How To Make A Letter Box Secure – Ten Tips

SECURING A LETTER BOX

If you want to know how to make a letter box secure, here are ten tips to get the job done. It’s wise to fit a box on the inside of your front door. This will prevent wouldbe intruders from reaching through your letter box to open a night latch, as well as stealing your correspondence.

However, if you’re going on holiday, remove the bottom of the box first; otherwise the buildup of post will mean letters poking out of the letter box — a sure sign that the house is empty.

1. Use 10mm ply for the box and cut two 250mm X 150mm rectangles for the side panels.
2. Shape the box top for easy access; cut the tops of the side pieces at an angle of about 35°.
3. Cut the four corner pieces from a length of 13mm x 13mm batten.
4. Use a sliding bevel to mark the cutting angle to match the profile of the sides.
5. Cut the front panel from 10mm ply so that the height matches the front of the sides and the width extends at least 25mm either side of the box.
6. Fix the longer battens in position on the door.
7. Cut the fixing battens for the bottom of the box and assemble the three sides away from the door.
8. Next, fix the free edges of the panels to the battens on the door.
9. Screw a bottom panel to the underside of the battens; that way you can remove it when you go away, allowing letters to fall directly on to the floor.
10. Finally, fix the lid in place using a piano hinge cut to size and screwed to the door above the opening of the letter box.