The Finishing Touch

Is your mailbox up to par?
by Monica Young
Article reprinted courtesy of Triad Living Magazine.

The landscaping is finally blooming and growing to fruition. Your lawn is lush and green. The exterior of your home has been maintained to keep it attractive. But... your mailbox is leaning to the side. It is the second time you've replaced the wooden post, just to have it rot, have the paint peel in the blistering sun and become a blemish on the property you've pampered.

"Nothing is more distracting to a home than a mailbox that has deteriorated," says Anne Kerr Walker of Prudential Carolinas in Clemmons.

Piedmont Mailpost Systems agrees. Owners Leigh and David Kiser travel throughout the Piedmont and as far as Richmond, Charlotte and Raleigh distributing their product. They believe that if you don't notice their mailboxes, then they have done their job.

"We're not trying to make the mailbox the centerpiece," says David.

Instead, they are offering homeowners, builders and developers mailboxes that come in three different lines, all relatively maintenance-free. The cast iron and steel combinations offer the most choices. The posts are made from steel as are the newspaper holders. The decorative brackets and finials are made from cast iron. The cast aluminum Imperial line is all-cast and is the top of the line. The company also offers decorative vinyl for a crisp look that is a more user friendly option to wood.

"We sell to developers and builders for a more uniform look," says Leigh.

Subdivision planners have started realizing that uniform mailboxes add to a design's beauty. It minimizes visual distractions and keeps focus on the architectural attraction of a neighborhood's plan.

"In neighborhoods such as Greenbrier and other upscale neighborhoods, the developer may provide an attractive uniform mailbox for all residents. All homes having the same design of mailbox adds tremendously to the unity and appeal of the neighborhood," says Ann Kerr Walker.

With Piedmont Mailpost Systems, the mailboxes and posts are worry-free. Occasionally cleaning them is all a homeowner needs to put on their to-do list. A wooden post has a life expectancy of six to ten years, while the powder-coated metal and vinyl posts will last without worry.

"People are selfish with their off-time and are looking for low or no maintenance products. They don't want to spend time painting or replacing posts," says David.