No, I have never heard of this. I do not have a curb, but we did buy from the fire department a metal sign with the address numbers on it that fastens to the mail box post.

Sue

I've heard of similar services, and would happily do/pay for it - but we don't have a curb ;) There is a post with the house numbers at the top of the circular driveway, and numbers on the house, but no curb. I do see the curbside numbers in other neighborhoods nearby and think they would be very helpful....UPS, FedEx, fire department....

Nope, I always get people to stop in and ask, if I want it done... NOPE, can't see spending money for that.

Moni

We had it done when we moved here 10-years ago (although it was only $15 then), and it has long since faded. When we had to replace our curb-side mailbox (vandalized) we put LARGE brass house numbers on the mailbox post that are easy to read at night. Won't pay to have the curb stencil numbers replaced.

I remember paying $5 over 25 years ago. The numbers fade and need repainting every few years. The last time I paid, it was $15, but in the past 10 to 15 years, they get repainted but no one comes to ask if we want them repainted or to get the fee. I wonder if it is the city doing it now.

No. We have scammers that come around and leave notices that you have to opt out or they will try to make you pay. I ignore them.

We did make an exception one time when a father and his son came by and offered the service on the spot. They had paint and stencils in hand and asked for 3 dollars. They did a nice job.

No, no curb here....

Seems like Scouts did this at one of our many residences....it is a good thing...so emergency vehicles can find you (or a neighbor); but @ $25.00 it does seem a bit pricy.My street here alone would produce many $100.00 dollars. Good job, if you can do it!

in the olden days, youth groups would paint numbers as a fund raiser, then it went private. I think they want $20 to paint my curb. I was able to purchase the stencil set, tape and two cans of paint for less,than $20.

As mentioned above, it is supposed to be a safety factor, but I live in an area with GPS, and I am able to view address and an image of the home on the internet.

no, no curb. My house number is on my mailbox

When we lived in town, yes we did and most houses have it as well.

Our standard neighborhoods look like this

Driveways and garages are accessed from the street so the numbers are always painted on each side of the driveway entrance.

The numbers are faded in the above pic but you should be able to tell that both driveways are marked.

We live in the country now so no curb numbers anymore.

Yes, we had it done. No flag but nice, neat reflective paint. The numbers on our mail box don't reflect and a nice tree in the front yard blocks the view of the numbers on the house.

We're happy that we had it done.

I thought I posted a response, but I guess it didn't go through. I actually have never heard of house numbers on curbs. What is the purpose? Don't people have their house number on the house? Doesn't the street look messy with numbers on the curb?

I pay $20 every three or four years. They paint the number on the top and on the front of the curb. Most people in my neighborhood do. The organization that does it has to have a permit from the city.

Suzieque- trees frequently block the view of the numbers on the house, plus someone driving down the street (delivery driver) trying to find a house that keeps turning their head sideways to look at house numbers is unsafe.

We get scammers here too. There are some who are licensed by the city, but I'm not about to go to the trouble of figuring out if they're legit when you can't see the numbers for the parked cars. I paid more to get new number tiles when the ones that came on the house broke. They're permanent, easy to see from the street, and visible at night.

The purpose, in our neighborhood, is so emergency responders can locate your house more easily.

Of course it doesn't look messy, Suzieque, lol! THIS IS WHAT OURS LOOKS LIKE, but not ours.

Yes, a few years ago. It was only $10.00, or $15.00 if you had the number painted on both sides of the driveway. I opted for having he number painted twice. They only painted it once. After hounding them for weeks upon weeks, they finally came back and TRANSPOSED the numbers!!! I came home from work to find a neatly painted, totally scrambled house number! They knew the address, there is a number on the house (difficult to read at night- thus the need for curb numbers) and there was also the number they had already painted. Couldn't they look? Check their work? To their credit, they did re-paint the number quickly and correctly after I complained.

Nobody ever comes by here!

which is why I decided to paint glow in the dark numbers on the house my own self.

