Letterbox at bottom of door - why?

[Justanotherusername30]

Can anyone explain the reason behind wanting/designing front doors with letter boxes at the bottom?

if you have one, why did you pick that?

(question comes after a conversation with a postie friend who finds them really inconvenient!)

I think they were to prevent anyone putting their hand through and opening the door from the inside. My friend regularly does this as she locks herself out or doesn't want to carry keys.

Yes, of-course they do. Who do you think deliver all the newspapers? In my village there are three of them.

I used to live in NZ where letterboxes at the end if your drive is the norm! Lots if driveways are long and steep. It makes sense for the posties, but I do love my Mail dropping in the front door! Mostly dry & not languishing at the end of the driveway!

A neighbour of mine recently got a new front door with the letterbox just about on the ground. I don't get it, it's so thoughtless. The door is mostly solid so nothing to do with glass panels

A lot round here have these type of trendy composite doors, with a large handle. Letterboxes would interfere with the design at normal height.

think we should be like the states and have the post box at the end of the drive

Letter boxes in front doors are not uncommon in urban US.

Who do you think deliver all the newspapers?

The Internet delivers most 'newspapers' now, I don't think we could get a physical paper delivered now if we wanted one,

And flowers! 💐
Our house had a softwood door with a low letterbox when we bought it in the 80s - it was a popular style of door in the 60s/70s, with 3 vertical panels and no horizontal bar in the middle. Some had glazed panels, ours was solid wood.
(Previous door would have been a traditional four-panel Victorian one. Our vendors swapped sash windows for nasty softwood top openers too. Philistines.)
It was a very small letterbox too. Poor posties!

My daughter has 3 of these doors on her paper round she's not imaginary, paper delivery folk still exist

They are fuckers to use - especially in the rain. I agree they should be banned - and while we're at it...if you want things to be delivered through your letter box without being destroyed try not to add a spring that can double up as a guillotine!

Surely youd have to have no bones in your arm to be able to do that, at least in any door I've ever had you would, just to get your arm through never mind reach a door handle and turn it 😀

San Francisco

Pic missing

Second that.

No, you just use the opposite hand. You need fairly slim wrists though, I can't do it. A long door handle helps.

Yes! Some of them were vicious. Test your letter boxes people!

@TimeForMeToF1y

they look nice on the 'door design' websites and I can see how people order them without even thinking about the postie.

so your neighbour might not be 'thoughtless' (as in uncaring about the posties) they may just not have thought beyond 'oh that looks nice'

I could have easily been caught out myself, as I do prefer 'the look' but fortunately I did realise what a crap thing it would be to do.

Yes it is to stop being able to reach through to handle

Not ideal if you own a dog 🤣🤣🤣

I helped my son out with some leaflet deliveries a couple of months ago. I'm sure my groans were heard on many ring doorbells as I crouched down for yet another letterbox at the bottom. Damn things!

Also a whole new build estate with the same stiff letterbox, followed by the stiff brush thing in the middle, and another stiff letterbox inside. I ended up with a bruised hand doing hundreds of those!

They are for the convenience of dachshunds 😉

I'm looking for a new front door and fell in love with this one but yes, the letterbox would be at the bottom. Our door has a few steps up to it though, meaning the postie maybe find it easier? I'm going to ask him. valeantosirondoors.co.uk/products/valeantos-iron-door-front-doors-model-112?variant=39354540195913&currency=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&utm_campaign=gs-2022-05-13&utm_source=google&utm_medium=smart_campaign&gclid=CjwKCAiApvebBhAvEiwAe7mHSGJ0C5wxePUK5Zt_OZSkQx_i2ICBozUaiPQNQUfQB8WFXv8lp6HFNRoCjNAQAvD_BwE

I think the worst are the ones hinged on the shortest edge, which is at the top and very stiff.

We are thinking of putting a letterbox at the bottom because of where all the bolts etc are on the back of it there's not a good place for it to go really that wouldn't foul the security measures.

Luckily DD doesn't have any of these on her paper round (I do it for her occasionally) but she has got one that's ridiculously stiff, I cut my finger on it once.

My other pet peeve as an occasional paper deliverer is houses not having an obvious number. Sometimes in the holidays my DC and I have covered other people's rounds which aren't familiar and it is not a barrel of laughs wandering up and down a cul de sac on cold, wet, half dark mornings looking for house numbers that are almost invisible or well hidden.

I was just thinking that about the letterboxes as I pass some very low ones every day and feel sorry for the poor postie.

And as for unclear or non-existent numbers - that's difficult for so many people including, I would think, the emergency services. it should be compulsory to have a very obvious number on every property.