As we all know, a necessity in life is getting mail; bills, letters and cards (yes, some people still do the handwritten thing), wedding invitations, junk mail, etc. But when you are out in the country and your very long driveway has a gate, the UPS man cannot drive up and plop things at your door like in the city. So again out of necessity, you need a Parcel Box. You know, for all that online shopping your daughter does because it’s at her finger tips and dad has Amazon Prime.
Anyway, we had requirements. It needed to lock, it needed to fit large packages, be somewhat weather resistant, and of course look cute. So the Mister looked online and found a few options. They ranged in price from $150 – $350.00. Say whaaaat?! The boxes I saw were ugly and nothing that I thought looked remotely farmhouse cute so really they weren’t exactly options. But the #1 reason we didn’t purchase one online or in store…my Mister is cheap. Not always in a bad way. He prefers to see it as sensible. In this instance, I’d have to agree. So he thought about it a while and decided a DIY Parcel Box from a pallet would be the best route.
I know it looks a bit rough but that’s because I didn’t want to interject my farmhouse charm on him right in the middle of his project. That wouldn’t be very nice. So I’m calling it “rustic” charm instead. Honestly, I’m not complaining when the only cost were the hinges and lock.
Parcel Box List of Supplies:
- 4 pallets
- piece of galvanized corrugated tin
- metal hinges
- screws or nails
- small link chain
- crowbar or reciprocating saw
- pneumatic nail gun (optional)
- paint (optional)
- lock latch (optional)
- lock (optional)
Several businesses have pallets lying around and will give them away to anyone who asks. In Navasota, the local Ace hardware store would be happy to give you each and every one. If you can’t find free pallets at your local businesses, try online listings like the pallet recycling network or other comparable sites for help.
I think the hardest part of this entire parcel box project was disassembling the pallets. Tried the crowbar first and ended up using the SAWZALL Reciprocating Saw to cut the nail heads off instead of pulling them out completely. Once you’ve taken the pallet apart, lay out your pieces and decide which ones you’d like to use. The Mister wanted our box to be 24 x 24 inches but you can decide what size works best for you.
Once you’ve decided on your pieces, start with the frame. The frame was made by the 2×4 (stringer) boards of the pallet and the sides are made from the deck boards. When planning out the use of the 2×4 (stringer) boards, be careful not to let the forklift slots end up in an inconvenient spot. Additional 2×4 (stringer) boards were used for the top lid frame and the box was also designed to have a slight angle towards the back to shed water.
After attaching the lid to the frame with the hinges, we added a piece of scrap corrugated tin to the top for weather proofing. It works like a charm.
He added the chain he already had lying around so the lid wouldn’t fall backwards. I wouldn’t have thought of that until it fell all the way back and broke.
The legs are one continual piece from the top to bottom. With the legs on it, it’s to deep for a shorty like me to reach all the way down into it but since I’m deathly afraid of snakes and have seen how they like to curl up in unsuspecting places – there’s no way, no how I’m ever lifting that lid…ever. Aaaaggghhh – I’m getting the heebie geebies just thinking about it. But I digress.
He had our daughter paint the words on the front. I don’t think anyone will miss knowing where to drop those precious packages now.
If you want it to look super farmhouse cute, paint it white. I will probably do that someday, but for now, this project is all him and I’m so grateful.
If you decide to make a Parcel Box from a pallet, send us a photo! We’d love to see it.
So how do you handle deliveries without losing them to theft?
Author
There is a lock that hangs on the underside of the lid. Asking your delivery guys to use it or attaching a note for them to use it works. Also when shipping, there is usually a “special instruction” area where you can instruct the drivers as well. After delivery, we then use the key to remove the packages. Plus our gate where the parcel box sits is a bit off of the road. Hope that helps. And thank you for visiting my blog!
totally cute! i love it! we live in the country too. im currently working on turning a large fiberglass toolbox into a parcel box… i just dont know if i can fancy it up…cant find anything similar on Pinterest…maybe im just crazy. dont think just a lick of paint s gonna fix it. my mister isn’t handy like yours..hes more the tear it up kinda guy
Author
Thank you Brook. My hubs is handy but cheap is the best way to describe him. 😉 How about building a wooden pallet case/box around the fiberglass toolbox?
Similar to this – https://www.pinterest.com/pin/3588874691848837/
That way you could do lots of fun stuff to it. You could also build a pallet stand for it so it doesn’t sit on the ground. What about building a large planter on the side? Like this – https://www.pinterest.com/pin/2462974785888801/
Then you could add a tree or bush next to it! I think any of those ideas would be fabulous! Glad you visited today. Hope you figure out a way to turn your toolbox into something you like.
Go Navasota! I used to live in Bedias. Love this idea. And I have everything to build it.
Author
Wow, more people than not that follow this blog have ever heard of either of those places. 🙂 We’ve had the parcel box out there for a few years now and it’s still in great shape and works like a charm!