DIY mailbox that looks like a wooden house

DIY Mailbox

If you searched Google and Pinterest (like I did) for mailbox styles, you likely found thousands of mailbox designs resembling everything from a modern mailbox house to a farmhouse design. We opted to “wing it” and make a mailbox that resembled a simple clean line house and painted it the same color as our house.

We measured the existing mailbox base and decided to customize the new mailbox house to the existing dimensions. Someday we will add a new mailbox post and base (the base is what your mailbox sits on and is attached to) but for now, the mailbox is the first priority.

We used pressure treated wood as it’s weather resistant and will not rot.

This mailbox diy post is something that we used left over scrap wood from a previous project so it didn’t cost us a lot of money. You will need to invest a small amount of money to purchase the following materials/supplies.

I would say this is an intermediate diy project as you will need some knowledge about cutting wood angles and have the correct saws to complete the project.

DIY Mailbox Supplies needed:

1″ pressure treated wood, 1 1/4″ finish nails, finish nail-gun, compressor, 1 1/4″ galvanized screws, miter saw, table saw (or have your wood pre-cut at your local lumber store)  3M Tekk Protection safety glasses, 3M Patch Plus Primer, 3M Wood Filler, 3M Advanced Abrasives sandpaper, 3M Tekk Protection digital WorkTunes Hearing Protector, paint and mail box accessories (flag, knob and house number).

DIY Mailbox Base Wood dimensions:

• 1″ x 7″ cut to the length of 17 1/4 “
• (2) 1″x3″ cut to the length of 17 1/4″
• (2) 1″ x 3″ cut to the length of 8 1/4″

We used a finish gun to nail the sides to the base. Once you are finished with each section, you will need to reinforce the areas that you nailed with galvanized screws to ensure stability.

In our case, we need to make sure the plow trucks don’t send our little o’l homemade mailbox for a ride during the winter snowy months.

This part fits right on top of our existing mailbox base.

Next we cut our sides of the mailbox. Be sure to wear safety glasses.

While my dad was cutting the rest of the wood, I listened to some tunes on my 3M Tekk Protection headphones (which are kind of cool I might add) and screwed the base together. They play am/fm radio or you can use your ipod.

TIP: Don’t forget as you work, to reinforce with screws.

Wooden DIY Mailbox – Dimensions

• Mailbox Bottom dimension: 1″ x 10″ cut to the length of 20″ (1 piece)
• Mailbox Side dimensions: 1″ x 7″ cut to length of 20″ (2 pieces).
• Nail the mailbox bottom and sides to the base.

You will need to flip the box over in order to nail the sides to the base.

Wooden Mailbox Roof dimensions:

1″ x 7″ cut to length of 22″ (2 pieces)

We cut the “peak” of the roof at a 30 degree angle using our miter saw. We assembled the roof together before we added it to the sides of the mailbox.

3M Tekk Protection offers clear and a sunglass version of safety glasses. My dad wanted the regular eye safety glasses so I wore the sunglass version. I thought my sunglasses were quiet stylish. The nice part about the sunglasses, you can still see to work! They do not make everything super dark.

Mailbox End front piece dimension:

You will need to make a door as well as a 30 degree peak for the front of your mailbox.

We cut the piece (with our miter saw set to a 30 degree angle) to fit up into the peak of the roof first and then nailed it to the roof part of the mailbox.

See the 30 degree angle below with a length of 8 1/2 ” long by 4 1/4 ” high.

Nail this piece up under the roof in the front (where your door goes). See below.

Next cut a smaller piece (same as above) but only 3″ high. You need to do this in order for your door to have something to rest against or you may need to use a magnet set on the door to keep it closed.

Mailbox Door dimension:

Our door is 8 1/2″ wide by 7″ high. Use a piano hinge or side bolts to assemble the door to the mailbox. We used a piano hinge.

Do the same for the back of the mailbox except you do not need to make a door. I decided that I wanted it to be two pieces because I wanted a bit of dimension, not all one piece. You can do either but I liked the option of being able to paint the back piece a two-toned color. You will see what I mean at the end once it is all painted.

Now it was time to fill the holes, sand and paint our homemade house mailbox.

I let my son try out the headphones and he loved listening to his kidz pop tunes while he was teaching himself how to make a mailbox. So cute!

Viola, the diy wooden mailbox project is complete!

The old mailbox was literally hanging by a nail! I should note, this project took place at our old house (which you can take a tour of by clicking through this post, “our multigenerational home for sale.“)

DIY Mailbox Post

We used our old round metal mailbox post and added a new frame bracket underneath our DIY mailbox to fasten. I thought I had pictures of the rusted mailbox post but I seem to have lost them! I ended up spray painting the old post black to give it a new fresh look.

You could purchase a cast aluminum, stainless steel or even a vinyl mailbox post.

Another option would be to make a DIY mailbox post out of 6×6 cedar or pressure wood which are both weather/rot resistant. Cedar would add natural charm but would most likely cost more.

You can add whatever decorative elements you want or even stencil your name or house number. I chose to purchase the aluminum black numbers and I spray painted a wooden knob as the door pull.

I decided to the paint the mailbox similar colors to our home to coordinate the two.

I also spray painted the existing metal mailbox post a deep brown color and it actually looks brand new!

Save or Print this mailbox makeover tutorial below.

Keep in mind there are several curbside mailbox options (some that are even extra large if you get a high volume amount of mail) and if you are not game for making your own, you can always install a plastic mailbox or a galvanized steel mailbox with several mailbox features.

Locking mailboxes are great for wall mounted versions on your house and offer a variety of features that normally are not on curbside mailboxes.

A DIY mailbox that looks like a wooden house may seem overwhelming at first and I won’t lie, I was a little overwhelmed when we started this project but as we got going, it moved right along.

Total time for the project was 2.5 hours constructing and another 3 hours prepping for paint and adding the accessories.