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I have a standard wood mailbox post with mailbox attached, at the end of my property near the street.
A week ago the next door neighbors had a friend visiting and the friend backed into my mailbox post. I saw it happen from my window. By the time I got dressed and outside the friend was gone. I went to the neighbors and they were aware of the accident and said they'd take care of it.
(BTW, this is the second time my mailbox has been run into by this neighbor -- first time a few months ago it was the wife who did it and this time it was their friend who was staying with them.)
The first time the neighbors replaced the post and mailbox entirely with what I specified, as both were damaged, and they had a handyman do the install. I wanted the post painted white like the previous one was and I even had paint ready to use. The neighbor said he'd do it (the painting the post part) instead of having the handyman do it. He never got to it and I wanted it done, so after waiting several days after the new post & box were installed, I just painted it myself. I was annoyed, but it got done.
This time, as before, the neighbor said he'll take care of getting my mailbox repaired.
Well...you can guess where this is going...
It's been a week and I've already texted neighbor a few days ago to remind him. He says he doesn't need to pay a handyman to do it, he can do the repair himself since the post itself is fine, the mailbox is undamaged, and the post just needs to be re-seated and he said he's done that before. Then he added he needs a tool to do the digging and re-seating...but has said nothing since then nor did he commit to when he would do this repair.
My spidey-sense tells me he's procrastinating or will blow this off since the post isn't broken and it's upright, though a bit wobbly in the disturbed ground.
My choices are:
- Continue to nag him to get it done
- Hire someone myself to do the work (I'm unable to do it as I don't know how nor am I strong enough)
Frankly I'm annoyed because I shouldn't have to bear the cost of the repair nor should I have to nag him about it. Although it was his friend who caused the damage he (neighbor) took responsibility for it. At the same time I don't want to create a contentious and awkward situation with a next door neighbor.
Should be less than $50 to hire someone to re-seat the post, right? I'm obviously going to have to hire someone to get it done.
Last edited by lottamoxie; 09-14-2019 at 11:05 PM..
Well, if it is a neighbor, I would not want this to spark some adversarial relationship with him, not for something so low in cost. Sometimes it is best to let things go a bit to save a whole lot of potential issues later. So I would just fix it myself, maybe ask one more time in a pleasant manner.
I cannot stand people like this, ok, you broke something, I do not care, just fix please. At one of my rentals, a neighbor had a visitor that parked half off the street into the grass, it was wet, and sort of tore up a little area. They told me about it, they fixed it right away.
Sometimes it is best to let things go a bit to save a whole lot of potential issues later. So I would just fix it myself, maybe ask one more time in a pleasant manner.
I'm unable to physically re-seat the post myself, so the only 2 options are:
I am sorry this happened to you, your neighbor is a jerk! Go to nextdoor.com sign up for you area. Then post about your mail box( not about the neighbor just someone hit it) , tell them you need help. Explain your not strong enough to do it yourself. You would be surprised how many people will help.
I wouldn't bother using concrete at the base. Instead, just dig a hole and put it directly in the ground and tamp the dirt back around the base of the post. It doesn't need to be anchored in concrete. While you are at it, you might move it to a better location where it is not in the direct line of where people are backing out, or inset it a bit (if possible) so that it is less likely to get bumped.
Our mailbox has been knocked down many times. It has been hit by a few people backing out of our driveway. It has been backed over by the school bus and the road grader got it once. I kind of figure as it is out on road side, so it probably is going to happen now and then. Have never tried to track anyone down to pay for it. It would take more time and arguing to get that done and then plus you get the reputation for being the grumpy old man in the neighborhood.
I wouldn't bother using concrete at the base. Instead, just dig a hole and put it directly in the ground and tamp the dirt back around the base of the post. It doesn't need to be anchored in concrete. While you are at it, you might move it to a better location where it is not in the direct line of where people are backing out, or inset it a bit (if possible) so that it is less likely to get bumped.
Our mailbox has been knocked down many times. It has been hit by a few people backing out of our driveway. It has been backed over by the school bus and the road grader got it once. I kind of figure as it is out on road side, so it probably is going to happen now and then. Have never tried to track anyone down to pay for it. It would take more time and arguing to get that done and then plus you get the reputation for being the grumpy old man in the neighborhood.
1. The post was originally installed with various braces (other pieces of wood) under the dirt to help anchor it, there is no concrete there and for a repair there likely won't be any concrete used then either. It needs to be "re-seated" with the appropriate anchors of wood pounded back in place.
2. I witnessed the vehicle backing out of the neighbor's driveway and swinging over and into my mailbox; it was a friend who had been visiting the neighbor for several days. I didn't have to track down anyone. The neighbor told their friend not to worry, they'd take care of it, and the friend left.
3. I spoke to the neighbor less than 10 min after their friend left. The neighbor knows I witnessed the post being hit as I told him. Note: this is the second time in 4 months that this neighbor has caused damage to my mailbox/post, as detailed in my original post. Neighbor's wife is the one who backed into my mailbox a few months ago.
4. I'm female and as I said in my post upstream I do not have the physical strength (or the necessary tools) to fix this myself. No family or friends who could do it. I'd have to hire someone.
5. I've used Nextdoor.com to hire other professionals for projects in the past, I'm not worried about finding someone to do the job. I'm just annoyed that I'll have to pay for it.
Last edited by lottamoxie; 09-15-2019 at 09:13 AM..
I feel like pursuing the neighbors to take care of damages that they did not cause does not make for good neighborly relations.
You could simply hire a handyman to not only reinstall the mailbox, but also move it several feet over, because apparently it's in vulnerable spot. That would be what I would do, just to save myself further aggravation.
For future reference, file a police report as soon as it happens and then just file a claim against the driver for property damage.
Edited to add: You could actually still go this route.
Last edited by Dragonmam; 09-15-2019 at 09:14 AM..
Reason: add info
I agree with the above advice — do not use concrete to set the post — you will regret it later. The neighbor needs a deadline, as in “fix it by this date or I will hire someone to fix it and you can pay the bill”.
The person who caused the damage drove away before I could get outside to get their info, so I don't know who they are and they don't live in this area as they were visiting from out of town. IF I had the driver's information I would pursue the issue with them directly and not involve the neighbor, but the neighbor didn't give me their friend's info and the neighbor told me he'd handle it for their friend.
There is no better spot to relocate the mailbox post as there's just a narrow strip on either side of my driveway and all the driveways are clustered together on my side of the street, one right after the other for about 5 houses. I could put the post on the narrow strip on the other side of my driveway but the mailbox would still be vulnerable to being hit by people going into or backing out of the house on the other side. I've lived in my house for over 13 yrs and this is the only time I've had someone back into my mailbox -- 2 times in 4 months, both from that one neighbor, who has lived in that house for a couple years.
I promise I will *not* allow any concrete to be used to re-anchor/re-seat the post. It wasn't used before.
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