House numbers

[larliz]

Ok, this isnt exactly a woodworking question but this crowd would probably know this sort of thing. I am on the board of my condo complex and we want to put up 4" house numbers on the front and back of the units. In front there is vinyl siding. What would I secure plastic or aluminum numbers to the siding with? I dont want screws to rust and leave streaks on the siding and dont want to crease the siding either.

[George]

You can use galvanized or stainless steel screws or even brass screws and they will not rust.

[larliz]

But what about what they would hold onto? The vinyl siding is away from the backing and therefore I wouldnt want to screw in too far which might cause the siding to buckle. Any thoughts?

[RGad]

The siding can't be that far in front of the sheathing, cause the top of each course is nailed into it.

One of the problems people run into is the fact that the vinyl "boards" are beveled, so the numbers don't hang right. There are blocks you can buy (same place as the siding) which are contoured on the back to mate to the "boards;" these are designed for finishing the installation of siding-mounted light fixtures.

And then, since this is all about woodworking, you could always take a length of 8/4 board 5 or 6 inches in width and shape it down to fit the contour of the siding "boards." The backer would be nailed along its top edge, and the numbers nailed or screwed into the backer. A good coat of varnish would be nice.