My mailbox is in front of my house and unfortunately lies along a
concave curve, not very sharp, but sharp enough that either the mailman
or a car has hit it three or four times over a couple of decades.

The box itself is bolted to a 4x4, then this goes into a patented flex
adapter that allows the top 2 feet of post and the mailbox to flex if
anyone touches it. The bottom 2 feet or so then feeds into a 4x4
bracket that is bolted to a concrete sidewalk at the four corners of the
bracket with 5/8" lag bolts and lead anchors in the concrete.

Although the lag bolt/ lead anchor system has worked, one or more of the
bolts seems to work out over time making the bracket and therefore the
entire box and post unstable. This week after the box was struck by the
mailman and toppled over, I was thinking of changing out the lag bolts
for something else. I wasn't sure what. I spotted some "wedge anchors"
in the hardware store, specifically for concrete, but no one there could
tell me how they worked. I was also thinking of using some sort of
concrete epoxy to glue stainless steel studs into the concrete and then
just attach the bracket with ss nuts.

Not sure if I should do it or not. The lead anchors seem to "give" if
anyone hits the box, but concreted studs probably won't.

Opinions welcome and thanks in advance.

On Saturday, December 14, 2019 at 11:34:02 AM UTC-5, dusty wrote:
My mailbox is in front of my house and unfortunately lies along a
concave curve, not very sharp, but sharp enough that either the mailman
or a car has hit it three or four times over a couple of decades.

The box itself is bolted to a 4x4, then this goes into a patented flex
adapter that allows the top 2 feet of post and the mailbox to flex if
anyone touches it. The bottom 2 feet or so then feeds into a 4x4
bracket that is bolted to a concrete sidewalk at the four corners of the
bracket with 5/8" lag bolts and lead anchors in the concrete.

Although the lag bolt/ lead anchor system has worked, one or more of the
bolts seems to work out over time making the bracket and therefore the
entire box and post unstable. This week after the box was struck by the
mailman and toppled over, I was thinking of changing out the lag bolts
for something else. I wasn't sure what. I spotted some "wedge anchors"
in the hardware store, specifically for concrete, but no one there could
tell me how they worked. I was also thinking of using some sort of
concrete epoxy to glue stainless steel studs into the concrete and then
just attach the bracket with ss nuts.

Not sure if I should do it or not. The lead anchors seem to "give" if
anyone hits the box, but concreted studs probably won't.

Opinions welcome and thanks in advance.

I guess it depends on what you think will happen if the anchors don't give
way, ie how that flex thing will work. If that will flex, no damage to it
or the box, then stronger anchors would help. If stronger anchors mean
that the box get damaged, then I'd rather buy a few bucks worth of anchors.
As to what's better than the old lead anchors, no experience there.
But I'd bet googling for best fasteners for concrete would yield results.

I'd also tend to doubt it's the mailman hitting it, unless he's a reckless
one. He's on the side of the vehicle by the box, pulling up to it, seems
easy to avoid hitting it. If you're really interested and want to spend
a few bucks, you could get a wireless camera for a PC and record what's
going on, but if it's only once every few years, probably not worth it.
Around here, it's typically snow plows that do the damage, either with
the force of snow or hitting it.

On Sat, 14 Dec 2019 11:33:58 -0500, dusty wrote:

My mailbox is in front of my house and unfortunately lies along a
concave curve, not very sharp, but sharp enough that either the mailman
or a car has hit it three or four times over a couple of decades.

The box itself is bolted to a 4x4, then this goes into a patented flex
adapter that allows the top 2 feet of post and the mailbox to flex if
anyone touches it. The bottom 2 feet or so then feeds into a 4x4
bracket that is bolted to a concrete sidewalk at the four corners of the
bracket with 5/8" lag bolts and lead anchors in the concrete.

Although the lag bolt/ lead anchor system has worked, one or more of the
bolts seems to work out over time making the bracket and therefore the
entire box and post unstable. This week after the box was struck by the
mailman and toppled over, I was thinking of changing out the lag bolts
for something else. I wasn't sure what. I spotted some "wedge anchors"
in the hardware store, specifically for concrete, but no one there could
tell me how they worked. I was also thinking of using some sort of
concrete epoxy to glue stainless steel studs into the concrete and then
just attach the bracket with ss nuts.

Not sure if I should do it or not. The lead anchors seem to "give" if
anyone hits the box, but concreted studs probably won't.

Opinions welcome and thanks in advance.
Wedge anchors work very well.(Rawl Bolt, Hilti Kwik-Bolt or
Strong-Bolt or even the Paulin Papc - although not as good as the
Hilti oe Rawl ) I've had good luck with Rawl over the years _ I think
they hold better even than the Hilti for your application .
The R-XPTII-A4 Stainless Steel Rawl would be my recommendation

In article , dusty wrote:

My mailbox is in front of my house and unfortunately lies along a
concave curve, not very sharp, but sharp enough that either the mailman
or a car has hit it three or four times over a couple of decades.

