street numbers

Hi,

looking at getting a nice stainless steel street number for our home...

Any places to go in sydney that sell them??

Something like this perhaps?

http://www.aussiestainless.com.au/store ... Category=4

(edited - this link shows the full range to get more of an idea of what you're after, but this company is in QLD)

I ordered one through an ebay store but they have also got their own website. It was fantastic service and reasonably priced (it was 2 years ago). They custom made one to the exact measurements and font I wanted.

http://www.steelcutcreations.com.au/

there are heaps of online companies that do them. You can also get some pretty funky glass ones.

Try out http://www.numbers1.com.au . That's pretty much all they do, you can design your own online, and all their pricing is listed on the site.

One of my big bugbears is finding houses by their number, at night!

Your stainless steel ones will be fine during the day whether located on the actual house itself or mail box etc because they are easily visible. Not so at night tho - unless the vehicles headlights fall direct on the number while pointed straight ahead down the street - its neigh impossible to find a house number...

You will see taxis who have to do this all the time fitted with a hand operated spotlight often so they can seek out the address they are s'posed to collect a paying passenger from - as a matter of necessity.

So the whole thing I guess, is about having a way to identify your house easily at night via its number...being easily visible to a vehicle driving down the road. Vehicle headlights these days have focused reflectors, that tend to keep the light low and directed straight in front to help prevent blinding oncoming vehicles so relying on refracted light from head lights off to the side - to illuminate your letter box or front wall non reflector / illuminated house numbers just doesn't work I am afraid.

You might just say - well that's the other persons problem not mine....but is it really?

I've had an example of a emergency ambulance unable to locate our house to collect an aged relative who needed help in a hurry! What if its YOU that needs the service / assistance (heart attack anyone?) and the paramedics can't find your house in the dark with the fancy stainless steel numbers?

Or the Taxi you have waited hours for gave up looking and went off in search of an easier paying fare?

The guy who owed you $ dropped by to pay you but gave up when he couldn't easily find the house etc and so it goes.

Some folks pay charities to have their house number painted on the front kerb as a way to obviate these problems, but a glow in the dark number or illuminated number of some sort - might be equally as effective.

Luckily we are no where near as trigger happy as our Yank counterparts when it comes to armed police - but our police do serve warrants to search houses at night, and they do carry weapons now...

There seems to be a rash now of "accidental deaths" by police firearm now in the USA - where Police bust into houses at night to execute a search warrant unannounced - and they get the wrong house number!

The innocent homeowners done nothing wrong and thinks they are being house invaded by crooks and tries to defend themselves with firearms, and end up getting shot or worse shooting the cops...

A simple google search will show many such newspaper / media articles where the Police simply get the wrong house!

So by having house numbers easily visible at night - you might actually be protecting yourself from wrongful search / forced entry by police (or even the crims if they are planning a Break and enter and similarly get the wrong house)!!

There's a LOT more to this house numbers caper than most folks ever imagine.....

My suggestion is to get whatever numbers you like - BUT maybe consider a second set strategically placed that are easily visible at night - whether glow in the dark or reflectorized or illuminated in some way so that emergency authorities & service providers (silver chain meals on wheels for elderly folks etc) can actually locate your house in the dark of there is ever a real need!

It might be years before your lack of forethought about identifying your house at night ever becomes an issue - but it would be best to get it right at the outset than correct it after its too late and a loved one dies because the paramedics couldn't locate your house in the dark.

Next related issue, mailboxes.

There's actually an Australian standard set by Australia Post for a mailboxes and ONE of the requirements is that the slot be a certain minimum size AND that it be located at least 1 meter off the ground (Not to mention this is where most people put their house numbers).

There's a reason for it - in that the postie on his Honda 110cc postie bike - has to put letters into the slow without getting off his bike....

If your slots at ground level or thereabouts - several things can happen. (ONE particular mass produced letter box actually has the bottom slot within 6 inches of the ground for multi occupancy sites like units etc). These are that the mail man (and those who deliver unsolicited advertising brochures and community newspapers periodicals and magazines) might either do themselves a back injury bending down below the specified 1 meter height for the delivery slot, or if they are motorcycle mounted - actually fall off the bike while reaching to near ground level... to deliver the mail.

