How to Build a Brick Mailbox

You’ve got a beautiful home, a manicured lawn, award winning rose bushes. And to top it all off—a $19 tin can mailbox that leans 28 degrees to the left.

Not to worry. A brick mailbox is not only a great way to add curb appeal, it’s a fairly simple project when you follow these steps:

Before you Begin
Before you drag out the shovels and trowels and before you don your ripped up work jeans, there are a couple of quick items to check off your list.

• Check your local building codes to determine any special requirements for this type of project.
• Contact your local post office to ensure your mailbox is within their guidelines.
• Determine the size of your mailbox, brick colors, etc.

Site Preparation
Start by removing your old mailbox. This will be the first of many gratifying moments during this project. If you feel the need to stomp, bash or otherwise ceremoniously destroy the old mailbox, feel free to do so at this point.

If your old mailbox post was set in concrete, you’ll have to dig out all the old concrete before proceeding.

Footing
With your old mailbox removed, you can start digging for the footing. The footing will serve as the base for your new mailbox, so it’s important to get it right. If your new mailbox has the same 28-degree lean as your old one, you’ll know you’ve done something wrong.

Start by excavating an area slightly larger than the size of the mailbox. Your footing should be approximately 8” deep. Again, check your local building codes for specific guidelines.

With your hole completed, it’s time to pour the footing. Quikrete or a similar product works well for this type of application. Keep in mind that once poured, you’ll have about 45 minutes to work the concrete. So now’s probably not the best time to take a lunch break.

The essential part of pouring your footing is ensuring it is absolutely level. A good tool for this is—you guessed it, a level. Use a trowel and a carpenter’s level to make sure your footing is plumb. Once level, your footing needs approximately 7 days to cure. So now IS probably a good time to take a lunch break.

Foundation
It’s been a week and your footing is completely cured. Now you’re ready to lay the foundation. Each course of your foundation will consist of two 8” x 8” x 16” concrete blocks placed side by side. Using a trowel, mark the footing where the first course of blocks will sit.

Once the footing is marked you’ll need to set the blocks in place with mortar. Over the next few hours, you’ll become very familiar with mortar—mortar on the hands, mortar on the shoes, mortar in the hair…probably even mortar in the mouth at some point. Don’t worry it’s non-toxic—unless you eat an entire wheelbarrow full.

Apply a generous line of mortar to the area you’ve marked for your blocks. Then lay the blocks side by side, pressing them firmly into place.

Build your second tier by applying mortar to the top of the first tier of blocks. Remember to lay the second tier of blocks opposite or perpendicular to the first tier.

Laying Brick
With two levels of foundation in place, you can now begin laying your first course of brick. This is the fun part where your mailbox actually begins to take shape—a square shape hopefully.
It’s a good idea to dry-fit the brick around your foundation. It’ll help you get an idea of how many bricks you’ll need and generally help you get a feel for laying brick before the project is set in stone…or mortar in our case.

Apply plenty of mortar to the footing where your first course will start. Lay the first brick and press it gently into the mortar. Before laying the next brick, apply a layer of mortar to one end then butt it against the first. Repeat, repeat, repeat…

Continue working your way around the base of the foundation until the first course is complete. At this point check to make sure the course is plumb and level. Make any necessary adjustments, then begin the subsequent courses, staggering the joints as you go. Also, don’t forget to work the mortar between each brick with a joint tool to create a neat concave joint.

Enclosing the Mailbox
You’ve laid several courses of brick, completing the lower portion of your mailbox. Now it’s time to enclose the actual mailbox within the brick structure.

You’ll want to purchase a new mailbox, probably because the old one was rusty, dented, scratched or maybe because you destroyed the old mailbox in step one. Either way, make sure to position your mailbox so the door has plenty of room to open and close. Also, and this is kind of a no-brainer, if the mailbox has a flag on the side, you’ll want to remove it.

When your mailbox is where you want it, make a couple of locator marks on the brick and the mailbox itself. Then remove the box and put down a heavy layer of mortar. Set the box on top of the mortar and press down gently.

Now that your mailbox is set, there are a couple of different ways to enclose it. In this article, we’ll use a vertical course.

A vertical course is just that. A series of bricks laid vertically on end rather than flat. Depending on the size of you mailbox, the vertical course should be tall enough to fully enclose the mailbox on either side. You can then return to laying horizontal courses and fill in the gaps around the mailbox with mortar.

Continue laying horizontal courses—three or four should do it—until your mailbox structure is at the desired height.

Cap it Off
The simplest way to “cap off” your project is with a pre-formed concrete capstone. These capstones give your mailbox a nice finished look and are relatively easy to install. Simply put down a thick layer of mortar over the top course of brick and have a friend help you lift the capstone into place (they’re not light). Then just make sure the capstone is centered properly on the mailbox and you’re done.

Clean Up
Your final step will be clean up. Aside from the regular tool and work area cleanup, you’ll need to remove loose particles of mortar from the mailbox. To do this, simply wait a few hours for the mortar to set up, then run a heavy brush along the joints to wipe away excess mortar.