House Number Signs
House number signs are a quick and easy way to improve the street appeal of your home. While most homes will only have one or two locations for their house number, it has been demonstrated that you often need more. Almost all homes have one on the letterbox as standard, but you should consider if this is effective in the case of emergency workers needing to find your home.
Ideally, you should have your house number signs (also known as street number signs), installed on your letter box (for letters), and one placed on the front door, or nearby wall, and painted on the curb (for emergency workers). This is because most emergency services will look for road markers and if those are worn or not noticeable, next they’ll look for numbers on the building. They will look for letterboxes as well, but often these are in disrepair, especially in older suburbs. If you need to replace the number signage on your home you can find a variety in our general hardware section.
When choosing number signage to place on your home, you have many different options. However, unless you’d like to be replacing it often, a metal sign is almost always better than others. Plastic not only looks tacky, but it is incredibly environmentally unfriendly, and in the Australian climate, it will often be brittle and broken in a few months. One of our favourites is stainless steel numbers. It will hold up well in all types of weather and it can look perfect and bold on many surfaces.
The colour and style of your house number can depend on the style of your home. Have a look at your facade and try to find something that matches in with it. If you have a federation style the black iron numbers may suit best as they have a classic and older style. These numbers can set your home and are perfect if your front door is a solid bold colour, if your front door is black you might be better off choosing a gold or polished brass. If you have a more modern home, you can choose a house number that has clean smooth lines. You could go with polished brass or stainless steel, as both will match the style of your home. Ideally you want a number that stands out so people can see it but also one that doesn’t clash or distract from your style of home.
Where to Install A House Number
As previously discussed, most people install house number signs on their letterbox, and this is the best location if you only have the one. But there are a few other places that you can consider placing number signage. For solid metal signs, installing it on the front door offers a classy look that has never gone out of style. But if your door is fancy the numbers may not look appealing so you can opt for a suitable nearby wall.
Besides the front of the home, there are many other places where you can install a house number that will help people looking for your property. You can get one installed on the roadside curb. For these most people opt for a reflective paint (many councils can install these for you). Another excellent place is the meter box, for this you can use a metallic number sign, that is either attached with double sided tape or by using small screws.
If you're upgrading parts of your home we have many other items that may interest you including, gate and stair hardware, coat hooks, brackets, corbels and scissors.
How to Install House Number Signs on a Wall
Having house number signs on your wall is often the perfect place for them. You can be as creative as you like. Perhaps you’d install them on a separate plaque or some other backing, which is perfect if your home has more than two numbers.
The most important part for installing number signage is to get the centre point of the numbers. You can do this by using a square of cardboard. Lay the cardboard flat and place the number on it. Using a ruler or straight edge, line up the edges of the numbers, once the numbers are straight and the gaps between them are even, draw a line around the edges of the numbers. You should have a rectangle drawn on the cardboard.
Take the numbers away and find the centre point of the cardboard. This is the overall size of the numbers. Next put the numbers back in the square cardboard and mark all the screw holes. Now you have a template for your numbers.
Go to the front of your home and find a suitable space, it should be somewhere that is clearly visible from the road. Use the cardboard and some tape to mark a spot on the wall and then step back to the curb and see how it will look. The traditional place house number signs should be installed at is a height of between 1.5m and 1.8m.
Use the template and either mark the screw holes on the wall of your chosen backing plate. Drill out the holes, place the number and insert the screws and tighten them. After all the number signs have been installed, take a step back and be proud of a job well done! For a perfect finish install some hooks nearby for your guests.
Buying Your House Number Signs
At Restoration Online we have a variety of house number signs available to buy in our online shop, we ship Australia wide and offer a 21-day return policy. If you’re upgrading number signage, feel free to look through our hardware section for other signs, such as ‘no hawkers’ and ‘beware of the dog’.
