Contemporary Street Number Plaque

I've had it out for the house number plaque on my house for a couple of years, now. It was cheesy, plain, and completely fulfilled my daily allotment of "blah". If someone's looking for my house, that's the first thing they'll look for, so that's worth making it unique, right?

So, I found a style of house numbers that I liked at Home Depot for pretty cheap, but I have brick exterior and didn't want to just stick them to the wall. I looked for a plaque or something similar to mount them on, but everything commercially available looked cheap and tacky, and remember, we're going for unique. Then I remembered that chunk of Lexan sitting at home in my garage...

Update:

Check out step five for a description & pictures of my second attempt at the project which is, in my opinion, a huge improvement over the original.

Step 1 Stuff You'll Need

So, in order to pull this off, here's what we'll need...

Tools:
Drill (or drill press)
Assorted Drill Bits
Orbital Sander w/ 150 & 220 grit sand paper*
Saw (just to cut the lexan to size. I used a jigsaw, but a table saw would work much better.)
Screwdrivers

*You may be able to sand this by hand, but the orbital sander would give you a much more uniform finish.

Materials:
A piece of Lexan
#10 Lead Shields x 4
#10 2 1/2" Screws x 4
House Numbers

And off we go...

Comments

[lafnbear]

OK, so wait... you moved NEXT DOOR!?

[cornflake_81]

Not exactly, but sort of. One street over, but the same neighborhood.

[CementTruck]

I was about to make one of these for my mailbox and went to the local hardware store on my lunch break for supplies. Sticker shock - Those numbers are over $5 each. Great instructable!

[Yammyguy]

I'm definitely going to try this!! Just moved into a new house and I still don't have my house number mounted (only the lot number).. I'm going to add a photo transistor, with a couple of white LEDs behind, so when night falls, they LEDs behind will light up adding to the contrast of the sanded lexan, and the numbers. I'm excited to try this. Just out of curiosity, what grit did you use to sand? 200, 220? or even as high as 400, 600 or 800? Thanks!

[JaimiLynne]

I have to say this is pretty cool. That also happens to be my house number :D I laughed at that. Also, as many of my friends have pointed out that is Master Chief's number from the Halo games :P I'll be putting something similar to that on my house :P Thank you :D

[adamvan2000]

For the LED lighting idea, you could always drill into the lexan behind the numbers and epoxy the LED's into the sheet, thus concealing the lighting, as opposed to attaching them to the sides. The result should be the same as if they were attached to the sides, but without marring the appearance. This part might be over-complicating things, but you could also remove some of the mortar between bricks in a path from the light to behind the sign, hide circuitry for powering the LED in the base of the light, and then cover the wires in fresh mortar so that they wouldn't be seen, thus providing power for lighting without a tacky battery pack or LEDs being visible. If you wanted all that extra work. ~adamvan2000

[minmav7]

I like this, but I would add a larger clear piece to the back, just for added dimension. I intend to make one for my house too :-).

[Hollywood Cole]

How big of a piece of Lexan did you use? Also is all Lexan UV protected? The 8 x 12 sheet i bought only had clear blue plastic on one side.

[cornflake_81]

I don't recall what size I ended up with, I just laid the numbers on it and eyeballed it. 8 x 12 should be plenty big enough, though. If I recall correctly, the side with the blue film is protected, so just make sure that side faces out.

[tchiseen]

Very good work. This is the kind of instructable I love. Simple tools and simple process, and it yields a terrific result.

[tchiseen]

I used your 150/220 grit sandpaper idea on some acrylic for a project that I'm still working on, it turned out pretty good! I want a laser cutter that'll cut acrylic, that's my dream.

[cornflake_81]

Thanks. I have a tendency to over complicate small projects. This was a nice change of pace.

[cassowary]

Simply elegant. Lovely idea

[Ronnieisaacs]

I was thinking if you put some kind of light behind it, like some LED's it would look really good at night.

