How to Set a Mailbox on Fire...

...and other tales from the crypt!

I think I got a little "big for my britches" (as my mother used to say).  Since I had a couple of successful DIY projects under my belt, the hubster and I decided to continue "increasing our curb appeal" by replacing our old mailbox.


When we bought this house it didn't have a mailbox.  Since we needed one quickly when we moved in, we just grabbed a very inexpensive mailbox kit from Home Depot...


...knowing that in the near future it would be replaced with something better, and plopped it in the ground.  Well, that "near future" happened to be 1 1/2 years later.

Now, I know at this point you're asking what all of this has to do with setting a mailbox on fire and are probably scratching your head wondering HOW one sets a mailbox on fire.  I'm also sure you are thinking that it can't be done, but you clearly do not visit our home often enough!

It started like this.... 

We were finally getting a break from all the rain and had our first pretty weekend coming up, so we decided we would change out the mailbox then.  I had found a beautiful cottage-style stacked stone mailbox post online but when I went to order it, it was out-of-stock with no one having an idea of when it would be available.  With my bottom lip in a pout, we went to Home Depot and found a cute substitute.  The idea was to replace the post and reuse the mailbox - updating it with an attractive paint color.

On our original mailbox we had used some sticky numbers, but after the Texas boiler-maker summer we had, they were in pretty bad shape.  They needed to be removed so we could spray paint the mailbox.  The hubster thought Goof Off would be a good product to try to remove said numbers....but they wouldn't budge.


I suggested maybe some heat (cuz this past summer was clearly not hot enough to make them fall off the mailbox, so more heat might do the trick, right?!) to help them lift...like a blow dryer...or better yet, a heat gun....YEAH (eyes wide while licking lips and rubbing hands together)! I was all about using the heat gun since I've never used one before.


By now, you know what's coming...the heat gun mixed with Goof Off and peeling paint....whoosh!  Fire!!  In the garage!!  On the hubster's workbench!!

The mailbox sadly, did not survive...and I think I singed some roots.

Soooooo, once we knew the house wasn't going to burn to the ground, off we trudged to Ace Hardware, smelling of smoke and covered in soot, to get a new mailbox.  The hubster shaking his head at me the entire time.  I could read his mind...he was wondering why I just didn't go boil some eggs...


Fortunately, this story has a happy ending...the new mailbox and post are in place, the mailbox is beautiful (Venetian Bronze with gold accents) and my reputation as a disaster DIY'er is perfectly intact!


Just an end note...the only way I could bribe the hubster to hurry up and replace the mailbox was to promise him he could buy those ugly overalls...

22 comments

  1. I wondered about those overalls--overhauls! Edward may start a new fashion trend because I have to say he looks very good in them. Can't you just see them on some young thing on the cover of GQ soon?

    Mailboxes are important, aren't they? Out here in the country where half of them are bashed in or whacked crooked, people tend to leave them as long as the mail stays dry. We were the only people on our side of the street who still had their mailbox on the opposite side when we moved in, a sure giveaway that the previous owners had a good-enough-is-good-enough attitude about pretty much everything. But walking across the road was something we were used to from Valley View so RH left it that way about a year. This summer he finally went through the process of getting permission from the post office to move it to our side of the road and bought one that opens from both sides, a brilliant idea.

    But your new mailbox looks spit-and-polish clean and sharp, Benita. No one would ever guess how close it came to burning your house down, and giving us an entertaining story in the process--something you do in tall Texas style, my dear, for a gal from Alabama, that is!

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    1. Thank you very much! LOL…the cover of GQ…that would definitely be something else…Farmer Ed! 😊 Edward LOVES those things…and he may be starting a trend. My neighbor told me that they saw him out in them and she told her husband he needed to get him some…LOL

      They are important and are so abused! Remember when you didn’t really have to have a mailbox…everyone just went to the post office? We lived on what was called a “Rural Route” when I was a kid and we didn’t have a mailbox for quite some time. And those blasted things are expensive…to get one that some kid walking by can’t destroy. That is pretty awesome to have one that opens from both sides. Unfortunately, we can’t put any mail to be mailed because it gets stolen. They don’t steal the mail the postman leaves thought…very strange!

      My dad used to weave some great stories together…guess I learned some of it from him! 😊 Love and hugs sweet friend and thank you again!

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  2. Loving your new mailbox but let me tell you that this post gave me a good laugh. So glad though that things didn't turn out any worse. I am quite sure your reputation is good! LOL! Hugs and blessings, Cindy

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    1. Thank you so much Cindy! We laughed after it was said and done, but it was pretty scary there for a bit! I'm glad it only burned the mailbox and not the entire house! I couldn't remember where Edward put the fire extinguisher! LOL Love and hugs!!

