Road noise

Mickygg

Hi all

We have seen a house that is ideal for us. But (isn't there always) there are two snags.
One is the back garden backs on to effectively 3 parallel roads. One of which is a dual carriageway that must be about 100 metres away from the garden (the furthest road away).
This brings me on to the second issue. Road noise. Over the weekend standing in the garden it is pretty loud and of course constant.
I only noticed the noise when I thought about it, but it's a mixture of distant road noise and car noises in general.

So has anyone experienced similar and driven you mad or is it one of those things that you don't notice after a while?

Also would roads at the end of your garden put you off?

Cheers

GoldenShadow

Yes it would put me off.

We have road noise; we live off the main road in the town and our house has vents so double glazing doesn't keep the sound out. I find it OK, it does quiet about 6.30pm and I notice more that other places are quiet as opposed to home noisy.

However, we looked at a house that was near a dual carriageway and didn't go further because of it. There was another round the corner from one and we didn't view it for the same reason.

ellie27

The sound of traffic is an instant NO for me. A peaceful, secure garden is a major priority for me with 2 young children.

And seeing roads out of my house windows is also an automatic NO for me (main roads that is)

It is unlikely you will hear the noise from inside the house, but if you are someone who likes to be outdoors much then it would get to you I expect.

When it comes to buying, if I look at a map and I know the house backs onto a main road then I would not even consider viewing it.

Person_one

There's a dual carriageway at the back of my garden. The fence at the back is high and there's plenty of shrubbery so I only ever see the very tops of tall lorries.

I moved here from a city centre, so I'm possibly more used to noise than most, but its not bothered me at all. The road is very busy at rush hour, but the traffic moves so slowly its not actually very noisy. The rest of the time its not busy at all, so again not actually that loud! If the doors and windows are closed I can't hear it at all, but even with windows open or when out in the garden I can honestly say it doesn't bother me or affect my enjoyment of my home at all.

ManuelG

Entirely depends on the person and how you'd use the house, I reckon.

FWIW there are some nice cottages near where I come from on a dual carriageway, far cheaper than all the other houses as a result. The noise wouldn't have put me off (can zone that out) it'd have been the terror of pulling into my drive at evening rush hour!

Constant noise I find easier to zone out. It's the unexpected noises that bother me... but others are different.

melanzana

I think it depends on what you are used to.

First house was face on a major road and a church that clanged its bells every morning, noon and evening every day. But I had grown up close to a busy road.

TBH after a while we never heard any of it.

But I am now living in a quiet cul de sac, where a pin could drop! I actually found the quiet a bit disconcerting for a while!

No seriously, if you are not used to noise, this could drive you mad, but if you are used to it, it could be great. After all lots of people are living there now, and are ok (I hope).

Sorry to say though, that I would never again live near road noise. Or an airport flight path, or a school, or.....ah here.

I should just live on a mountain top at this stage!

GoldenShadow

ManuelG wrote: »

Entirely depends on the person and how you'd use the house, I reckon.

FWIW there are some nice cottages near where I come from on a dual carriageway, far cheaper than all the other houses as a result. The noise wouldn't have put me off (can zone that out) it'd have been the terror of pulling into my drive at evening rush hour!

Constant noise I find easier to zone out. It's the unexpected noises that bother me... but others are different.

I agree. I have friends who will only live in a cul-de-sac but I would be more irritated by one person doing DIY and disturbing the peace than I am by regular traffic or one of my neighbours doing DIY.

AnotherJoe

I had a house further away from road noise than yours, that was difficult to sell because of the noise from a motorway. The irony was, at weekends when you'd be in the garden the road noise was not really noticeable, but at a time you wouldn't be in the garden, but when people came to view, generally after work on a weekday around. 6 or 7pm it was pretty loud and it put several buyers off.
From what you've reported I wouldn't buy this place.

davidmcn

From my experience, a motorway wouldn't be too bad - I used to live in a flat about 150m from the M8. It was white noise which I could filter out pretty quickly (and only noticeable if the windows were open).

The more random noise you might get from a High Street or similar busy-ish road I would find much more annoying.

househunt

I currently live on a very busy ring road and it does my head in with all the traffic wizzing past, the continous sirens of ambulances & police cars. However where I'm currently trying to purchase is also a road, but with much less traffic, so hopefully it should be a lot more quieter.

FYI, I'm okay with road noise, so long as it's not really really busy.

My advise......Unless your garden is HUGE, If you can avoid it, don't buy a house near a busy road.

Mickygg

Thanks all. An interesting mix but looks like in favour of not pursuing this house with roads right at the back.
It's intersting hearing people say between sudden noises being irritating rather than constant noise. The trouble with this place is that there is both with the dual carriageway and the acceleration of cars as the closest road right at the back fence is a t junction.

I am currently living in a particularly quiet area, so with what several people have said above I think has confirmed I'd best not go for it.