Approved traditional or contemporary curbside mailboxes are required whenever a mailbox is newly installed or replaced. However, a custom-built curbside mailbox may be used if the postmaster gives prior approval and if the mailbox conforms generally to the same requirements as approved manufactured curbside mailboxes. A mailbox should display the street name and house number or, if house numbers are not authorized, the assigned box number on the side of a single mailbox or on the doors of grouped mailboxes visible to the approaching carrier. There are different rules for cluster mailboxes and apartment mailboxes.

The street number, box number, and/or any other address information must be inscribed in contrasting color in neat letters and numerals not less than 1 inch in height. Customers are encouraged to group commercial mailboxes whenever practical, especially where many mailboxes are located at or near crossroads, service turnouts, or similar locations. If the mailbox is on a street other than the one on which the customer resides, the street name and house number must be on the mailbox. It is generally in the customers’ best interest to display their address on both sides of the box. Police, fire, and rescue personnel often depend on mailbox information to locate people, and they may approach from a different direction than the carrier. In all instances, placing the owner’s name on the box is optional. Generally, customers should install mailboxes with the bottom of the mailbox at a vertical height of between 3 1/2 to 4 feet from the road surface. However, because of varying road and curb conditions and other factors, the Postal Service recommends that customers contact the postmaster or carrier before erecting or replacing mailboxes and supports. There are commercial mailboxes for sale on the internet you should consider them as wise options.

Many municipalities are requiring homeowners to disconnect their downspouts from the municipal sewer systems for environmental reasons. Even if your downspout empties onto your lawn, redirecting it into a “bog” or wetland garden is an effective water conservation method and an alternative to a rain barrel as a way to capture rainwater for your garden.

The many impermeable surfaces (roads, sidewalks, driveways, patios, buildings…) in cities prevent rainwater from being absorbed into the land to recharge groundwater. Instead, rainwater and snowmelt run off these surfaces into sewers, picking up dirt, oils, pesticides and other pollutants along the way. Then, the water entering storm sewers flows out in a concentrated and often polluted rush at single points along nearby waterways. This rush of water can cause erosion, wash away fish-spawning beds and cause other damage to the waterways’ ecology.

By redirecting storm water from your roof to your garden, you can reduce that impact. Besides, rainwater is healthier than municipally-treated water for our gardens, as some plants are sensitive to chlorine and other additives. Create a native plant wetland garden at the end of your downspout and you’ll virtually eliminate the need for watering, fertilizing and pesticides. Your garden will become both an attraction for pollinating insects like butterflies and bees, as well as a thing of beauty. Some of the most beautiful and unusual of our native plants thrive in the wet, acidic conditions that characterize a bog. Once completed, your bog garden will look like any other but you will only need to water it during the most severe droughts.

Rain Chains are a decretive and efficient way to move water into a rain barrel or just to the ground. They can be attached either to a gutter or scupper. there are lots of models those you can fit with your house's style. copper rain chains are made from copper. it's easy to install into your rain gutter and it's non-corrosive material. your garden rain chains definitely deliver water to your garden and you will save water more efficiently. just simply install gutter rain chain into your house rain gutter and watch the water flows and start watering your plants, or deliver the water into your rain barrels then you can use the rain water for other purposes efficiently.