As we touched up the front of the house (tunnel demo, facia, window sill, lighting, flower bed), it has become painfully obvious that the old address plaque is in dreadful shape. Mr. Sun has toasted it. One more summer will probably do it in completely.
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| Wait,... What's up with the address number?* |
An address sign is the house's "Hello" to the world,... or at least to visitors, Amazon.com deliveries, and, God forbid, 911 responders. In our neighborhood, emergency responders have done really well locating targets without using address signs. They've easily located night time emergencies due to the flames engulfing the structures.
...screw it in,..
This inexpensive plaque was one of the first things I had added when we moved in. It was a basic wooden plaque I painted and screwed on metal numbers. Cheap, easy, and effective. Besides the cracking paint and degrading wood, the newly installed light fixtures had a spacial conflict and wouldn't go up until I removed it.
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| Ok, ... DIY Guy, ... what the heck does that say?* |
So here it's sat for weeks, knee-high to a grasshopper. It's hardly welcoming, barely visible beside vehicles and behind the huge mailbox and palm tree.
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| It's so sad and lonely down there. |
Finally, the new one we'd ordered online arrived! Sweetie purchased a Whitehall 16"x 9" San Diego Carved Stone wall plaque from PatioSigns.com. This is 100% acrylic; hopefully, it will weather much better than the wood one. It seems like its made out of the counter top material. It's a nice look. The decorative border line and custom numbers are routed, rather than stuck on. The mounting screw holes are countersunk and there is a nice decorative ogee edge around the plaque. After finding an online coupon, she purchased it for $90.25, delivered. It's a custom piece, you get to pick colors and numbers. I feel it was pretty good turnaround, showing up on our doorstep in three weeks.
I measured the mounting hole locations and lined it up where we wanted it. I adjusted height to make sure the holes would land on a brick. I didn't want to hit weak mortar and have it blow out on me.
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| Well, isn't this is an unflattering, weak-chinned angle. |
If you've drilled in brick before with a standard drill, you know what pain it is, even with a fresh masonry bit. A hammer drill makes it downright pleasurable (other than the noise). If you're going to buy a high-end cordless anyway, it's not too much more to get the hammer option. This is my DeWalt 18-Volt XRP
in action. It's an older NiCad battery style from my cordless set but is still widely available. Newer, Lithium-Ion versions
versions are smaller, lighter, and run longer.
in action. It's an older NiCad battery style from my cordless set but is still widely available. Newer, Lithium-Ion versions versions are smaller, lighter, and run longer.
Watch how much quicker a hammer drill works. I start here with normal drilling, then switch to hammer mode (both in the highest speed setting (3)).
Tap in some plastic masonry anchors,...
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Official Klein Klein anchor tapping tool |
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Official Klein Insulated plaque screwdriver |
... and "Hello"
Simple.
* So how do you write about an address plaque without actually sharing your address with the entire connected world? Do it the same way Spielberg creates dinosaurs, with modern technology. A little digital sleight of hand and the numbers are switched. Geeks - do you recognize the language? What's it say? (Hint: It's not Klingon)