House Numbers

    It is amazing to me how many houses do not have numbers.  In recent years, with the advent of the 911 emergency system, all houses are required by law to have their house number displayed, yet many do not.  Even if they do, many times it is not visible to the mailman, so he has to search for it.  Let me explain. Consider the picture below.

     The mailman is walking from left to right, across lawns, delivering the mail for these four houses.  At the first house, the number is on a lamppost in front of the house (represented by the star).  However, the path the mailman walks from the neighbor's house to this house prevents him from seeing the number on the lamppost.  He must go out of his way, by dipping down into the yard past the lamppost, to verify the address.  This slows the mailman down.  In some neighborhoods, all the numbers are on lampposts, which can add an hour or more to the mailman's delivery day, assuming he is not familiar with this route.

     The second house shows another popular house numbering method.  The number is painted on the curb.  The mailman cannot see the curbface as he/she walks from one house to another.  To verify this number, he would have to walk all the way to the street.  Again, this greatly slows the mailman down.  Numbers painted on curbs are a real hindrance to the proper delivery of the mail.

    The mailman has two houses left, but doesn't have any mail for 29 Byte Road.  The next two houses don't have numbers at all.  He has no clue which house is 31 Byte Road.  He delivers the mail to 29 Byte Road.  If it is the wrong house, they will probably put the mail out the next day, and the mailman can pick it up and drop it at the next house.  In this case, the mail for 31 Byte Road will be delayed by one day. 

    Your regular mailman will know the numbers for all the houses.  However, he gets one day off per week, and a substitute will carry the route.  The sub may or may not be familiar with the route.  It is essential for homeowners to ensure their houses are properly numbered.  Besides, if you ever have to place a 911 call, don't you want the ambulance to be able to find the right house?

     One simple option to help the mailman is to put an address sticker inside your mailbox, with the number on it.  In the example above, if 29 Byte Road has a sticker inside the box with the number 29 on it, the mailman will pass by and deliver the mail correctly.  Many homeowners put one inch numbers on the outside of their mailboxes.

     For people who live on rural routes, mailboxes must be numbered so that the mailman sees the number as he approaches the mailbox.  Many times mailboxes are numbered, but the numbers are on the wrong side of the box, so the mailman cannot see them as he approaches.  If you cannot get to the store to get numbers, simply mark the inside of your mailbox lid with a Sharpie marker.