traffic noise reduction
ABS
we are considering buying a house that is great in all respects, except it
is on a corner lot and the side of the yard is on a busy street. The street
is two lanes and is 35 mph. The lot is pretty big, with about 65 feet
between the house and the street. We are permitted to put up a privacy
fence. My question is, how effective are fences, trees, berms, etc. at
reducing the noise from traffic? Any people out there who live on semi-busy
streets?
Thanks,
Alyssa
G. Hilborn
We live on a busy street, we have a hedge plus three trees out front
(set back is about 90 ft.). Noise not a problem. I`m sure a fence would be
a big help as well. Once had a friend who lived on a busy noisy street said
they slept well, moved to a quite area and had trouble sleeping. If you
like the house buy it.
ABS wrote in message ...
lang...@teleport.com
>Hi,
>we are considering buying a house that is great in all respects, except it
>is on a corner lot and the side of the yard is on a busy street. The street
>is two lanes and is 35 mph. The lot is pretty big, with about 65 feet
>between the house and the street. We are permitted to put up a privacy
>fence. My question is, how effective are fences, trees, berms, etc. at
>reducing the noise from traffic? Any people out there who live on semi-busy
>streets?
Shrubs and wood fences won't do nearly as much as a brick or other
solid wall.
--
Bennet K. Langlotz
lang...@teleport.com
Ken Schumm
planted about 10 trees (maples, pines, cypress') between us and the road
(which are now 15-20 feet tall), and installed a cedar fence as well.
They seemed to offer little to no reduction in road noise.
The side of the house facing the street has only one second floor window
and a tiny bathroom window, but we can still hear the road noise. We have
mostly gotten used to the noise - the only time it bothers us is when
one of the cool dudz drives by with the thumping bass, but you can hear
that a loooonng way away.
Since we need to replace the siding anyway (L.P. siding is falling apart)
we are looking into ways to quiet things a bit. If it weren't for the
siding replacement we wouldn't even consider it.
Previously, ABS wrote in alt.home.repair:
> Hi,
> we are considering buying a house that is great in all respects, except it
> is on a corner lot and the side of the yard is on a busy street. The street
> is two lanes and is 35 mph. The lot is pretty big, with about 65 feet
> between the house and the street. We are permitted to put up a privacy
> fence. My question is, how effective are fences, trees, berms, etc. at
> reducing the noise from traffic? Any people out there who live on semi-busy
> streets?
> Thanks,
> Alyssa
>
>
>
Tim Hart
the wet blanket but the noise only 100" from one of my old houses really
drove me - well, crazy. Especially if I liked to open the windows for some
smelly air.
As far as the thump thump of your neighborhood mobile DJ, get his address
and we'll go sit outside HIS house and play him some Tammy Wynette for
awhile :-)
Tim.
ABS wrote in message ...
Steve Manes
>is on a corner lot and the side of the yard is on a busy street. The street
>is two lanes and is 35 mph. The lot is pretty big, with about 65 feet
>between the house and the street. We are permitted to put up a privacy
>fence. My question is, how effective are fences, trees, berms, etc. at
>reducing the noise from traffic? Any people out there who live on semi-busy
>streets?
I lived on in a large, cavernous loft with five 9', single-paned sash
windows facing Broadway and Bleecker Street in Manhattan (the heart of
NYC's nightclub district) for 22 years. How's that for
qualifications? <g>
Seriously, a fence will probably help a lot providing it's solid and
there are no reflective surfaces nearby, like another house. You've
probably seen those high, concrete fences between interstates and
housing developments. They work pretty well. The NYC subway system
uses a higher-tech version of it with tuned (resonant absorber) cinder
blocks to dampen the noise of subway brakes.
Michael Rettinger (the god of architectural acoustics) said that the
perfect sound absorber is an open window. What that means in
practical terms is that sound travels in a straight line unless it has
something to bounce off. Think of sound as a bright light, all the
hard surfaces around you as mirrors and your goal is to be in the
shadows. In other words, the height of the fence matters. You need
to provide a barrer between your windows and the sound source...
something for noise to bounce off and into space. But check your
local building codes before you plan your ten-foot high privacy fence.
BTW, bushes or hedges will help only marginally. You might also check
into specialty windows made for noise control. These are typically
dual pane with different thicknesses of glass in each (in order to
reduce sympathetic vibrations) and separated by a flexible rubber
membrane. They ain't cheap though.