So who as the property owner cares right?

Wrong! Because there is a mandated Australian Standard (including minimum height above ground for the slot) the Insurer (in the case of Australia Post their workers compensation cover provider, and same for private deliverers of advertising and papers etc) will actually deny liability for an injury claim, where the mailbox doesn't meet Australian Standards! This means that they pursue the landowner (and thus his household insurer if his policy includes any public liability component) for the costs incurred when a deliverer files a back injury or other workers comp claim (hot exhaust pipe burns to the leg for the postie who's motorbike falls on him while leaning down to the ground to deliver thru the ground level slots on units developments)...

We all know the outrageous law suit damages claims & huge multi millions $ payments ordered by the courts these days by the injured and lets face it spurious claims by those who rort the system for lump sum payments is becoming pandemic!.

The thing is - as the landowner - YOU have the responsibility to abode by the Australian standard for your letter box....so IF your home insurer - who carries your public liability sees that your letter box doesn't meet the Australian Standards in terms of minimum height above ground of 1 meter, then THEY can also deny liability - and guess who as to pay then....for the multi million court awarded damages...

Yep - Tag and your it!

Yes - you can lose your house and everything you and your ancestors worked and toiled their entire lives to accumulate in terms of assets & wealth - all because the house you bought didn't have a letter box that meets the Australian Standards in terms of minimum height above ground of the letter box slot!

I know that some delivery's contracts now require that the deliverers make and supply a list of letter box addresses within their runs that don't comply with the minimum height requirements, which they supply to their work cover insurers for a database to identify which addresses will either not receive their mail or for who the injury liability will not be accepted by the deliverers work cover insurer.

You may not even know that your address is on the list and that you are actually covering the liability...because your letter box is non compliant in terms of the Australian Standard with regard to minimum height.

Its not against the law for big hardware retailers to supply non compliant letter boxes or for landowners to install them.... the only time you will find out is when an injured deliverer is suing your pants off.

Word to the wise....you wouldn't think your sub standard letter box could cost you your home but mark my words it very much could....

Here's a common example of one for sale (and seen often by me during such deliveries) - that just doesn't comply.

http://www.thestonesuperstore.com/shop/letterboxes-perth


8th one down from the top - with the double slot!

I see many units developments with these provided standard equipment by the builder / developer for 2 units, neither slot complies with Australian Standards for being a min 1 meter above ground level, UNLESS the builder locates the box on an elevated plinth (and non do in my experience).

Who would think that oversight could cost YOU your home.... in a law suit over a bad back under our work cover laws?

Makes one think - no?

And yes for the "doubting Thomas" out there coz no doubt there will be knockers...

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=95475&page=1#.T3_nYdmsaSo

Quote:

Man Dies in Police Raid on Wrong House

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2012/03/wrong_house_raided_during_drug.html

You can find hundreds similar with a google search - but it will never happen to me - right?


Cheers!

...geez. So, newlyweds, apparently your stainless steel numbers will result in you losing your house, money and end up going to jail for shooting a cop.

(p.s. I like the stainless steel numbers. It's got my vote).

Lol, who knew finding a house number could be so dangerous.

I said there would be knockers!

Cheers!

Door or verbal!!!!!

We have a s/s numbers that are lit up so hopefully no mistaken identity police raids (FYI - most houses do not have illuminated numbers, stainless or otherwise).

I was a postie for 12 years (left the force 12 months ago). I rode a push bike (not a Honda) & if there were non-compliant letterboxes on my round, I still usually delivered their mail. Quite frankly, providing it was above knee height & below shoulder height, we really didn't care. Its the snappy, spring-loaded flaps on some letterboxes that need to be banned. The number of times I've lost the skin on my fingers because of them! However, if a letterbox was severely non-compliant ie. a milk crate or cardboard box, they were issued with a please fix notice (desired specs included). After 3 requests, if said "letterbox" was not fixed, mail was either held at the local D.C. for collection, or was more often the case, just thrown onto their front porch. But, seriously, non-compliant letterboxes are the least of a postie's worries. Tools that reverse out of their property without looking are a much, much bigger concern.

Oh dear, kez, did a car ever hit you??

We got a stainless steel number, my brother cuts steel for a living, it's super shiny and mounted above one of our facade lights, plus we have a street light out the front.