The box itself is bolted to a 4x4, then this goes into a patented flex
adapter that allows the top 2 feet of post and the mailbox to flex if
anyone touches it. The bottom 2 feet or so then feeds into a 4x4
bracket that is bolted to a concrete sidewalk at the four corners of the
bracket with 5/8" lag bolts and lead anchors in the concrete.

Although the lag bolt/ lead anchor system has worked, one or more of the
bolts seems to work out over time making the bracket and therefore the
entire box and post unstable. This week after the box was struck by the
mailman and toppled over, I was thinking of changing out the lag bolts
for something else. I wasn't sure what. I spotted some "wedge anchors"
in the hardware store, specifically for concrete, but no one there could
tell me how they worked. I was also thinking of using some sort of
concrete epoxy to glue stainless steel studs into the concrete and then
just attach the bracket with ss nuts.

Not sure if I should do it or not. The lead anchors seem to "give" if
anyone hits the box, but concreted studs probably won't.

Opinions welcome and thanks in advance.

Dusty-

Consider making the installation more flexible, not more rigid.

What about a simple post that would be easy to re-plant if toppled?

Take a look at "Tie Down Engineering 43016 Mail Box Post Kit". It
appears to screw into the ground.

Fred

On 12/14/2019 09:33 AM, dusty wrote:
My mailbox is in front of my house and unfortunately lies along a
concave curve, not very sharp, but sharp enough that either the mailman
or a car has hit it three or four times over a couple of decades.

The box itself is bolted to a 4x4, then this goes into a patented flex
adapter that allows the top 2 feet of post and the mailbox to flex if
anyone touches it. The bottom 2 feet or so then feeds into a 4x4
bracket that is bolted to a concrete sidewalk at the four corners of the
bracket with 5/8" lag bolts and lead anchors in the concrete.

Although the lag bolt/ lead anchor system has worked, one or more of the
bolts seems to work out over time making the bracket and therefore the
entire box and post unstable. This week after the box was struck by the
mailman and toppled over, I was thinking of changing out the lag bolts
for something else. I wasn't sure what. I spotted some "wedge anchors"
in the hardware store, specifically for concrete, but no one there could
tell me how they worked. I was also thinking of using some sort of
concrete epoxy to glue stainless steel studs into the concrete and then
just attach the bracket with ss nuts.

Not sure if I should do it or not. The lead anchors seem to "give" if
anyone hits the box, but concreted studs probably won't.

Opinions welcome and thanks in advance.

Do you have a source of small stones?

https://www.hunker.com/13425436/how-...-stone-mailbox

On 12/14/19 10:33 AM, dusty wrote:
My mailbox is in front of my house and unfortunately lies along a
concave curve, not very sharp, but sharp enough that either the mailman
or a car has hit it three or four times over a couple of decades.

The box itself is bolted to a 4x4, then this goes into a patented flex
adapter that allows the top 2 feet of post and the mailbox to flex if
anyone touches it.Â* The bottom 2 feet or so then feeds into a 4x4
bracket that is bolted to a concrete sidewalk at the four corners of the
bracket with 5/8" lag bolts and lead anchors in the concrete.

Although the lag bolt/ lead anchor system has worked, one or more of the
bolts seems to work out over time making the bracket and therefore the
entire box and post unstable.Â* This week after the box was struck by the
mailman and toppled over, I was thinking of changing out the lag bolts
for something else.Â* I wasn't sure what.Â* I spotted some "wedge anchors"
in the hardware store, specifically for concrete, but no one there could
tell me how they worked.Â* I was also thinking of using some sort of
concrete epoxy to glue stainless steel studs into the concrete and then
just attach the bracket with ss nuts.

Not sure if I should do it or not.Â* The lead anchors seem to "give" if
anyone hits the box, but concreted studs probably won't.

Opinions welcome and thanks in advance.

Maybe something more flexible would be better:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/vusp7ef

On 12/14/2019 11:33 AM, dusty wrote:
I was also thinking of using some sort of concrete epoxy to glue stainless steel studs into the concrete and then just attach the bracket with ss nuts.


Bingo!

On Sat, 14 Dec 2019 12:57:02 -0500, Fred McKenzie
wrote:

In article , dusty wrote:

My mailbox is in front of my house and unfortunately lies along a
concave curve, not very sharp, but sharp enough that either the mailman
or a car has hit it three or four times over a couple of decades.

