Emerging Mailbox Trends Part II
Just as suburban neighborhoods grew and changed the types of mail delivery methods – from curbside mailboxes to the new cluster box units (CBU) as discussed in Part I, so too did the early tall building boom affect the handling of the mail for urban residents.
These multi-family residences and tall office buildings required new ways to collect and distribute the mail. So, the USPS created guidelines which dictated the specification of wall-mounted vertical or horizontal mailboxes in these settings.
To represent the various levels of “approval” by the USPS, these wall-mounted mailboxes were “rated”. The original vertical and horizontal type boxes were rated STD-4B and related to specific form factors and security levels of the mailbox. Eventually, a newer STD-4B+ regulation increased the security of these types of mailboxes. Then, after more than 30 years of the same regulation, the first changes to “apartment style” mailboxes were introduced in 2004.
This new regulation, STD-4C, replaces all previous regulations for mailboxes such as this which were previously approved under STD-4B and STD-4B+. (Full details of the USPS STD-4C specification are published in the Federal Register.
The STANDARD-4C (or simply STD-4C) is the current USPS regulation for any wall-mounted mailbox. This regulation came into full effect as of October 5, 2006. USPS STD-4C compliant mailboxes are now required for all new construction, and major renovations.
However, if residents would like to increase the security of their existing STD-4B products without doing a complete mailbox replacement, some manufacturers like Florence Manufacturing offer a STD-4B+ security upgrade kit for their existing mailbox products. While not able to fully bring the security up to the new STD-4C standards, these upgrade kits will enhance the security of the existing STD-4B box by hardening the arrow lock master door; typically the most vulnerable portion of older mailboxes.
The good news is that the STD-4C rules which govern design layout and installation are the same for both inside and outside applications. That means it applies to any centralized, wall-mounted mailboxes…whether located inside an office or condo high-rise, or within a new single-family subdivision as an outdoor centralized mailbox kiosk.
But be sure and remember that 4C mailboxes are much larger than their predecessor mailboxes to accommodate today’s mail size — taking nearly three times the space of any previous wall-mounted designs. So, don’t forget to include adequate space for not only the mailboxes themselves – but for sufficient maneuvering space around the mailboxes for customer mail retrieval and USPS mail loading as well.
New 4C mailboxes and cluster box units are commonly referred to as centralized mail delivery equipment – which can be in the form of any “clustered” type mailbox – including free-standing, pedestal-mounted cluster box unit (CBU), or other cluster mailboxes mounted in a wall, kiosk, or shelter.
We’ll talk more about centralized mail delivery and its benefits next week. Until that time, have a great week!
