Mailbox and house numbers sized right

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1The mailbox height nobody guesses

A curbside mailbox wants its floor sitting 41 to 45 inches above the road surface, with the box set 6 to 8 inches back from the curb. That's the postal carrier's arm-reach sweet spot, and it's why every box on your block leans at the same tired angle. Get those two numbers right and the carrier will love you in the quiet, permanent way carriers do.

2Numbers big enough to read from a moving car

House numbers should be at least 4 inches tall, and 6 is better if your house sits back from the road. The trick is contrast more than size: brass numbers on a brown wall are a riddle, while black on white or white on dark green reads instantly. Place them by the front door or near a light, because a number nobody can see at night is just decoration.

3The post is the whole project

People agonize over the box and then screw it to whatever 4x4 was leaning in the garage. Set a pressure-treated 4x4 in a bag of concrete, let it cure a day, and the whole assembly stops doing that slow embarrassed lean by Thanksgiving. Paint or stain it to match the trim and it stops being infrastructure and starts being part of the front of the house.

4Light the numbers, not the neighborhood

One small light aimed at the numbers does more than a floodlight that could land planes. A low-watt bulb above the door, a solar numbers plate, or a wash of light from the porch fixture all work. The goal is that someone slowing down in front of your house can read the address without the neighbor's bedroom also getting the news.

5Reflective is not cheating

Numbers with a reflective finish, or a simple strip of reflective address tape on the curbside mailbox, catch headlights and glow back at whoever is looking for you. Rural carriers and delivery drivers genuinely appreciate it, which is a polite way of saying your packages stop going to the house with the readable numbers instead.

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