Vertical Mailbox Units Are Ideal Retrofit, Replacements, And Very Small Buildings

Vertical mailboxes are USPS approved for retrofit and replacement under security requirements of USPS-STD-4B+ regulations

. They are not approved, however, for major renovations or new constructions in larger buildings. However, small buildings with fewer than 10 tenants can install them under code.

Check with your vendor to make certain your building meets with code before doing so.

As indicated by the word "vertical" in their name, individual compartments run from the top down. When people retrieve their mail, they open the doors like hinges, which swing open from right to left. Mail carriers front load the boxes by unlocking an access door and rotating the boxes forward on a radial arc, allowing them to place mail in the appropriate boxes like conveniently arranged slots.

Some organizations use vertical mailboxes for internal, private mail. These organizations include colleges, schools, and inter-departmental mail in major corporations. Government agencies often deliver internal mail in this way. Units are fitted with master commercial locks with two keys are provided to accommodate this function.

Front loading is advantageous because it eliminates the need for a corridor behind the mailboxes for the mail carrier to use for loading. This saves on building space, and it saves on mail delivery space.

Vertical mailboxes are used by many different organizations. Small apartment complexes use them, as do fourplexes and duplexes. Condominiums also buy them, as well as mobile home parks.

In the business world, this style of mailbox is highly favored by the small multi-tenant office building and the small outdoor commercial office park built around a central courtyard.

These mailboxes are manufactured in groups ranging between 3-7 boxes each. In facilities that require more individual mailboxes than this, a group of these units can be installed next to one another to achieve the desired number of individual boxes.

Vertical mailboxes can either be surface mounted or recessed mounted. Surface mounted mailboxes extend outward from the wall and hang on its surface. Surface mounted units are more convenient to install, provided the wall is flat.

Recessed mounted models look more attractive because they are flush with the wall, and they have a frame-like border that surrounds them. They are also better for saving space because they do not protrude into the hallway.

While it is completely optional, most organizations prefer to order the mailbox with an outgoing mail compartment that has a slot on the left hand side of the compartment. The slot measures 4 and three-eighths inches and one-half inch in height.

This outgoing mail compartment is for all the tenants to collectively deposit their mail in prior to the carrier collecting it. When an organization orders a mailbox unit with an outgoing mail compartment, they have it added as one extra compartment in addition to each compartment needed for every individual mail recipient.

USPS regulations require that new build outs add an outgoing mail slot for every 10 mailbox compartments.

Vertical mailboxes are made of 100 percent, heavy-gauged extruded aluminum. A powder coated finish protects them from rust and corrosion. They can be painted, however, to look brass, bronze, sandstone, or even green.

by: Patricia Holland

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