The box itself is bolted to a 4x4, then this goes into a patented flex
adapter that allows the top 2 feet of post and the mailbox to flex if
anyone touches it. The bottom 2 feet or so then feeds into a 4x4
bracket that is bolted to a concrete sidewalk at the four corners of the
bracket with 5/8" lag bolts and lead anchors in the concrete.

Although the lag bolt/ lead anchor system has worked, one or more of the
bolts seems to work out over time making the bracket and therefore the
entire box and post unstable. This week after the box was struck by the
mailman and toppled over, I was thinking of changing out the lag bolts
for something else. I wasn't sure what. I spotted some "wedge anchors"
in the hardware store, specifically for concrete, but no one there could
tell me how they worked. I was also thinking of using some sort of
concrete epoxy to glue stainless steel studs into the concrete and then
just attach the bracket with ss nuts.

Not sure if I should do it or not. The lead anchors seem to "give" if
anyone hits the box, but concreted studs probably won't.

Opinions welcome and thanks in advance.

Dusty-

Consider making the installation more flexible, not more rigid.

What about a simple post that would be easy to re-plant if toppled?

Take a look at "Tie Down Engineering 43016 Mail Box Post Kit". It
appears to screw into the ground.

Fred

You could also make it far more rigid and know who was hitting it
because they would still be there. ;-)

A common thing here is 3 "piling cutoffs" (6-8" round scraps from dock
builders) cut at an angle and wrapped with thick rope for a nautical
look. Sunk 3 or 4 feet in the ground, they don't move.

In alt.home.repair, on Sat, 14 Dec 2019 11:33:58 -0500, dusty
wrote:


The box itself is bolted to a 4x4, then this goes into a patented flex
adapter that allows the top 2 feet of post and the mailbox to flex if
anyone touches it. The bottom 2 feet or so then feeds into a 4x4
bracket that is bolted to a concrete sidewalk at the four corners of the
bracket with 5/8" lag bolts and lead anchors in the concrete.

Instead of bolts and lead anchors, you should use molly bolts.

Drill a 3/8" hole into the ground until you get to the hollow part, and
that will determine how long the screws should be.

In alt.home.repair, on Sat, 14 Dec 2019 13:16:17 -0600, Dean Hoffman
wrote:

On 12/14/19 10:33 AM, dusty wrote:
My mailbox is in front of my house and unfortunately lies along a
concave curve, not very sharp, but sharp enough that either the mailman
or a car has hit it three or four times over a couple of decades.

The box itself is bolted to a 4x4, then this goes into a patented flex
adapter that allows the top 2 feet of post and the mailbox to flex if
anyone touches it.* The bottom 2 feet or so then feeds into a 4x4
bracket that is bolted to a concrete sidewalk at the four corners of the
bracket with 5/8" lag bolts and lead anchors in the concrete.

Although the lag bolt/ lead anchor system has worked, one or more of the
bolts seems to work out over time making the bracket and therefore the
entire box and post unstable.* This week after the box was struck by the
mailman and toppled over, I was thinking of changing out the lag bolts
for something else.* I wasn't sure what.* I spotted some "wedge anchors"
in the hardware store, specifically for concrete, but no one there could
tell me how they worked.* I was also thinking of using some sort of
concrete epoxy to glue stainless steel studs into the concrete and then
just attach the bracket with ss nuts.

Not sure if I should do it or not.* The lead anchors seem to "give" if
anyone hits the box, but concreted studs probably won't.

Opinions welcome and thanks in advance.

Maybe something more flexible would be better:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/vusp7ef

It looks like a good idea, but the photograph of the parts doesn't match
the picture of the two round rods, slided at an angle so the thing
returns to facing the street. They're not in the picture of the parts
-- which is probably wrong, but I would ask.

Here is another style:
https://www.amazon.com/Swing-Clear-R...115844-3833201

I'm not recommending one over the other.

My mailbox is in front of my house and unfortunately lies along a
concave curve, not very sharp, but sharp enough that either the mailman
or a car has hit it three or four times over a couple of decades.

The box itself is bolted to a 4x4, then this goes into a patented flex
adapter that allows the top 2 feet of post and the mailbox to flex if
anyone touches it.* The bottom 2 feet or so then feeds into a 4x4
bracket that is bolted to a concrete sidewalk at the four corners of the
bracket with 5/8" lag bolts and lead anchors in the concrete.

Although the lag bolt/ lead anchor system has worked, one or more of the
bolts seems to work out over time making the bracket and therefore the
entire box and post unstable.* This week after the box was struck by the
mailman and toppled over, I was thinking of changing out the lag bolts
for something else.* I wasn't sure what.* I spotted some "wedge anchors"
in the hardware store, specifically for concrete, but no one there could
tell me how they worked.* I was also thinking of using some sort of
concrete epoxy to glue stainless steel studs into the concrete and then
just attach the bracket with ss nuts.
Not sure if I should do it or not.* The lead anchors seem to "give" if
anyone hits the box, but concreted studs probably won't.
Opinions welcome and thanks in advance.