[Ronnieisaacs]

Sorry I just seen someone had posted this already. But it would look good

[cyclicgmp]

and what about that ...fingerprint!!! :)

[santa844]

the fingerprint is like a signature, like your name in concrete.

[btop]

Very nice, turns out looking really good.

[deancp1]

My compliments on a clear and concise ible! Also a great idea - I want to see if I can do this for my home.
Thanks!

[iamunique127]

This is very timely for me. I'm doing some outdoor renovations right now and house numbers are on the agenda. I don't like the plain wooden ones my wife bought at Menard's and then painted. They are just too ordinary. This is an excellent idea and, as someone said earlier, "a work of art". My wife will be pleasantly surprised when this shows up on the front of the house in place of her blah numbers. I will not be adding LEDs. They're just lame. Question: did you get the numbers at HD in Canada or the USA? Excellent Instructable too, by the way (clear, good pics, nothing extra or distracting).

[cornflake_81]

I bought these at Home Depot in the US. Thanks for the kind words.

[secretshedfreak]

looks like one for this weekend, nice idea. just one question, is polycarbonate otherwise known as a clear acrylic? i live in england and we have ten names for everyting for some reason.

[cornflake_81]

Acrylic & Polycarbonate aren't the same thing. I think acrylic would probably work just fine as long as it's UV resistant.

[soundgod219]

Dont bother with the LEDs, it looks great the way it is.

[kerberoszero]

Now you only need to apply some correct lightning and it rocks! would be uber cool a nice set of led lights just behind the numbers!! thanks for sharing!

[CoolKoon]

What kind of material is this Lexan?

[The_pyrogeek]

Very well done. Add some blue or white LEDs in on the edges and wire them in and you've got your self one elegant sign! 5/5

[frogamic]

Love the idea. The fingerprint makes it unique! Well done.

[srilyk]

Simple, Elegant, Inspiring!

[graywoulf]

As a professional signmaker, I have to say that you have created a piece of working art. Very nicely done!!! I have done similar projects by painting the back of the Lexan as well. Imagination and creativity at it's best here on your project.

[richelton]

One might also consider backing the clear layer with a piece of metal that has an interesting surface or finish.

[ironfly]

Great Job!! Very elegant.

[sensoryhouse]

QUICK! Someone put some LEDs behind that thing. Then it would be EPIC.

[nosemeat]

This is fantastic. Great 'ible and a smashing final product (and perfect timing.) Incidentally, I have the same style numbers to put up on my place, and I think this might have saved me from using that "floating" method for installation. Several people have mentioned LED lighting, and I considered that as well, but I have this rope light hanging around, so maybe I'll Frankenstein it into the cavities in the numbers. This should be sufficient inspiration to quit procrastinating... That is, after I read just one more Instructable... ..and btw, what's the deal with the fingerprint?

[cornflake_81]

That fingerprint is actually on the back of it where I can't reach it. I'm obsessive enough that it bothers me to no end. However I'm lazy enough that its still there. Its a paradox, really.

[mwwdesign]

Superb piece of work. I'm a graphic and industrial designer (amongst other things), and love the way you've done this. Everything works just right. Nice one!

[bdl]

That is a very nice idea and very well presented. I move house next week and may "borrow" this idea for the new number. Well done.

[nerfer192]

i like this. very cleanly made.

[Guy.Fawkes]

Nicely done! Good Instructable, clear, to the point. Suggestion: Add lighting with LED strip lights from http://www.buy-leds-online.com/strips.html - put a strip top, bottom, and each side, facing the center (not facing the Lexan), and your number sign will be easier to read from the street (and if the Fire Department is ever looking for your house, you DO want that number to be easy to read. I tell you this from experience).

[cornflake_81]

I really wanted to add lights to this but opted against for simplicity's sake. However, those LED strips look awfully handy, so I might revisit that idea. Thanks for the link.