Is your house number a top secret?

[Colin]

Hi,


It's surprising how many homeowners are highly secretive about their house/street number having no number on display.

Years ago we installed 18" tall white Perspex numbers to the front of our bungalow only to have one of them stolen by a thief on trick or treat night. I then installed a light box with automatic dusk to dawn sensor this lasted years then I installed large LED edge lit numbers; I'm currently making and installing a new front entrance to our bungalow and whilst buying the Pilkington grey tinted glass I asked how much it would cost to have the numbers "39" added to the top glass pane above the door; a rough estimate of £100 simply wasn't worth it.

The big numbers shown are the ones I made of white self adhesive vinyl and these have done very well indeed in extremes of weather; I wondered if I could add my own numbers to the glass panel; I browsed the web and bought vinyl numbers at 8" tall here;

https://www.vinylletteringonline.co.uk/lettering-designer

The two numbers only cost around £10 delivered so it wasn't worth my time and effort cutting my own numbers; I had these reverse cut allowing the numbers to be attached on the inside of the glass. There is a video on the website showing just how easy it is to position and apply the numbers; now they are in position they look just like the ones I had seen at the glass merchants costing so much more.

Hope this is of interest; the people delivering things to our home appreciate the big numbers. The really big numbers are to be relocated because I'm adding a pair of big fancy coach lamps each side of the new entrance; the tinted glass is now in so I'm making a lot of progress on the new door which is assembled and glued up. I'm very pleased by how the new numbers look above the door opening.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[johnny canoe]

I think it's illegal here in Calgary not to have your house number visible from the street.

 

[Mrsclem]

How are emergency services -ambulance, fire department, supposed to find your home if you do no have your address displayed?

 

[marlingardener]

We have our house number on our mailbox, which is beside the street. If you need emergency services, they ask the location, not the house number. We are rural, and a lot of house numbers on the house wouldn't be visible from the street.

 

[DirtMechanic]

You can use a frosted matte vinyl or clear matte vinyl on your glass, and with a night light behind them they will glow like frosted glass.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Many thanks for your replies.

I think it should be illegal here too johnny not to have house numbers or house name clearly displayed.

Mrsclem couldn't have put it better and I'm in total agreement; if an ambulance was attending an heart attack or stroke victim and couldn't quickly locate the address it could prove very serious indeed but just not displaying the house number is a huge inconvenience; our SatNav takes us to the door but we've visited the odd address where its been a row of houses each without number so are we expected to start knocking on doors?

Excellent idea DirtMechanic; thanks for suggesting it. The big numbers in the picture were end lit by LEDs and one of our neighbours jokingly said the police helicopter was using our numbers for flight location at night.

Thanks marlingardener; your house number displayed on your post box is fine; it clearly identifies you.

I just find it so annoying and frustrating trying to locate the right house when so many houses don't have a number or name on display?

Has anyone else here in the UK noticed missing house numbers or am I just being picky?

Here's our numbers to the rear of the bungalow with a security light just above.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[roadrunner]

742

 

[Esther Knapicius]

House numbers out in the country are on the mail box at the end of the driveways. House numbers are odd numbers on one side of the street and even on the the other side. It is needed for emergency purposes naturally. I have toyed with the idea of some decorative presentation. So far nothing yet. And the end of my drive is about 100 paces from my house.

This is what I have now.-----

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Thanks Esther.

What a pretty mailbox adorned with the hanging basket of beautiful flowers. A very nice welcome to your home.

Our street is strange; the numbers start at #13 and although its a cul de sac numbers on both sides are odd; no even numbers at all; Bron and I have lived at #39 for the last 31 years; I wonder where #1 is?

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

BTW, that pot is very interesting. it is very tall, has holes on the sides around it. so when planting, you first lay down a layer of soil, then flowers root areas are pushed through the first row of holes, then more soil, then flowers, then soil, then flowers. etc until you get to the top. then you plant about 4 more on the top in normal fashion. it takes a total of 28 flowers. very heavy when all done. I have it on a turning hook, so I can rotate it daily when I get my mail, for even blooming. If I remember to take a pix of it empty I will post it here.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Thanks for the interesting information Esther and I'm sorry for the late reply; I'm trying to catch up but failing; I've just had another long day and still no let up in sight.

Do you need to replant the pot each year?

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Hi,

Thanks for the interesting information Esther and I'm sorry for the late reply; I'm trying to catch up but failing; I've just had another long day and still no let up in sight.

Do you need to replant the pot each year?

Kind regards, Colin.

Yes @Colin have to replant every year. so I may put something else in it next year for a variety.

 

[trail twister]

It is sport for high school kids who can drive daddys pick up or moms SUV at night to use base ball bats on Mail boxes. We also live north of the lake with privgled spoild kids too.

Since we are 400 feet off the road with several rows of pine trees it was a prime target.
after our first was smashed so badly I could not bang it back out I made a quicky box out of wood.

I worked nights so when I got hoime at 7:00 AM I would stop and put that wooden box back together for the days mail delivery till I could do something better.

Finally I got time to weld up a box from 3/16 inch steel. You could hit that thing with a semi and it would not bend.
Kids got daddys truck and a tow chain and broke the post off making the mail box useless again.

So I take a couple days digging a hole out there and getting our mail when the delivery person came. Soon I had a 5 foot hole with a 2 foot hole four feet square at the top.
Welded the steel Mail box to the post set in in the hole and poured ready mix concrete in the hole to nearly full.

Dumped some of the hard red clay in there and water and worked at making it soupy so it would dry hard with no air spaces. then on top in that 4 foot square hole I poured more ready mix.

No more smashed mail boxes but they decided the little shack I had for the kids to stay in waiting for the school bus was fun to tip over. So that became on morning chore when I arrived home from work.

Discussed the problem with the law who claimed they could not spend the night watching my property.
Discussed it with guys I worked with and one guy in the national guard said he would get me a artillery simulator and a trigger. I set the shack in the pines in an attempt to hide it but they found it.
So the next step was to set the simulator up in a pine tree about 5 feet high and about 3 feet away. String trip cord around and hook it to the trigger. Also took a couple vacation days off work. I loaded up a dozen 12 ga shells with rice and then at dark went and laid in wait.

I know when that simulator went off they crapped their pants and when I rose up out of the pines a bit farther down and started peppering the car with rice they could hear hitting only getting brave enough to get in as I reloaded my pump gun. Should have had two pump guns out there and kept them pined down with their crappy pants for a bit longer.

Any way I was able to move the shack back beside the road and those fools didn't mess with it any longer.
Our kids heard that a crazy person lived at our house and would just as soon kill you as not.

So today My mail box has yellow caution reflective tape numbers I cut out stuck to it.
2525.

Al

 

[Esther Knapicius]

there was a time we had an issue of "nasty" kids driving into our little circle and bashing mail boxes etc. Happened once to us years ago. Since then, my wooden stand is 3 feet deep in a cement hole, very thick wood, and the actual mail box is tupperwear, so it bounces back. yes they could take the metal plant hook out of the ground, but they'd have to stop and get out to do that. So far been years and years, all well in our area.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Absolutely brilliant Al; well done pity though you couldn't wire the box into the national grid and incinerate the low life who were causing you so much trouble; here's what's happening in my pond;

https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/

Peace at last Esther.

Kind regards, Colin.