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  3. You know how to grab a person's attention with the title of your post! The overalls are very attractive on your HH (handsome husband). I do like the new mailbox. Well done! It is very similar to the one the Urban Farmer put up after some fool, texting on her phone, came around the corner too fast and crashed into our mailbox. She drove on down the street, streaming water and oil. P.S. I follow a lady whose husband wears his overalls everywhere, even on their Alaskan cruise. Actually they are very practical...no plumber's crack...

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    1. Thank you so much Donna! He will read this and see your comment, so he may respond to you also…LOL And thank you on the mailbox. I love the bronze with all those little sparklies in it. What a horrible ordeal! And no surprise she kept on going…they do most of the time without ever looking up from their phones! Now I’m the one busting out laughing…no plumber’s crack!!! Ba ha ha ha! And let me tell you, that is the saving grace about overalls…I’ve seen more crack on workers and it ain’t pretty!!

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  4. I recall the egg debacle! Thank goodness the fire did not ruin anything else. Be careful. This is one reason I don't do a lot of in depth DIYs. I know what is likely to happen.
    Brenda

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    1. Thank you so much Brenda! The egg debacle is still discussed in our house quite frequently! I too know what's likely to happen...it usually does...but for some reason, I just keep plugging away! :-)

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  5. HA .. so funny. And the overalls are the best. I actually have a pink pair I wear in the garden.
    xx oo
    Carla

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    1. I bet the pink ones are adorable!!! I have a pair of overall shorts and I love them! I just like giving Edward a hard time about his choice of clothing to work outside! 😊 Love and hugs!

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  6. Holy moly, girl, you had me laughing at the title, and I just knew.....the tale of the eggs did clearly come back, I remember it well. Too funny. Tell hubster at least now he can practice the singing the tune, ♫♪"Gloom, despair, and agony on me...."♫♪ now that he has the overalls. You know, just in case (ya think??) something like this might happen again.

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    1. LOL at that song...that is exactly what he sings!!! He will unbuckle one side and walk around singing that song from Hee Haw! Honey, you know something like this might happen again...it's me! And anytime I touch something, a disaster is looming in the shadows! The egg story is still pretty fresh even though it was a few years ago....he repeats it to me every time I boil eggs, which is pretty often...LOL

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  7. LOL girl you are now going to be banned from the stove and eggs and also the mail box!!! You crack me up.
    I am glad Edward is bringing overalls back into fashion!!! Lookin good! Have a good week.
    Hugs,
    Kris

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    1. LOL…It’s always a circus. But at least you see now why I’m never allowed to use power tools…no jigsaw, no circular saw, no nail gun…everything becomes a potential weapon in my hand and he tries to minimize as much damage as he can. I’m probably reduced to my paint brush now and nothing else. But I can paint like a fiend!! 😊 He is definitely making a fashion statement! Hope you are having a great week! Love and hugs!

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  8. I'm crying! Only you could think up such an inventive way to get a new mailbox out of the deal. Your roots singed made it all the better. To cheer you up, I tell this story: My ex once had an electric shaver with a loose cord. It was O-Dark-Hundred in the morning as he was getting ready to go to work. When his shaver cord slipped off his shaver yet again...he bit down on the end of the cord (other end plugged in to the outlet) and woke up slammed against the far wall of the bathroom! I laughed till I peed my pregnant pants. He did not appreciate it as he had no sense of humor. That's why he's the ex.

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    1. Thank you! :-) OMGosh!! That is hilarious! And the bigger question is WHY would he bite down with it plugged in??!!! I bet that lit him up for a week! Would he buzz when the alarm clock went off??!! I would have laughed also!! Hi-larious!!!

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  9. Ok...first of all, as far as the overalls go, I say whatever it takes to get them to DIY, it's worth it. Secondly, yeah, that would be me. I don't mess with any "tools" other than a glue gun. I consider my sewing machine a power tool. And it hates me. I'm glad you didn't burn your house down and your mailbox does look fabulous!! I think that's all that matters!! xoxo

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    1. You are exactly right…it’s all that matters! That’s why I agreed…I just wanted to get the new mailbox up. If he had asked to wear a sombrero and his boxers while putting it up, I wouldn’t have cared! Just needed it in place. 😊 I’m not allowed to touch the big tools…I’ve asked repeatedly for him to show me how to use the saw and nail gun…he always says later…when we are not rushed on a project. I have a feeling later means never! He has seen my antics with the glue gun and now the heat gun. I’m permanently banned! Love and hugs! Hope you are finally feeling better!

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  10. Gosh that must have been a little scary!
    But I think your new mail box looks super.

    All the best Jan

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    1. Jan, it was scary for a bit. But we are pleased with the new mailbox! Thanks so much! Hope you are having a great weekend!

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  11. I'm with Dewena... I like the overalls lol John won't wear them though :(

    This whole thing sounds like something I would do lol

    xoxo

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    1. I would like them better if they were a lit bit more fashionable…but these remind the hubster of his grandfather and he loved that man dearly! Yep, always nutsy around here…thanks to me! LOL Love and hugs!

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