How to Attach Floating Modern House Numbers To A Home’s Exterior
Over the last few weeks, I have shown you how we built a slat wall on the front of the house and added a modern planter with a rusted patina.
Today I have one more small exterior update to show you. It will be the last one we do until spring as it is too cold now to do any more outdoor projects.
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I can now add to the exterior updating list… new, modern house address numbers.
A few months ago, I ordered a few different styles and sizes of numbers, but many were too small or not the right color. It took some trial and error to find just the right style. This aluminum style from Design Within Reach was the winner. In my search for house address numbers, I was looking for numbers that:
- had a modern vibe.
- were 8″-10″ high.
- could be float mounted using spacers.
The least expensive style of floating metal numbers were from Hillman. They were very nice and I liked the price, but they were too small. If I was going to add an address to the house, it had to be visible. :-)
Even though it is just an address plate, it is one more item that adds to the modern exterior vibe I wanted.
How to Attach Floating Modern House Numbers to a Brick Exterior
The hardest part of getting the address plate hung was drilling holes for screws into the brick. It took 4 masonry drill bits. Once we had the holes drilled to mount the address plate, hanging it was pretty easy.
supplies needed:
- Floating house address numbers and aligning templates that come with them
- Pencil
- Painter’s tape
- Cedar or Pressure-treated wood
- Wood stain
- Masonry screws and drill bits to fit size of screws
- Flush Mount Hangers – This style hanger allows the address plate to hang without making holes in the front.
- Bubble level
- Screwdriver
- Drill
Time needed: 2 hours
How to Make a Modern House Address Plate
- Cut Address Plate Wood and Stain
After purchasing your numbers, figure out how long and wide the wood plate will need to be. Floating house address numbers come with templates that make it easy to line up and evenly space the numbers.
Play around with the templates until you like the spacing. Leave space on either end. Once you know the size needed, cut the wood and then paint or stain it to the desired color.
- Follow Package Label Directions for Mounting Numbers
The directions that came with the numbers were easy to follow. I followed the directions using the spacer option so that the numbers are raised from the surface on the front of the plate. When you do this, it is called floating. - Mount Address Plate On House
I wanted to center my address plate between the brick facade and the slat wall. Since the depth from the wall to the depth of the slat wall is different, I cut two blocks of wood to attach to the brick so when the plate was attached to the brick part, the address plate would be raised the same amount from the brick wall as the slat wall.
- Attach Flush Mount Hangers
On the back of the wood address plate, figure out where you will need to put the flush mount slide-in hangers. I used two pairs. One pair for each side. Each hanger has two parts. They look identical, but one side is mounted upside down to slide into the other that is mounted in the up position.
Using these hangers made it a little tricky to get the address plate level, but when you use them, you don’t need to use screws through the front of the wood to attach the plate to the wall. (It would have been easier to simply drill and insert two screws into the front of the address plate and connected to the wall. Unfortunately that would have left screw heads showing. Alternatively, we could have countersunk them, having to subsequently putty over them, sand and then stain the spots.)
When using flush mount slide-in hangers – two go on the back of the plate and two on the wall that you align so the pairs slide together. They are quite ingenious. - To Make Aligning and Leveling Easier
To align and level the address plate on the wall using the flush mount slide-in hangers: Attach the hangers to the wall first, then slide the other part to it that will be attached to the back of the address plate. Dab some paint on them as shown. - Level Address Plate Over Mounted Hangers
Two people needed for this step. Next, hold the address plate up to the painted hangers and use a bubble-level. When you like the alignment, press the address plate into the hangers, keeping it level. When you remove it, the paint will leave a stamp mark on the back of the address plate exactly where you need to attach the other hangers.
Screw the hangers onto the back of the address plate.
In photo below: See the circles where the screws need to go to attach the hanger. Doing this worked well. - Attach Address Plate to Wall
Slide the address plate over the flush mounted brackets you previously attached to the wood on the wall.
All done.
Now we just have to wait until spring to do a few more projects at the front of the house so it will look more like…
…my Photoshopped version. :-)
Resources for Modern House Address Numbers
a. Rejuvenation 6″ Rock Creek Modern House Numbers
c. Montague 8″ Metal Numbers – Come in many colors