Lockable steel parcel boxes for houses, townhouses and building entrances: parcels go in through a drop-through hopper, and the box is emptied through a door with a key-locking latch.
TrussMetal is a metal fabrication shop in North Vancouver that works across Metro Vancouver. This page is for homeowners, strata councils and property managers, and builders who want somewhere for couriers to leave parcels.
We fabricate and supply the box, its hopper and doors, and fit the bought-in hinge and key-locking latch, which the quote names. It is a private parcel box: not a receptacle for Canada Post mail, which has its own rules, locks and approvals, and not a carrier-approved locker. Whether a courier uses it is up to each carrier and driver.
Configurations
Drop-through hopper boxes
A deposit door with a hinged hopper behind it. Pulled open, the hopper takes the parcel; closed, it tips the parcel down into the box. The box is emptied through a separate door with a key-locking latch.
Wall-mounted boxes
Fixed to a wall beside the door, into studs, blocking or masonry.
Post and pedestal boxes
On a post or pedestal set in a footing or anchored to a slab built by others, for a drive or a path.
Rows of separate boxes
Several independent boxes side by side, each with its own hopper, retrieval door and key. The courier chooses which box to use; there is no assigned delivery, access code or notification.
Concept drawing
Concept drawing
Concept drawing
Concept drawings, illustrative only: not a tested design, a shop drawing or an installation detail, and not a photograph or record of completed TrussMetal work. Dashed parts are by others or bought in. Parts marked “if specified” are included only where the agreed design calls for them.
Parcels and the Hopper
Parcel envelope
Before an order we fix the largest parcel the box takes, its length, width, height and weight, and how many arrive before someone empties it. A parcel outside that envelope won’t fit the hopper, and the courier leaves it elsewhere.
Hopper movement
How far the hopper opens, where it stops and how it closes are drawn for the agreed parcel envelope, so the parcel tips into the box instead of jamming.
What the hopper does
It is the way parcels go in without a key. We don’t claim it stops anyone reaching in or taking parcels out, and it isn’t tested or rated for that.
Retrieval
A front or side door at a comfortable height on a continuous hinge, with a bought-in key-locking latch. The keys stay with you; the box is not on any carrier’s key system.
Security
We don’t rate boxes for theft or forced entry. The box keeps parcels out of sight; someone with tools can still get into a steel box.
Weather and Mounting
Rain
A sloped lid with a drip edge, a gasket on the retrieval door and drain holes in the base help keep parcels dry. The box isn’t sealed or rated as waterproof, so it goes under cover where it can.
Hardware ratings
Latch makers rate their latches’ sealing with their own gasket under their test conditions; that rating describes the latch, not the box.
Materials
Galvanized and powder-coated steel, stainless steel or aluminum. Galvanizing and powder coating are done by specialist applicators.
Mounting
Wall boxes fix into studs, blocking or masonry. Post and pedestal boxes go on a footing or slab built by others and are anchored as agreed.
Location
Clear of walkways and exit routes, easy for a courier to find without entering a secured area. In a strata building the strata approves the location.
Before We Build
Settled before an order
The parcel envelope, the hopper’s movement and stops, the retrieval door’s position and access, the hinge and latch models, the mounting and location, the finish, and any strata approval. The quote names the bought-in hardware.
Checked before delivery
Each box made to an order is assembled with its hardware and worked through its full operation: open the hopper, put in a parcel at the agreed largest size, close it so the parcel drops, open and close the retrieval door and latch. It is a check of that box, not a tested or rated design.
Who Does What
Responsibilities that affect the quote
TrussMetal: the box, hopper and doors, fitted with the bought-in hinge and latch named in the quote, and checked through their operation before delivery. Supply only.
Installer or contractor: the footing or slab, wall blocking, and fixing the box as agreed.
Owner or strata: the location and approvals, the keys, and emptying the box.
