Updates to Four Design Standards

Lakeport continues to update our architectural standards this fall:
  • House Numbers: Lakeport’s old standard required all homes with garages to put house numbers on a trim board over the garage, but the Board realized that one-third of homes did not have such a trim board. Therefore a new Standard for House Numbers was drafted and sent to owners for review. This original draft was changed in response to the feedback and sent to the DRB, which will review it in December. A copy of the final proposal for the DRB appears below. After this standard is approved, the Board will order 4” black numbers for owners who are interested and help them install their numbers on a “Your Number is Up” day. 
  • Decks. The current deck standard is being revised with the intent to be less restrictive, most importantly with respect to colors. A draft will be sent to owners once it is finalized. 

Reminder: Always be sure to check Lakeport standards and RA guidelines before undertaking any exterior repairs so you know the requirements and to see if you need DRB approval before proceeding.


Lakeport Cluster Association
Proposed Modifications to Standard for House Numbers

Lakeport Cluster would like to change the standard for house numbers that was last approved by the DRB in 2010. This current standard requires numbers on a trim board above the garage for homes with garages (all but five of Lakeport’s 82 homes). Unfortunately 27 homes do not have the required trim board above the garage; therefore, we need to modify the standard to specify a different address-number location for these homes. In addition, public safety regulations require a readable house number, and consistency in location and appearance is desirable for emergency and delivery personnel. This proposal is intended to improve readability and consistency and respond to the following issues:


  • As mentioned, around one-third of homes (22 even-numbered homes on Lakeport Way plus 5 odd-numbered homes on Lakespray Way) do not have the trim board required as the location for 4” black numbers in the current standard.
  • Instead, 22 of these 27 homes (Phase 2 construction) have their house numbers on metal plates at street level, but a half dozen of these numbers are not visible, primarily due to landscaping. 
  • The other five homes without a trim board over the garage (even-numbered Phase 1 homes on Lakeport Way) do not have numbers on metal plates or trim board over their garages. Unfortunately, their garage-door frame is only 2¼” high; so it will not accommodate 4” numbers. These homes currently have silver/white numbers (originally used on the Phase 1 homes) or black numbers, located above the front door, but they have little contrast against the grey siding (see photo to the right), and the prescribed location for these homes (over the front door) is different from that for other homes (over the garage). 
  • The remaining five Phase 1 homes have carports. They originally had silver/white numbers under the light beside their door, but these numbers are blocked by an archway leading to the front door and therefore are not visible from the street. The current standard requires numbers over the carport, but only one home currently has the numbers there, and most owners prefer having the numbers located over the archway beside the carport that leads directly to their front door. 
  • House numbers have occasionally been broken or painted over in the home maintenance process, and many of the plates installed on brick walls were plastic and have deteriorated with time. 
  • Lack of knowledge and non-enforcement of the standard have led to inconsistency. 


Proposed changes from current house number standard:

  • Require any home with a metal plate that is obscured by landscaping to attach 4” black numbers over the garage and encourage all others with metal plates to do the same, even if their metal plate is visible. Change: Current standard requires 4” black numbers for all homes, but they would no longer be required if house numbers on metal plates are visible. To encourage owners to add 4” numbers, the Board will announce that owners can reimburse Lakeport Association for house numbers purchased in bulk (or buy their own) and that volunteers will be available on a “House Number Installation Day” this fall to help them put up their house numbers. 
  • Specify a different location for 4” numbers for homes without the trim boards over garages:
    • Phase 1 homes with carports: centered over the arch next to the carport. Change: Current standard specifies 4” black numbers centered over the carport. This would affect three of the five homes.
    • Phase 1 homes with garages: centered on the trim board below the front railing of the balcony that is located directly over the garage. Change: Current standard requires 4" silver/white numbers over the front door. This would affect all five homes.
    • All other even-numbered homes on Lakeport and all odd-numbered homes on Lakespray (22 homes): centered on top of the garage-door frame. Change: Current standard specifies numbers should be on trim board over the garage, but these homes don’t have that trim board. All of these homes have metal plates (and therefore would not need to add 4” numbers unless numbers are obscured). Currently seven are obscured but three of these already have 4” black numbers on the garage-door frame; three more have the numbers and unobstructed metal plates. So four would be required and a dozen more would be encouraged to add them. 
    • All other odd-numbered homes on Lakeport Way and all even-numbered homes on Lakespray (50): centered on trim board over the garage. No change. Three of these homes do not have numbers on their trim board because they have metal plates; so they would be required to add numbers on their trim boards as well. 
  • No change in the requirements for metal plates on brick walls in front of the house.


The Board discovered that finding a simple solution that everyone agreed on was challenging. Therefore, after considering several options, the Board emailed owners on July 31 asking for feedback to a short summary of proposed locations. In response to feedback received, two changes were made, and this proposed standard was emailed to owners on September 4 (with two follow-up reminders). No owner emailed an objection, although a few requested clarification about whether they were affected. In addition, several owners requested that they be included on the list of owners who wanted the Board to buy house numbers on their behalf.

As reference, the existing standard can be found at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LGtbmWgUxeyWpV4VtEzc27vTcNyFmAcD/view.


Lakeport Cluster Association Standards
House Numbers

Reston Association’s Design Review Board approved the following revised Lakeport Cluster standard on ??, 2019.

Public safety regulations require a readable house number, and consistency in location and appearance is desirable for emergency and delivery personnel. Standards for Lakeport’s two types of numbers, those on metal plates attached to brick walls and 4” black numbers over garages and entry arches, help achieve this.

Requirements for numbers on a metal plate: A rectangular, brushed brass-colored, corrosion-resistant metal plate sized to fit in the indentation in the brick wall in front of the home (typically 13” x 19.75”, but different on some units) with 4” high raised black numbers attached to fit evenly spaced within an imaginary 4” x 14” rectangle centered on the plate and with a rectangular black 1/4” wide border inset 1” from the plate edge. See photo to the right for the proper font.

