Mail Slot in the Mid-West - Does It Let the Cold In?

Updated on August 05, 2013
M.E. asks from Deerfield, IL
11 answers

We are thinking about adding a mail slot to our door instead of replacing the mail box on our front stoop. Our handyman advised against a mail slot saying that it would let cold air into the house. I've notice that there are insulated mail slots. It is very windy where we are and I do not want to install a mail slot and discover that it lets in the cold. Do you live in a cold area and use a mail slot? Do the insulated ones work? I have already called the post office and it is OK to install. We tend to keep our house pretty cold in the winter but I don't want to make it worse by cutting a hold in our door. TIA

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K.C.

answers from San Francisco on

I know you called the post office and got their approval, but I remembered seeing this article last week, so I found it for you today: http://articles.philly.com/2013-07-26/news/40795812_1_mai...

Just something to consider before you do it.

More Answers

S.G.

answers from Grand Forks on

We used to have one and it did let a lot of cold and drafts in. The first winter we lived here we blocked the mail slot off to keep out the drafts and put up a mail box. Granted, it was an old mail slot, so maybe new ones are better insulated and more energy efficient. We eventually got a new door and the front entry area was much warmer after that. I was also kind of creeped out by the idea that anyone could stick stuff through it into our house.

3 moms found this helpful

J.W.

answers from St. Louis on

First make sure a mail slot is allowed by the mail man. We had a neighbor put one in because he didn't want to walk to the end of the driveway, guess what, the mailman refused to get out of his cart! :p

Yes, they will let air in. Many older subdivisions still have them here. Never seen one that seals properly. It is not so much the insulation it is just over time the flap doesn't close right or it blows open in the wind.

Now my father the tight wad, joking, stuffs old undershirts in the bottom part of the shoot. Granted he sometimes goes a little too far and makes the mail man mad because he opens it to undershirts and no room for mail. Still pretty sure you could work through that better than my dad does. :)

Oh, door, no, can't stuff shirts in there. Yeah my grandma had an in door but she also had a storm door so it wasn't a problem.

1 mom found this helpful

M.P.

answers from Minneapolis on

First call your post office before you do that, because they may not accept a mail slot once you had mail box or other mail receptacle. They usually have requirements on how high it has to be, how wide and such. Most house that already had one, has a grandfather clause and its allowed cause it was there with the original house.

As for letting in cold.. if it has a flap both ways its not any more colder than a drafty window. Our rental house a while back had one, and it wasnt that bad since it was in the entry way no one was there sitting or anything so it didnt really make the house cold. Plus we had a storm door in front of it, which really used to tick off the mail man.

We lived in MN and have brutal winters.

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G.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

Depends on if it's on the north side where the winter wind can blow in or if it's on any other side. If the slot is on the north then it might let in more wind but not a lot.

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M.L.

answers from Colorado Springs on

Well, as you've said, cutting a mail slot is like cutting a hole in your house. Do you really want that? Is there a particular reason for doing that instead of replacing the mail box? You'd have to open the door anyway when the postman has something that won't fit in that little hole.

A storm door will help, of course, but I should think that, unless you're disabled in some way and can't get your your mailbox, a regular box would be easier.

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A.L.

answers from Austin on

If this is a costly renovation, you might want to skip it. It hasn't been finalized yet, but one of the cost-saving proposals for the post office is to end front-door delivery by 2022.

Curbside delivery will still happen (free-standing mailboxes or cluster mailboxes), but to get door-to-door, there will have to be a handicapped exemption, or you'll have to pay an extra fee for the service.

Again, it's not final, but you might want to keep an eye on this particular budget proposal before you make renovations.

http://www.wgbhnews.org/post/door-door-postal-delivery-pa...

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L.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

I rented a house in LaGrange Park where the mail slot was in the wall next to the door. It didn't seem to let the cold in, even in the dead of winter. It was basically, a receptacle outside next to the front door. Inside the house, there was a little door that I could open to get the mail. I think this little door was well-insulated. In fact, the whole house was very well-insulated, and solidly built (1950's brick house).

I would imagine that a mail slot in a door would be pretty hard to insulate. Maybe get a second opinion though. Try asking someone from Home Depot?

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M.C.

answers from Chattanooga on

We had a mail slot when I was growing up. It was actually inside a closet right next to the door. It was always FREEZING in that closet during the winter! (I don't think most people realize how much it does let the cold in, until its in a confined area... the walls have insulation, windows form a tight seal... the mail slot is a loosely fitted strip of metal on a hinge. lol.) on the plus side, all we had to do was put weatherproofing strips around the closet door, and it kept the cold in there. My grandma also installed a little basket, so she wouldn't have to bend over to pick up e mail.

Maybe, instead of doing a mail slot, you can do one of those flat mailboxes that opens from the top; then you get the convenience of having it on your doorstep, without worrying about letting the air in.

I agree to check first. I'd your mailman drives a car, chances are you won't be able to. If he has a foot route, then you have a better chance.

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S.B.

answers from Dallas on

You might want to check with your local post office before you cut a hole in your door. They may have some rules for acceptable mail receptacles. Sometimes the old ones get grandfathered in, but they may have rules for new receptacles. That would require the time of a mail person to come your door, but if the stoop is right by your door, it might be ok.

L.C.

answers from Washington DC on

A mail slot allows a draft... A gale... A giant cold wind to blow through your house. Do NOT geta mail slot. Get a new mailbox.

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