Hello all

There is no time to design/build our letterboxes and it will cost more. Local, bespoke manufacturers are too busy even to provide a price so we need to buy off the shelf – and order them as soon as possible as they might take a few weeks to arrive.

We have a budget of $2,400K and Maria says we could add a bit more for contingency if needed.

That number was based on 100$ per unit. So any extras for parcels and common house should be on top of that.

If we concentrate on getting the letterboxes (25 of them but without a number 13) we can design/build a parcel box to hang next to them further down the track. Box Design in Christchurch are in the process of developing one which will have a hinged, swinging top (like the after hours return one at the library) and a locked base to which all could have access keys. It will be available in about three months.

In the drawing below you will see concept Tim’s original drawing

We have been unable to source or order a bank of boxes that looks like this but you can see what the wall on which we will erect the letter boxes looks like.

A few options:

ONE: Box Design in Chch can supply us with an aluminium, powder coated bank of 25 boxes for $3800 pus GST (and probably plus cartage) but they would stick forward (sort of horizontal, rather than vertical) from the wall, as below

Metware in Tauranga could 3 x banks of 4 x 2, 4 x 2, 5 x 2, plus GST, plus design fee of $500, plus cartage for

5700.00

I have gone back to them with Tims suggestion of the illustration below but three boxes high and nine wide. I have yet to hear back from them

Alternatives

We could erect 25 individual later boxes from say Mitre10

Attached is a letter box of same width and height but not as deep (310 h, 260 w, 90 d) costing $115

Total = $2875 (without parcel box, and plus installation). This could end up looking pretty much like Tim's concept drawing.

And there two other similar, but deeper ones, both costing $87

Total = $2125 (without parcel box, and plus installation)

These two however have a newspaper space below them, but to access the newspaper would mean big gaps between boxes and aesthetically I think we would want them in close proximity to each other. Also I’m not sure about available colours.

Advantages of individual boxes.

Cheap (we might get a discount for order of 25, making them cheaper still),

We could order and have them in plenty of time, and have time to install them prior to taking up residency,

We are still free to get the good hinge-top parcel box from Box Design when they have it on the market.

Because we haven’t invested a fortune we are free to change them in a few years if we wish.

My own choice would be a cacophony of designs, styles, colours, sizes, in glorious abandon: a glorious mish-mash of fun, however I realise there is not likely to be a lot of support for that!

Over to all to discuss – but there is some urgency!

Best, Gay