Location of house numbers for homes with metal plates:


  • Phase 1 and Phase 2 homes with brick walls in the front (1924, 1926, 1928, 1930, 1931,1932, 1933, 1934, 1936, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1942, 1954, 1956, 1958, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1971, 1973, 1985, 1993, 1995, and 2003 Lakeport Way, and 11100, 11110, 11112, 11121, 11122, 11123, 11125, 11127 and 11129 Lakespray Way): Homes with an indentation for a rectangular metal plate must have a plate with the house number located in the indentation in the brick wall. 
  • If all of the numbers on the metal plate are not clearly visible (i.e., if any is missing, broken, or obscured by landscaping) or if the home has a trim board over the garage, 4” high black numbers located over the garage are required in addition to the metal plate. Even if the numbers are visible, 4” high black numbers over the garage are strongly encouraged. 


Requirements for 4” black numbers: Nail-on or screw-on black metal numbers corresponding to the numeric address shall be 4” high and evenly spaced within a 10” wide area. The font should be as close as possible to the font shown in the photos below. These numbers, in the location specified below, are required for all ten Phase 1 homes (five with carports and five with garages), required for all Phase 2 homes with trim board over the garage (odd-numbered homes on Lakeport Way and even-numbered homes on Lakespray Way), required for all other Phase 2 homes with metal plates (even-numbered homes on Lakeport Way and odd-numbered homes on Lakespray Way) if all of the numbers on metal plates are not clearly visible (i.e., missing, broken, or obscured by landscaping), and strongly encouraged even if numbers on metal plates are visible.

Locations for 4” black numbers: 


  • Phase 1 homes with carports (1951-53-55-57-59 Lakeport Way): centered on the archway leading to the front door (see photo to the right).
  • Phase 1 homes with


    garages (1944-46-48-50-52 Lakeport Way):     centered on the trim board below the front railing of the balcony directly above the garage (see photo to the left—need a new photo using a Phase 1 home after approval and we have an example of numbers in new location).
  • Phase 2 homes with odd numbers on Lakeport Way or with even numbers on Lakespray Way (even if they have metal plates): centered on trim board over garage (see photo to the right). 
  • All Phase 2 homes with even numbers on Lakeport Way or with odd numbers on Lakespray Way: centered on the top of the garage-door frame (see photo to the left). Required if all numbers on the metal plate are not clearly visible; encouraged otherwise.

4” high silver/white numbers. This type of number, attached under a lamp and over/beside the front entrance, was originally required for 1944-46-48-50-52 Lakeport Way and 1951-53-55-57-59 Lakeport Way. This kind of house number should no longer be used as the only house number because it is not readily visible from the street; however, homes may have 4” black or silver numbers over their front doors in addition to 4” high black number above the garage or entry arch.

Approval Requirements: No Reston Association Design Review Board approvals are required if these standards are followed.



THE FOLLOWING HISTORY IS NOT PART OF THE STANDARD. 
IT IS PROVIDED TO ASSIST THE HOMEOWNER.

Original construction: Original construction provided each Lakeport Way and Lakespray Way home with one of three standard types of house numbers:

  • 4” high black numbers attached to trim boards, centered over garage door. Required for Phase 2 homes not identified as having numbers specified below.
  • 4” silver/white numbers attached under a lamp and over the front entrance. Required for Phase 1 construction at 1944-46-48-50-52 Lakeport Way and 1951-53-55-57-59 Lakeport Way.
  • Brushed-brass colored plate with 4” black numbers and a 1/4” wide black border (inset 1” from outside edge) attached to an indentation in a low brick wall in front of homes. It was on Phase 2 construction at 1924, 1926, 1928, 1930, 1931,1932, 1933, 1934, 1936, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1942, 1954, 1956, 1958, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1971, 1973, 1985, 1993, 1995, and 2003 Lakeport Way, and at 11100, 11110, 11112, 11121, 11122, 11123, 11125, 11127 and 11129 Lakespray Way.


Reston DRB Decisions

  • 6/14/2005: 
    • For homes with brick walls, a rectangular brushed brass-colored, corrosion-resistant metal plate sized to fit in the indentation in the brick wall was required and additional 4” high black numbers centered over the garage door were desirable but not required. The removal of existing 4” silver/white numbers was desirable but not required. 4” high black numbers were to be centered on the entry arch for 1951-53-55-57-59 Lakeport Way. 4” high black numbers over the garage door were required for all other homes. 
  • 5/1/2010:   
    • The revised standard kept the original three types of numbers and locations but changed the location for Phase 1 homes with carports (1951-53-55-57-59 Lakeport Way) to centered above the carport instead of on the entry arch.
  • ?/??/2019:  
    • This revision kept the requirement that 4” black numbers be centered on the trim board over the garage for Phase 2 homes with odd numbers on Lakeport Way or even numbers on Lakespray Way (the only homes with this trim board) but changed the location of 4” black numbers for Phase 2 homes with even numbers on Lakeport Way or odd numbers on Lakespray Way to centered on the top of the garage-door frame. For Phase 1 homes, it removed the requirement for 4” silver/white numbers and specified that 4” black numbers be centered on the trim board below the front railing of the balcony directly above the garage for Phase 1 homes with garages and over the entry arch for Phase 1 homes with carports. 


Possible Suppliers
Note: The following list should be considered a starting point for homeowners replacing house numbers. No endorsement of any supplier is intended.
4” high black numbers: Most home improvement centers and hardware stores
Rectangular metal plates: Webb Signs, 10612 Warwick Ave., Fairfax, VA 703-591-6169
comply with the standard.



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