Lighted House Address

My house needed something, and like many other guys and gals out there, when faced with a need, I looked around and said, how can I fix it.  My house had poor address visibility in the daylight, and no visibility at night.  How is the pizza guy supposed to give me my dinner if he can't find my house?  Guys, help me out here!

So, I looked online and found that the cheapest option was more than I wanted to spend, but I realized that it was something I could fashion myself.  Based on simple indirect lighting principles, I made a lighted address box for the front of my house, and also made sure it had high contrast for daylight visibility as well.
For materials, I used only what I had laying around, but I understand that some people won't have these things, so here's a shopping list:

1x section of wooden shelf or other white-washed wood
1x section of plywood roughly the same size as the shelf
1x short length of pressure-treated 2x4, for the 2 box sides
1x LED rope light length (mine was 10 feet)
4-6x 3in deck screws or anchor bolts for wall mount
10-12x 1-1/2" deck screws for box assembly
(optional) remote controlled Christmas light pigtail
(optional) Outlet timer

Step 1: Build the box

For my house, I just happened to have an outlet on the outside of my house that was right near the address area.  Your house may not have this, so an extension cord may be necessary for this method.  First, you need to cut the woods to the right sizes.  The plywood and shelf (or other white-washed wood) need to be roughly exactly the same size.  Leave room on the sides for the internal spacers (the pressure-treated 2x4 sections).

But don't put it on the wall yet.  I did this instructable after the fact and didn’t want to take it down again for the pictures.  Ultimately the size of the box is up to you, and should fit your needs.  The reason the spacers are there is to allow the light inside the box to difuse and reflect off the back material and then shine through the address without upsetting your neighbors.  You want it to be bright enough to be seen at night, but not so bright that it shines on the clouds and calls for Batman.

Comments

[Hiyadudez]

Thats cool!

Any close-up and distant pictures at night?

[keeganhennis]

See new step number 9 for requested images.

[Hiyadudez]

That looks amazing!

Nice work.

[jack8559]

Great idea!!! You could also use a solar light inside with a diffuser panel over the cut-out numbers and the bottom of the box for dim floor lighting if you had no power outlet nearby.

[keeganhennis]

I very well could have done one of those options, but at the time I was just thinking about how I could do it with what I had on hand. Perhaps you could do your own version with those options. I'd be interested to see how to do the solar bits.

[jessyratfink]

That's a great solution - looks really nice. :)

[keeganhennis]

Thanks! I made it while my wife slept, and she liked it too when she woke up. That's the success, in my book.