I have noticed in my new street (with all new houses/vacant blocks) most of my neighbours are going for stainless steel numbers. They're easier to see on dark backgrounds, so having them on the front limestone wall, like most in the street would make it difficult to see (and they are hard to see, even in the middle of the day)

I still plan to get at least one s/s number.... On my dark render on the actual house. Might have to go with something else for the letter box.

Yep, 3 times in fact. First time, a car came out of a one-way street the wrong way & hit me. Second time was when someone reversed out of their driveway. I was dinging my bell madly as I tried to get out of their way, but they just kept on coming ... . Third time, an old guy opened his car door just as I was passing him. I was going pretty fast 'cause I was going down a hill - now that one hurt!!! My back has never quite been the same since. Funnily enough, someone from radio 3AW must have seen it happen (their old office on Bank St, South Melbourne was only a short distance away) & started talking on air about how they'de just seen their postie get cleaned up by a car. My nanosecond of fame! Yay me. A few years ago, being a Postie came got rated as one of the most dangerous jobs you can do. Nearly all the posties I worked with have been hit by a car at least once. You do your best to anticipate potential accidents & most of the time this works, but the odds are sort of stacked against you with so many bad drivers on the loose ...

Police raiding houses carry weapons but not torches?? I would think not! Furthermore very unlikely a raid would be carried out without extensive planning ahead in the days leading up. I am sure the cop's will know what house they're after.

I personally have trouble seeing any house number at night be it stainless steel or otherwise unless the street light is right on it.

I am opting for stainless steel.

We have stainless steel numbers on a light wall. And my letterbox slot is probably less than a metre from the ground.

Does our postie care? No, still delivers our bills just the same.

Can our house number be determined easily enough? Absolutely, either by looking at the house number on the front of the house which is 40cm high, or by adding two or subtracting two from the house numbers either side to work out my house number.

I speak from experience when I tell you that the average emergency service person is pretty good at working out house numbers etc.

Relying on an example from the US of police getting the house number wrong is fairly unimpressive to say the least. If this was a problem so prevalent in this country to warrant the alarm raised by Ian, then a better example would be readily obtainable.

And there does not seem to be much data or evidence to support the doom and gloom, the world will end with posties being the countries largest collective of landlords scenario that you predicate there Ian.

If this was such a problem, there would be legislation dictating standards etc.


HD

Are overly lengthy diatribes the in-thing nowadays for some reason...

All that grief over potentially not being able to see someone's house number at night when there is such a simple solution - get a reflective number painted onto the gutter next to the drive way.

Problem solved.

How a house number translates into an anecdotal rage about non-compliant letterboxes is beyond me.

Just my $0.02.

You got off lightly Kezza. Our female postie lady is dead! She was riding a Honda 110 cc Postie M/Bike, and waiting to turn right across 2 lanes on Beaufort Street into a side street. She had indicator on and brake light also.

Sadly a lady driver who was busy texting at the time - ran into the rear of her - and this threw her and the postie bike across the white line into the path of an oncoming shire truck...

Least it was quick, if not exactly a painless way to go.
She was just a young one too - bout 21 or so - and quite the looker as well!
Wasn't all that long ago either! (Within the last 12 months or so)..

Being a postie mightn't be all that its cracked up to be.

I'd want danger money!

Cheers!

And not in any way connected to the colour of the motorists house number nor is the connection to what height her letterbox slot is from ground level immediately obvious.


HD

It reminds me of people you know who never shut up and never seem to take a breath and you just cannot get a word in edgeways. It says you can use up to 60,000 characters for your reply, maybe they need to reduce the allowance.
I hear you Ray153 and do you also find this story macabre? Some poor girl has died yet we have a story full of smilies saying she had a horrible and painful death but she was a good looking sort??
I wonder about Ian’s age and is he from the 70’s era when people used to pass around funny cigarettes?
By the way I have a stainless steel mailbox on a piece of CB Riversand slat fencing and used a black number so it would stand out.
And here is the solution to all of Ian’s problems. This is a Solar-powered lighted address sign and operates from dusk to dawn so when that pesky SWAT team or Dog the bounty hunter arrives at Ian’s house at 2am they’ll be straight through the door no muckin’ around.