- Image by louisa_catlover via Flickr
How big, and high, should your letterbox be?
If you’re building a letterbox you should be aware that Australia Post do offer recommendations on letterbox sizes, a copy of which you can see here.
Specifically the letterbox should be large enough so that an envelope can be inserted through the slot and lie flat inside the letterbox.
Australia Post advise certain minimum dimensions for any letterbox to allow this.
It should be 23 centimetres wide at a minimum, 33 centimetres deep from the front to the back and a minimum of 16 centimetres high. These minimum dimensions for any letterbox allow for the of an A4 envelope and allow it to lie flat.
They also advise that although there are minimum dimensions for the slot in the letterbox it should not be large enough for someone to put their hand through. There would seem to be several obvious reasons for this, and in particular that if someone can put their hand through the slot into the letterbox then it is possible for them to steal your mail.
Of course this is also possible if you leave your letterbox unlocked, however this is the Australia Post recommendations.
The letterbox should be placed somewhere where your postie is able to access it easily, and commonly this is next to your driveway out of the way of allowing your postie easy access directly to the letterbox.
You should avoid allowing plants to grow up around it impeding access to the letterbox.
It is also important that it not be too high or too low so that the postie has easy access directly from his motorbike or car, and Australia Post recommendations are that it is between 90 centimetres and 1.2 metres in height. Read the rest of this entry