the number is attached to the third, like on the front door, then this composition will look ridiculous. Well, if at the entrance everyone will not care, but the perfectionists will clearly be annoyed by this state of affairs.

Choosing a mailbox for an apartment building is a simple matter, but still it’s worth knowing some nuances before buying in order not to make a mistake.