Good Job on the mailbox. I like the part where you said this exact quote... "HOW MANY PROJECTS EVER GET DONE WITHOUT A MILLION TRIPS TO THE HARDWARE STORE"! LOL!
Instead of using a destructive pry bar to get the metal mailbox out of the brick column, I would have used a RotoZip tool with a metal cutting wheel and maybe an oscillating tool (like Fein) with the metal cutting blade inside the mailbox, cutting the mailbox in several places to remove the metal mailbox from the column in sections. Before inserting the new mailbox into the column, I would look for a few good anchor points to secure the mailbox with concrete anchor screws. I would then cut-off the wider section at the very back of the new mailbox to permit sliding it into the existing hole without having to chip away any of the mortar. You may have to use a concrete grinding wheel to knock-off any protrusions blocking the path of the mailbox. Once the mailbox was sitting inside the column loosely, mark where to drill holes for screws. Slide-out the mailbox, drill the screw holes into the mailbox, slide it back in and transfer the location of the holes with a Sharpie marker. Slide-out the mailbox, use an angle drill, if necessary, and drill your holes into the mortar for the screw anchors. Insert the screw anchors into the mortar, slide the mailbox in and secure it with the stainless steel screws. There should be very little--if any--repair work left to do on the mortar. You can optionally fabricate a back onto the new mailbox if needed, but you most likely won't need to since there's probably brick there. In the future, you can remove the mailbox just by unscrewing it and sliding it out.
Mine was mortared in all the way... Anybody can tell me why they do that??? A level 5 hurricane could not remove that... I used insulating foam inside and only mortar on the outside perimeter. Same result, less work next time for the next owner.
I've been putting this off for far too long. Now it's wintertime and my door is not closing. Who outs these inside brick and mortar and doesn't think about repairs. Ugh Time to chip away and see what happens.
Good Job on the mailbox. I like the part where you said this exact quote... "HOW MANY PROJECTS EVER GET DONE WITHOUT A MILLION TRIPS TO THE HARDWARE STORE"! LOL!
Instead of using a destructive pry bar to get the metal mailbox out of the brick column, I would have used a RotoZip tool with a metal cutting wheel and maybe an oscillating tool (like Fein) with the metal cutting blade inside the mailbox, cutting the mailbox in several places to remove the metal mailbox from the column in sections. Before inserting the new mailbox into the column, I would look for a few good anchor points to secure the mailbox with concrete anchor screws. I would then cut-off the wider section at the very back of the new mailbox to permit sliding it into the existing hole without having to chip away any of the mortar. You may have to use a concrete grinding wheel to knock-off any protrusions blocking the path of the mailbox. Once the mailbox was sitting inside the column loosely, mark where to drill holes for screws. Slide-out the mailbox, drill the screw holes into the mailbox, slide it back in and transfer the location of the holes with a Sharpie marker. Slide-out the mailbox, use an angle drill, if necessary, and drill your holes into the mortar for the screw anchors. Insert the screw anchors into the mortar, slide the mailbox in and secure it with the stainless steel screws. There should be very little--if any--repair work left to do on the mortar. You can optionally fabricate a back onto the new mailbox if needed, but you most likely won't need to since there's probably brick there. In the future, you can remove the mailbox just by unscrewing it and sliding it out.
Oh, boy... At least wife was happy, as you destroyed a lot of stuff :) I will do it this weekend...
Mine was mortared in all the way... Anybody can tell me why they do that??? A level 5 hurricane could not remove that... I used insulating foam inside and only mortar on the outside perimeter. Same result, less work next time for the next owner.
I've been putting this off for far too long. Now it's wintertime and my door is not closing. Who outs these inside brick and mortar and doesn't think about repairs. Ugh
Time to chip away and see what happens.
Ummmmmm.... what about the roof of the mailbox stand? It is probably the REAL cause of the problem.
Putting a metal mailbox inside a pile of bricks and concrete is idiotic. But, given that, why didn't you just replace the door?