Maybe something more flexible would be better:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/vusp7ef

It looks like a good idea, but the photograph of the parts doesn't match
the picture of the two round rods, slided at an angle so the thing
returns to facing the street. They're not in the picture of the parts
-- which is probably wrong, but I would ask.

Here is another style:
https://www.amazon.com/Swing-Clear-R...115844-3833201
I'm not recommending one over the other.


I kinda like the general idea - of both of these devices -
but I'd be tempted to get a local welder to build
something a little more .. Amish.
John T.

On Sat, 14 Dec 2019 16:16:23 -0500, micky
wrote:

In alt.home.repair, on Sat, 14 Dec 2019 11:33:58 -0500, dusty
wrote:


The box itself is bolted to a 4x4, then this goes into a patented flex
adapter that allows the top 2 feet of post and the mailbox to flex if
anyone touches it. The bottom 2 feet or so then feeds into a 4x4
bracket that is bolted to a concrete sidewalk at the four corners of the
bracket with 5/8" lag bolts and lead anchors in the concrete.

Instead of bolts and lead anchors, you should use molly bolts.

Drill a 3/8" hole into the ground until you get to the hollow part, and
that will determine how long the screws should be.
Same thing as what I recommended - Molly was one brand I missed.
Basically a wedge anchor bolt.

dusty wrote:
My mailbox is in front of my house and unfortunately lies along a
concave curve, not very sharp, but sharp enough that either the
mailman or a car has hit it three or four times over a couple of decades.

The box itself is bolted to a 4x4, then this goes into a patented flex
adapter that allows the top 2 feet of post and the mailbox to flex if
anyone touches it. The bottom 2 feet or so then feeds into a 4x4
bracket that is bolted to a concrete sidewalk at the four corners of
the bracket with 5/8" lag bolts and lead anchors in the concrete.

Although the lag bolt/ lead anchor system has worked, one or more of
the bolts seems to work out over time making the bracket and therefore
the entire box and post unstable. This week after the box was struck
by the mailman and toppled over, I was thinking of changing out the
lag bolts for something else. I wasn't sure what. I spotted some
"wedge anchors" in the hardware store, specifically for concrete, but
no one there could tell me how they worked. I was also thinking of
using some sort of concrete epoxy to glue stainless steel studs into
the concrete and then just attach the bracket with ss nuts.

Not sure if I should do it or not. The lead anchors seem to "give" if
anyone hits the box, but concreted studs probably won't.

Opinions welcome and thanks in advance.

Use something like this or a wedge anchor. They won't fail.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Simpson-...-RP2/100375203

Clare Snyder wrote:
On Sat, 14 Dec 2019 16:16:23 -0500, micky
wrote:

In alt.home.repair, on Sat, 14 Dec 2019 11:33:58 -0500, dusty
wrote:

The box itself is bolted to a 4x4, then this goes into a patented flex
adapter that allows the top 2 feet of post and the mailbox to flex if
anyone touches it. The bottom 2 feet or so then feeds into a 4x4
bracket that is bolted to a concrete sidewalk at the four corners of the
bracket with 5/8" lag bolts and lead anchors in the concrete.
Instead of bolts and lead anchors, you should use molly bolts.

Drill a 3/8" hole into the ground until you get to the hollow part, and
that will determine how long the screws should be.
Same thing as what I recommended - Molly was one brand I missed.
Basically a wedge anchor bolt.

3/8"? Molly bolts?

Look at my two suggestions and add an epoxied threaded rod to that.

On Sat, 14 Dec 2019 22:06:15 -0500, Alex wrote:

Clare Snyder wrote:
On Sat, 14 Dec 2019 16:16:23 -0500, micky
wrote:

In alt.home.repair, on Sat, 14 Dec 2019 11:33:58 -0500, dusty
wrote:

The box itself is bolted to a 4x4, then this goes into a patented flex
adapter that allows the top 2 feet of post and the mailbox to flex if
anyone touches it. The bottom 2 feet or so then feeds into a 4x4
bracket that is bolted to a concrete sidewalk at the four corners of the
bracket with 5/8" lag bolts and lead anchors in the concrete.
Instead of bolts and lead anchors, you should use molly bolts.

Drill a 3/8" hole into the ground until you get to the hollow part, and
that will determine how long the screws should be.
Same thing as what I recommended - Molly was one brand I missed.
Basically a wedge anchor bolt.

3/8"? Molly bolts?

Look at my two suggestions and add an epoxied threaded rod to that.
IIRC you can get the hilties in half inch