I painted some huge numbers, hung them on the house, waited til dark, went out to see my handiwork, & then I realized....

the street light is too bright for anything to glow in the dark!

$25 seems a little high but well worth doing. In case of emergency, when the PD or FD cannot figure out which house called because there are no numbers, it's tough on them. Even if you have the number on the house, it's good to have it on the curb. On a dark night, it can be difficult to find numbers.

I have, though not at the current house. It's much easier to find an address when the curbs are painted with reflective paint or if there are large and visible address markers streetside.

jim Mat, I'm not sure if you're referring to something different, but GPS is everywhere globally. Your area, my area, everyone else's and all points in between.

so distracted by my own story I forgot the point:

Yes.

The reason I suddenly started obsessing about numbers was because of an elderly lady in the neighborhood whose family called for an ambulance.

The ambulance drove up & down the block looking for the house, until one of the lady's family stood in the front yard & waved it down!

Well, I'd expect emergency vehicles to be equipped with GPS. Probably the pizza delivery guy, too, lol.

I agree, rhizo, but the problem is that the databases in such devices often don't have enough information to pinpoint a particular address. You'll be on the right street, in the right general area but especially in less populated areas or more rural roads, I find the pinpointed spot can be hundreds of feet off. Not the GPS location, that's accurate to what, 10 feet or so, but where the system thinks a particular address is. There can be handfuls of houses along a stretch where a GPS device thinks a particular house is and without a visible number (and especially in the dark), it can be a challenge.

When I'm going to such a location, I try to find the destination on Google maps satellite view and then I'll write down the latitude and longitude coordinates of the driveway or lane I want to turn into. Those can be input into most GPS systems and that way you can be assured of being taken EXACTLY to where you want to be.

As Snidely said, GPS can be off. Ours is.

Any time someone is coming to our house, especially delivery vehicles like Lowe's, etc I find myself having to stand on the corner of my lot and wave my arms at them. Their GPS puts them at the other end of the block!

It's offered by people occasionally. I haven't done it. My house number is on a metal plaque by the garage as required by the HOA.

The houses in our development all have the address (well, the house numbers only) on the garage. But, not just physical numbers tacked up or painted on. It's a rectangular lighted box. It's wired into the house's electrical system, so unless the electricity goes completely out, the thing is always on and very easy to see and read.

"Of course it doesn't look messy, Suzique LOL".

I don't know why that warranted an "of course" or an LOL. I was just asking because I've never seen it and it seems that it would. I am glad to hear the opinion is that it does not.

Rhizo, I wasn't talking about the numbers themselves being messy. I was talking about it being number after number after number in front of every house. But in any case, I guess I will have to keep my eye out as I travel around.

we've had it done twice in 15 years. The first time it only cost $5 but last time it was about $35 which was pretty pricey so I probably won't get it done again. Here they use reflective green paint. It is handy in our street because it starts off as one street, and as you go around a bend the street name changes and the numbers start again, but the first few houses don't have visible numbers and we are next to a park which means the house numbers jump by 6 numbers as well so it can be confusing for someone not familiar with the street.

I'm sorry, suzieque....I was laughing at the thought of a bunch of neighbors getting together and deciding to have something that looks like heck painted in their curbs. It was ever my intent to focus on you, I am so sorry.

Since having the numbers added is strictly voluntary, at least in my city, most people opt out. It's quite a small painted box, not really noticeable unless one is looking for it.....or needing it.

As I said earier, our shade providing tree in the front yard hides the brass numbers afixed to the entry of our home. The curb numbers are something that I think are necessary for us.

We paid $35 and I'll gladly pay that small amount whenever it needs it again.

Thank you, Maddielee and Texas_Gem

Oh, Rhizo, no, I apologize. I took it wrong. Mea culpa. I do understand now - that trees can block the numbers. Again, sorry for the thin skin.

