Want to install a house number plaque and increase your curb appeal? We recently made this simple change to the front of our house and it lights me up every time I pull in the drive. Read on!

I’ve got big changes planned to improve the overall curb appeal of our new house. Most will have to wait until the summer, but I made one small update in January. I’ve had my eye on a cute house number plaque from this Etsy shop for a few years now. As you can see from this quick tour of our previous house, there really was no great spot to hang a house number plaque, without visually cluttering up the entry. Now that we’re in a house with a very different front entry layout, the perfect spot has been calling my name for months!

Out With the Old

As you can see, the exterior of this house needed some love. A lot of love… Most of this work is on our 2019 to-do list, but the dated iron house numbers facing the street were low-hanging fruit and a quick Saturday update.

2020 Update -> How We Installed and Stained a New Front Door!

Getting started, I gently pried off the old numbers using a small prybar and lot of patience. Because this location is exposed to the elements – snow, rain, and a lot of sun – the screws were fairly rusted. A few popped out easily, but others ripped off small chunks of brick where they were installed too close to a corner or edge.

There’s not much to be done about the damaged brick, but it’s not terribly noticeable unless you’re looking for it. The discoloration on the brick around the old holes is actually a little more eye-catching. My hope is that the new sign placement will distract visitors from noticing any discolored spots that are not covered up.

Mounting a House Number Plaque on Brick

Once the old numbers are removed, installation of the new is actually pretty simple. I decided to drill into the mortar, rather than brick, because I thought it might be easier and less damaging, in case I want to make changes again down the line. I was hoping to reuse an existing hole, but I didn’t like the sign placement with any of those possibilities. The new hole is just under the soldier course of bricks.

With a masonry drill bit, I was able to easily drill a hole into the mortar. (I no longer have the packaging for the exact drill bit, but it stated it was “for use on brick and block.”) I made sure to drill just slightly longer than the screw I planned to use.

Next, I tapped the plastic mounting anchor into the hole with a hammer. Both the plastic anchor and the screw came with the house number plaque.

I then attached the screw into the anchor, leaving just a fraction of space for the plaque’s mounting hardware to hang snugly from the screw. You can see that spacing below. It’s also easy enough to back the screw out of the hole if you need to adjust it.

And voila! Looks fabulous. I really love some of the lighter stains available from TheWoodsCollective, but I thought this combo of ebony stain with silver numbers would contrast nicely with our brick. I’ve also seen a ton of DIY project ideas on Pinterest for house number plaques, but this time, I didn’t want to reinvent the wheel (ha!) and make one… I wanted to hang it asap!

There’s something about a modern update that breathes new life into this space. I can’t wait to tackle the landscaping and remove the old light post, in order to get the full effect. I also hope power washing will clean up the concrete foundation. For now, I’m going to be happy taking a small step in the right direction. I bet my neighbors across the street will appreciate an updated view as well!

Our house has come a long way since I first wrote this post! Check it out:

Want to Read More?

For more about our exterior curb appeal plans, you can check out the “before” here: Adding Curb Appeal – Our Plans for Exterior Updates. Here’s the house now.

How to Stain a New Front Door