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Project Profile · Residential Development
Keebler Meadows 12×36 Gable CBU Cover
Mitchell Metals fabricated and installed our first 12' x 36' gable CBU cover in Bronze on 6x6 extruded aluminum posts and beams at Keebler Meadows, a D.R. Horton community in Johnson City, Tennessee — and watched the neighborhood grow up around it.
Community
Keebler Meadows
Builder
D.R. Horton
Location
Johnson City, Tennessee
Structure
12' x 36' Gable
In short
Mitchell Metals supplied and installed a 12′ x 36′ gable CBU mail kiosk cover at Keebler Meadows in Johnson City, Tennessee, for the D.R. Horton NE Tennessee Division. The structure is Bronze on 6×6 extruded aluminum posts and beams, and was the first 12′ x 36′ gable cover Mitchell Metals has built.
Overview
The same structure, two seasons apart
Keebler Meadows is a D.R. Horton community in Johnson City, Tennessee, in Washington County at the top of the state. Mitchell Metals installed the mail center early in the development, when the cul-de-sac was raw grade and the nearest homes were still framing.
The photographs below are the reason this page exists. The same structure, shot on installation day and again months later, is a better argument for building the mail center properly than anything we could write about it. On day one it is a canopy on an empty pad in a field. Today it is the centre of a finished cul-de-sac, with cluster boxes in, sod down, trees staked, and homes occupied on every side.
Why the mail center goes in early
A mail center installed at the end of a project has to thread between finished curbs, irrigation, sod and parked cars. Installed early, it goes in on open ground with room to work, and the landscape gets designed around it rather than patched back around it afterwards. The planting beds, walks and tree placement at Keebler Meadows all relate to the structure because the structure was there first.
It also means the amenity is finished and photographable while the community is still selling, which matters more to a builder than it sounds.
Our first 12′ x 36′ gable
This was the first 12′ x 36′ gable cover Mitchell Metals had built. The gable roof carries a ridge the full thirty-six feet with a gable end and decorative truss detail at each end, and the 6×6 posts and beams give a span that long the structural depth and the visual weight it needs. A lighter section would have carried the load and looked underbuilt.
The frame is extruded aluminum, so nothing on it rusts. It is engineered to ASCE 7-16 wind and snow loads — worth having in northeast Tennessee — and designed to meet ADA and IBC requirements, with cluster box placement following the USPS Builders/Developers Guide.
Coming up on two years together
Mitchell Metals is approaching a two-year anniversary with the D.R. Horton NE Tennessee Division. Keebler Meadows is one community in that run, and the reason there is a run is that the first one went in the way it was supposed to.
Project Partners
Who we worked with
Home Builder
D.R. Horton, Inc.
The largest homebuilder in the United States by volume, founded in 1978 and having built more than one million homes. The NE Tennessee Division is the builder of Keebler Meadows in Johnson City.
D.R. Horton NE Tennessee Team
Caleb Gouge
Our point of contact at the D.R. Horton NE Tennessee Division, and has been for close to two years across multiple communities. Mitchell Metals coordinated the Keebler Meadows cover through his team.
Manufacturer & Installer
Mitchell Metals, LLC
Headquartered in Marietta, Georgia, Mitchell Metals engineers and fabricates pre-engineered aluminum canopy systems in-house and delivers CBU mail centers, picnic pavilions, bus stop covers, and amenity covers as complete turnkey packages.
Mitchell Metals values partnerships as much as the products we provide. Our thanks to Caleb Gouge and the D.R. Horton NE Tennessee Division team.
Progression
Installation day, and today
The same 12' x 36' gable cover, photographed months apart. Nothing about the structure changed — everything around it did.
Installation Day
The cover complete on an otherwise empty pad. No boxes yet, no curb landscaping, raw grade to the horizon.
Today
Cluster boxes in, sod down, trees staked, and a finished cul-de-sac built around the structure.
Project Specifications
What was installed at Keebler Meadows
| Project name | Keebler Meadows |
|---|---|
| Location | Johnson City, Washington County, Tennessee |
| Builder / developer | D.R. Horton — NE Tennessee Division |
| Market segment | Residential — single-family development |
| Product | Gable CBU mail kiosk cover |
| Canopy configuration | Gable |
| Canopy dimensions | 12' x 36' |
| Finish color | Bronze |
| Posts | 6x6 extruded aluminum |
| Beams | 6x6 extruded aluminum |
| Engineering standard | Rated for ASCE 7-16 wind & snow loads |
| Compliance | ADA & IBC compliant; USPS Builders/Developers Guide |
Why these specs were chosen
Gable configuration. A full-length ridge with a gable end and decorative truss at each end. At thirty-six feet the roof has enough length to read as a building, which is what anchors the cul-de-sac.
12′ x 36′. Twelve feet deep gives real shelter on both sides of the boxes; thirty-six feet of length covers the full run of cluster box units with room to stand and sort mail.
6×6 posts and beams. Sized to a thirty-six-foot span. The heavier section carries the load and gives the structure the visual weight a run this long needs.
Installed early. On open ground, before curbs and sod, so the landscape could be designed around the structure rather than patched back around it.
Project Gallery
Keebler Meadows, Johnson City, TN
Questions
Frequently asked questions about this project
Who built the CBU mail kiosk cover at Keebler Meadows in Johnson City, TN?
Mitchell Metals, LLC of Marietta, Georgia manufactured and installed the 12′ x 36′ CBU mail kiosk cover at Keebler Meadows. The structure is Bronze on 6×6 extruded aluminum posts and beams.
Who is the builder of the Keebler Meadows community?
Keebler Meadows is a D.R. Horton community in Johnson City, Washington County, Tennessee, built by the D.R. Horton NE Tennessee Division. The largest homebuilder in the United States by volume, founded in 1978 and having built more than one million homes. The NE Tennessee Division is the builder of Keebler Meadows in Johnson City.
What are the specifications of the Keebler Meadows structure?
The structure is a gable CBU mail kiosk cover measuring 12′ x 36′, finished in Bronze. Posts and beams are 6×6 extruded aluminum. It is rated for ASCE 7-16 wind and snow loads and designed to meet ADA and IBC requirements.
What is a gable CBU cover?
A gable CBU cover has a pitched roof with a ridge running the length of the structure and a gable end at each side, rather than the single-slope roof of a standard or cantilever canopy. It sheds water and snow from both faces and reads as a small building, which is why developers choose it when the mail area is meant to anchor a street or a cul-de-sac.
When in a development should the mail center be installed?
As early as the pad and access allow. Installing before curbs, irrigation and sod means the crew works on open ground and the landscape design can be built around the finished structure rather than patched back around it. It also means the amenity is complete and photographable while the community is still selling.
Does Mitchell Metals serve builders in Johnson City and Washington County?
Yes. Mitchell Metals is headquartered in Marietta, Georgia and serves home builders, land developers, general contractors, and architects nationally, including Johnson City and Washington County, Tennessee. Call 470-870-7733 for residential projects.
Planning amenities for your next community?
Send us your site plan. We'll engineer the covers and quote mail centers, pavilions, and everything else as one pre-engineered package.