I have metal reflective house numbers on each side of my driveway and have some for the mailbox area too. No curb out here in the country and here inMichigan , the numbers on a curb would be covered up with snow maybe 4 months of the year.

Nope, don't have them and won't have them. I have enough experience trying to find addresses when I was with the PI firm and would go out to do process service. Talked to enough police and fire folks and saw firsthand during ride-alongs and other experience that they're not very effective. Snow, ice, dirt, parked cars, faded numbers, kids altering numbers... are just a start of the problem with curb numbers. It's another false sense of security pushed by people selling something. Even numbers on the mailbox can often be problematic. First, not all houses have street mailboxes. Some mailboxes are on the house. Many have them grouped, 3-5, some are across the street, down the street, some even a block away. How is that helpful? Far better to have LARGE NUMBERS on your house in a conspicuous spot. I have the numbers that are probably 8" high and very thick in a very contrasting color and it looks fine. I've seen the lighted ones and while they're a good idea, they also should be bigger. I've seen the solar lighted ones too and like the concept but again, they're not always easy to read. It's super easy to tell my house by the number. And the biggest peeve and complaint I heard of emergency vehicles are people who try to be fancy with their address and have the "written out" version rather than numbers (Twenty Three Seventy Seven), as they're in a difficult to read script, thin and small, but "look so fancy". Then the real foo-foo folks try to be fancier and put them in several lines. On behalf of all emergency vehicles "ARGH!!" When you abandon common sense to try to be fancy you assume the risk of delayed emergency response. If your trees and bushes are so overgrown that you can't see your house and numbers you're a burglar's dream. Maybe you should consider trimming your trees and bushes. Otherwise put large numbers on a post at the street high enough to be seen over snow drifts, plow ridges, parked cars/trucks and other obstructions.

Turning their heads to the side to see an address is dangerous? Come ON! Sheesh! Sounds like another sales pitch! LOL How about turning your head and LOOKING DOWN? That's not dangerous? Can't buy that one.

And yes, GPS is notoriously inaccurate. (And phone apps are worse yet.) It will get you to the area but that's the best you can expect. Plus I know of places where addresses have been changed. A friend's place had his address changed so it can take years for that to be updated in a GPS database. It's always a good idea to have someone outside waiting for emergency vehicles if that's a possibility. That's NOT a bad thing. Around here, the police will almost always if not always respond first to a medical so an ambulance can usually figure out where the problem place is located. Most cops know the locale quite well so they can find the place quite efficiently.

FWIW as I mentioned on the parking, fire departments often have issues with people parked in the streets so they have trouble getting the trucks through. There's been times they've just pulled up and pushed cars out of the way so they could get through. There's the advantage of those huge bumpers and powerful engines.

Those firms do not exist here (way up north). The curbs are covered with snow and crud for much of the winter, therefore, curb signs are useless. Also, those are useless where parking is permitted. Most local codes require the house address to be visible from a vehicle in the street. Some 'burbs do not enforce this policy very well. On my street, we have curbside mailboxes; I display my street address on my mailbox. Another suggested location is near the front door and high enough to be read over a parked auto.

Through much of Canada, every house has an assigned Emergency Measures Number, the signs are printed in standardized form and colour and every house has the number posted out front , in the rural area usually on the mailbox post.

ole joyful

Well, even if he were at the right place, Nicole, he shouldn't have been stomping all over the plants!!

I'm not sure how noticeable that is but I'm impressed with the creativity and skill to make something like that.

Plllog....I agree....most of my newly planted ground covers died. He saw how upset I was with him and offered to pay for them, but I declined.

SnidelyWhiplash...thanks. My DH is a certified welder. Makes me all kinds of pretty things out of iron. :0)

Lucky woman to be married to such a skilled welder! I love the mailbox post and the rack in the post above mine!

I am pretty sure they are not around here, they could not be seen to easily as may people park in the front of the houses and of course during snow they could not be seen. I think it would be very rare to see them at all.

Sue

We have paid $5. Would NOT pay $25