Renovation guides

How to install house numbers and a mailbox post yourself: step by step

Numbers a fire truck can read from the street, and a mailbox set where the carrier can reach it.

Difficulty 2 of 5 · about half a day · you can do this

Photo of your room, the look you pick, then this guide with the materials counted for your room.

Step by step

1. Step 1 of 11

   Check the rules and call 811

   

   Look up your city's rule for house numbers: a minimum height (often 4 in, but check your city), contrast, and where they go. Check with your post office before you move a curbside mailbox or add a new one. Call 811 at least a few business days before you dig.

   Before you dig

   • 811 called and the lines are marked (or the ticket came back clear)
   • Post office is fine with the mailbox spot
   • You know your city's number size rule
   • The hole is away from the marks and any sprinkler line

2. Step 2 of 11

   Choose numbers you can read from the street

   

   Stand at the street, day and night, and pick a spot near the door that is lit and not hidden by plants. Pick numbers at least the height your city asks for, in a plain font, in a color that contrasts with the wall.

3. Step 3 of 11

   Mark and drill

   

   Draw a level line and lay out the numbers with even spacing — a paper template helps. Drill with a masonry bit on stucco or brick and set anchors; use a wood bit on siding. Keep the holes out of the corners of stucco panels.

4. Step 4 of 11

   Fasten and seal the numbers

   

   Put a dab of exterior sealant in each hole, then screw the numbers on. Step back to the street and check them again.

5. Step 5 of 11

   Mark the mailbox spot per USPS

   

   For a curbside box, USPS asks for the box door or bottom 41–45 in above the road surface and the front of the box 6–8 in back from the curb edge. Measure from the road, not from the ground where the post goes, and mark the post spot.

6. Step 6 of 11

   Dig the hole

   

   Dig to the depth the post's instructions give, and a hole a few times wider than the post. Keep the sides straight and clean out loose dirt at the bottom. Add gravel at the bottom if the post or the bag calls for it.

7. Step 7 of 11

   Set the post in concrete

   

   Stand the post in the hole at the height you need and brace it plumb on two faces. Add the fast-setting concrete and water exactly as the bag says. Slope the top of the concrete away from the post so water runs off.

   Before the concrete goes in

   • Post height checked against the USPS range from the road
   • Post plumb on two faces and braced
   • Gloves and glasses on

8. Step 8 of 11

   Let the concrete cure

   

   Leave the braces on and nothing on the post for the time the bag gives. Clean the bucket and tools before the concrete sets on them.

9. Step 9 of 11

   Mount the mailbox

   

   Fasten the box to the post per its instructions, with the door facing the road. Check the height from the road again and that the door opens and closes freely.

10. Step 10 of 11

    Number the box too

    

    Put your house number on the mailbox as well, on the side the carrier and drivers see. Seal any screw holes you made in a wood post.

11. Step 11 of 11

    Check from the street

    

    Walk to the street and look at both from a car's view.

    Quality check

    • House numbers readable from the street, day and night
    • Mailbox height and curb distance within the USPS range
    • Post plumb and firm
    • Mailbox door opens freely and the number is on the box

Draft guide written from standard practice, not yet reviewed by a licensed pro. Follow product labels where they differ.

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