By Gene and Katie Hamilton

Homeland security takes on new meaning with a built-in delivery vault. It's like having a FedEx drop box of your very own and eliminates the need to stay home for a package delivery. The delivery vault keeps packages safe and secure deposited inside your house. Anyone who travels or has had the annoyance of rescheduling missed deliveries knows what a convenience this can be.

A built-in vault is installed between 16-inch center wall studs of a wood frame house at a front entry or garage so it's a good job for someone with carpentry experience. A popular size unit is made of 16-gauge steel and measures 14 1/2-inches wide by 51 1/2-inches high and it is 21-inches deep.

You can buy a similar vault for $400 and install it yourself or hire a carpenter who will charge an additional $220 for the installation. You'll need bolts, machine screws, 2-by-4 framing lumber, shims and flashing, as well as carpentry tools.

Don't want to tackle this job? Click here to get to Home Advisor and it will open in a new tab and you’ll have to answer some basic questions about your job followed by Carpenters in your area.

DIY Hassle Alert

The labor will be considerably more if the house is brick. If you're building a house, consider adding this option so it can be installed while the house is being constructed. Before making the installation, check with your local post office to make sure you install it in the correct place.

US Mail Supply offers several differerent Types of Collection Boxes.

The average price to install a delivery vault noted above is cost data to compare a contractor’s estimate with doing it yourself. Tweak the data by adding your ZIP Code to find a local cost.

Improvement and Repair Cost Updated 2019

The cost and time data is generated by averaging labor and material data from annually updated cost books used by contractors and refined by the authors' experience remodeling 13 houses. They are authors of 20 home improvement books and Do It Yourself or Not, a weekly column syndicated by Tribune Content Agency. The national cost can be adjusted by ZIP Code.