House Number Redress
Updating a tired set of house numbers and an old porch light.
OUTDOORSFEATURED
High
Medium
10 Hours
11 Materials
Before
After
Knowing that the house numbers were getting past their prime and needing some refreshing was what kicked this project off. We knew that we wanted a modern look and ran across a picture of black house numbers on a white pine background in a chevron pattern, and we were hooked.
I'm certain that I shared that I ran across a goldmine of old wood alongside the road one day in my previous post "the fireplace redo" and this wood is the same wood that I used to create the porch light and address combination for the front of the house. I barely had it on the house and the neighbors are already throwing positive comments our way. This project took a lot of thought about how I wanted it to look combined with a fair bit of measure twice, cut once. As with any project where you are working with power tools always follow the manufacturer safety recommendations and wear eye protection.
The sign base is a pine 1x12 from the local home improvement store. Cut to 48 inches in height and painted with three coats of exterior satin paint to be sure we had a good seal on the board. We went with the color of "Chimney Smoke" which is not really a stark black, but instead a subtle black for the trim boards. After dry time, I grabbed some of my stored wood from my previous find and got to work. Finding exact center and marking this as my starting point, I was able to simply match up wood with similar widths and 45 degree cuts to a pattern and color combination that we liked. I used my cordless brad nailer to attach the boards to the pine 1x12.
The boards were then trimmed to match the width of the pine 1x12 and trim boards were attached around the outside. I used my circular saw with a trim guide, but this would have been much easier on a table saw if you have that available. The trim boards were from the local home improvement store, 1.5x12ft fascia primed trim boards, and the same small PVC trim boards that I applied in the front porch refresh post earlier. I used my combination miter saw to complete the 45° cuts for the fascia board and my hand held miter box/saw to complete the 45° cuts of the PVC trim boards since I was looking for a precise cut on the corners of these.
Everything was given a light sand around the edges being careful to not sand the center so that the finishes would be sanded off, and then touched up before completing the project.
The Build
This one was a little different in that we did a fair amount of paint-as-you-go to be certain that things were sealed as the project progressed since the boards would be attached to each other in layers. For the seal on the exposed raw wood we used a Behr SPAR Urethane (3 coats) to seal these boards. The urethane really made the colors pop, and we couldn't be happier with the results. You need to be sure that it is a SPAR urethane so that water resistance is solid!
The trim boards were painted with the same exterior satin, chimney black paint that we used on the base 1x12 board and these were painted before they were applied to the project for ease of installation.
Paint and Urethane
We found, and fell in love with house numbers from Amazon. They sit up off the project and were something that we liked visually. Now in all fairness here, we bought the house numbers before anything else and had them for a while based on a previous picture that I ran across on a search. As I mentioned previously, we found an inspiration picture and were hooked on the look of it. The difference however was that the inspiration piece was all one color of wood (white pine colored) and this helped the house numbers really stand out against that backdrop.
When it came time to put our numbers on at first I was really liking the black with the variegated coloring of the wood, but soon realized that since they were thin, they were actually hard to see on some of the areas. To help these stand out a little better I taped them off with painters tape and scuffed them with a wet/dry sandpaper and shot just the tops of them with a gold spray paint meant for indoor/outdoor use. This helped to make the number pop a little more and be visible against the wood we used.
Numbers
Porch light
When it comes to the porch light, let me first say that I had full intentions of recycling the old porch light and reusing it for this project when I began. Unfortunately when I looked it over after removing it, I realized that the photocell had a significant crack in it. The photocell piece was originally used until we installed a smart switch which controls the schedule of the light now, so it really wasn't being used, but the crack was significant, so I opted to search for a new light instead. A quick browse through Amazon gave me what I needed, and bonus, the bottom of the base of the new light has a door that opens that reveals a plug for outdoor use. This will come in particularly handy when Christmas rolls around for the wreath that will adorn that fixture.
Now this is the part where I tell everyone - Always follow safety guidelines when working with electricity and if you're not comfortable doing this work yourself, call on a professional.
For attaching the porch light, I first determined where I wanted the light attached, and centered the plate that attaches the porch light. I then drilled a hole large enough to fit the wires through, then attached the plate to the sign.
Attaching to the house
To attach this to the house, I used a 2x2 cedar board cut in a French cleat style. An attachment top and bottom of the sign did the trick. This allowed the weight of the sign to be evenly supported, and I was able to pre-drill and drive a deck screw up through the bottom cleat to ensure that it stayed in place.
Conclusion
This project took me a few days to complete, because I took my time and went slow with it so that it turned out exactly how we wanted it. We are extremely pleased with the outcome!
Materials
1x12 pine board
1.5x12 ft fascia primed trim boards
PVC trim boards
Raw wood of your liking
2x2 cedar boards
Brad or Finish Nails
Deck screws (I used #10x2", and #10x3")
Paint (your choice of color)
SPAR Urethane (your choice of brand)
Address numbers
Porch Light
Tools
Eye protection (safety goggles)
Compound Miter and/or Manual Miter box/saw combo
Brad Nailer or Hammer
Circular or Table Saw
Paint Brush (recommend dollar store)
Drill and/or impact driver
Assorted drill bits
Blue or Green Painters tape
Saw Horses/plywood (work station)
Project Wins
When I got ready to apply the urethane, I used brushes from the dollar store which were disposable in lieu of cleaning those with mineral spirits. Since these were cheap, I didn't feel too bad about the disposal.
We love the way this turned out and in my book that's always a triumph!
Project Fails
While I love the numbers, and I would recommend them, I ultimately replaced them with a set of numbers that were wider and easier to see from the street.
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Kevin Gallaher is the owner of this blog, papapinterest.com. I have applied a skill level based on my own experience and provided minimal instructions on how to achieve a similar outcome. Please remember that this blog is for entertainment purposes only. With all the posts on papapinterest.com, be certain to read and understand the project before starting. Build at your own risk and be safe. We will not be responsible for any injury or damage incurred while following any post from our site. None of our posts should be considered expert advice, so please consult a professional when necessary. Be sure to read and understand all safety and instruction manuals, and take safety precautions seriously. All projects performed from posts found on our site are done at your own risk.
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