I would only put it on the side that you would see entering your, (I'm assuming) cul-de-sac.

You wouldn't need it on both sides if yours is the only house there and the only mailbox. There won't be cars coming from the other direction until after they have made the turn.

This post was edited by neroselover on Sun, Apr 28, 13 at 23:24

Check with the post office and fire department. They both have a say in things like that. I'd put it on both, and not get the box so close to the drive entrance that it interfered with larger vehicles like delivery trucks or fire trucks.

Regardless of which side of the driveway it ultimately ends up on, people will always approach from the same direction, correct? Then, at least put it on the approach side; however, there is nothing wrong with it being on both sides. Our mailbox, in its prior location, had the address on the side and the FRONT. Is the front out of the question?

From USPS.gov: "Your local postmaster must approve the location of your mailbox.

Put a roadside mailbox where a carrier can reach inside without leaving the truck. That means positioning it about 41â to 45â off the ground and back about 6â to 8â from the curb."

Our fire department has no say in this type of thing, at least locally.

In every house we've lived in it's been on the right side of the drive as one faces the street. The address has always been on the left side (as one faces the street) so that the postal worker could see it driving up to the box.

In our neighborhood, everyone has the address on both sides. We are at the end of a cul-de-sac and ours is also on both sides.

I say put it on both sides. While you're doing it, it won't take any more effort or money to go ahead and do both sides . . . and then you're set to help the people who overshoot your house and have to come back around from the other direction.

"people will always approach from the same direction, correct"

Only if you live on a one way street.

Nothing is more infuriating than trying to find an address, driving past the box, turning around further away, then not being able to see any numbers when you go back.

brickeye, she said their house is on a cul-de-sac. There is only one way in and out on a cul-de-sac.

And, when going out, you are approaching the mailbox from the other side.
I say both sides.

Every mailbox in our 8-yr-old subdivision has the numbers on both sides. It doesn't look funny. It's more convenient for everyone when trying to find your house, not just the mail carrier.

But there are still two directions you can approach from.

That's right, you can approach from two sides. Guess I need the address on both sides.

My husband worked in the GIS department for a large county which also provided maps to emergency services. Trust me do your family and your local emergency workers a favor by clearly marking both sides of the mailbox. You do not want a first responder to waste time looking for your address.

Good point on the emergency situation, Iowa Commute.

Threeapples -- it does not look silly at all and is certainly nothing to worry about. Do you drive around judging people's mailbox numbers? (I don't think you do, and I hope that doesn't sound rude... just trying to emphasize the point.)

Iowacommute: good point. My county actually installs a blue, reflective address marker in front of every lot. Somehow average people overlook them, but emergency/government workers know to pay attention to them.

Iowa has little green address markers by the road too.

Oh and interesting tidbit-you may want to find out if there is a similar address to yours in the area (ie: 123 Johnson Dr and 123 Johnson Rd). It may be different if its is a very limited resource volunteer first responder group but if 911 is not sure which address is correct (Drive or Road) they will send out two different teams (one to each address). So I guess that's a lesson to be very clear and specific when stating your address.

Ok, here's an even sillier question: If the last word in our address does not fully fit on the mail box, do we abbreviate it? For example, if our address was 123 West Wood Court, would it be wrong to label the mailbox "123 West Wood Ct"? Our street name happens to be long, so the last word does not fit on it if we have the manufacturer put the address on it for us. Any thoughts?

Your mail would be abbreviated for mail delivery as Ct. anyway.
Using Ct. for Court is fine.

Abbreviation is fine. Some people do not know their proper address. Other times it is the addressing people who do not do their jobs when double checking addresses in new subdivisions so wrong information gets into the mapping data. Then there are rambling developments with no clear direction.

Most of the time these addressing mix ups are not a big deal though and first responders are well aware of the problems-usually.

I don't think it is necessary at all to put the name of the street on the mailbox. If you do, I would opt for something that goes on top of the mailbox (they make simple iron things that say the entire address and are etched on both sides - we had one at our old house on our neighborhood required iron mailbox).

Don't know what type of mailbox you are doing. We had to do stone (requirement of neighborhood). I found this on the Planters Inc. (landscape company) website and thought of you. This is my favorite type of mailbox - white wood post - and it seems it would go well with your house. They handled the number issue in a very attractive way - house numbers below the mailbox on the post. There are so many pretty house numbers now - this looks great I think. Simple and not busy.

Here is a link that might be useful:

That is very pretty, Athensmom. Unfortunately all the posts in our development have to be the same. Thankfully they are just basic wood.

I'm linking the mailbox I'm about to order below. I was intending to have them put the address in gold lettering on both sides.

Here is a link that might be useful: mailbox