Road noise in new house

Mossfarr

OP I think it will cease to be a problem when your new baby arrives. You will be so engrossed with him or her and so exhausted from lack of sleep you won't even notice the traffic!
Bouicca is spot on about the dirt & grime from the road though.
Good luck X

moneyistooshorttomention

3mph wrote: »

A regular pattern on noises and your brain is likely to switch them off.

Our flat is on the beach and the sound of the waves can be quite loud, but weirdly lying in bed you do not hear it until you remember there is waves and then it comes through like turning up the volume.

But irregular noises could be a problem.

Vegetation rarely makes a good sound barrier, you just have to go to a wooded area next to a motorway. Whereas solid acoustic barriers can protect.

I don't think it's that so much - there are elements of what one's personal feelings are about the source of the noise imo.

So - personally I'd be absolutely fine with the noise of waves - in fact I'd like it (just as long as I was sure said waves werent going to physically affect my house). Yep...that's reminded me that I've actually got cassettes of waves/rain/bird song - specifically in order to relax by. I actually miss the "dawn chorus" noise of birds singing I had in one place.

Train noise is fine by me too - as long as it's "normal" trains (high speed trains wouldnt be though) and am also used to them and like it.

I think the "noise that annoys" situation arises when it's noise one disapproves of personally - so you get angry and upset and do notice it and get bothered by it.

lincroft1710

Mids_Costcutter wrote: »

We had secondary glazing installed behind double-glazing in a bedroom facing a B-road: it definitely made a difference. According to Which and other sources the gap between panes needs to be at least 100mm for effective noise reduction.

100mm is a very large gap.

EachPenny

Davesnave wrote: »

Before spending money on this, look for the scientific evidence to support it. I did and I didn't find any!

There is a lot of science involved in transport noise pollution, I had to learn a lot of it as part of the highways module when I did my degree.... it was possibly the most boring lectures I ever attended

How the sound propagates and is attenuated is extremely complex, but to save the 10,000 word essay the brief version is in cases like the OP's where you are very close to the road the main issue is normally ground borne vibration/noise, and also the impact of any 'shock' type pressure wave. Neither of which double or secondary glazing can do much about. And likewise trees, hedges and fences have only a very limited effect on the latter problem.

Noise fences and planting will help to attenuate noise from a more distant source, but it all depends on the precise physical circumstances - if noise is reflected off other buildings or trees then the barrier could be completely ineffective.

In summary it is not something worth spending lots of money trying to fix - and I'd only look at double/secondary glazing in terms of it's heat insultation value.

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Whether you'll "get used to the noise or no" may depend, to some extent, on whether you have a vehicle yourself or no. If you do - then....

As someone who doesnt have a car myself - then I would never "get used to it" and it would always annoy me.

You are right, it is a very personal thing. I don't own an airliner, but am used to planes flying low overhead, only the occasional one even enters my consciousness. Likewise, I once lived with a partner who lived right next to a railway - to start with the trains woke me up all the time at night. I don't own a train, and only use them rarely, but it wasn't long before the noise had no impact on me.

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

I think the "noise that annoys" situation arises when it's noise one disapproves of personally - so you get angry and upset and do notice it and get bothered by it.

Which is really the nub of the problem. This 'new' noise is clearly upsetting the OP... the best thing to do is to work on making it less annoying by overcoming the 'internal' annoyance, rather than trying to keep it out through physical adaptations to the house.

Which is the core of the advice I gave before - don't do anything for a few months and see how you feel then. The risk of alternatives is spending money trying to 'fix' it, then becoming doubly annoyed because you've incurred the cost and hassle of 'fixing' it and the damn problem is still there :mad::mad::mad:

I'd put good money on the noise problem being worse after spending money than it is currently

Cathyann

Thanks for all the responses. The house is too close to the road for hedges/fences etc. The main issue is in the lounge during the day and evening. The back garden and master bedroom are relatively quiet at the back of the house.

We are happy to spend some money on the secondary glazing if we thought it would improve things.

Cathyann

Thank you. It’s so frustrating because the house is beautiful. How long did you end up staying?

We can open windows at the back and also use the back garden which is quite quiet. It’s just the loung that’s causing a problem.

hazyjo

You didn't answer if you can swap the lounge for another room... any chance of that?

Cathyann

No don’t think so, there is a small dining room at the back but not really big enough for a lounge

Grenage

There's no doubt that going from single to double-glazed windows will make a large difference in sound volume.

Plants would make !!!!!! all difference.

ACG

I moved in to a place once on a main road - an A road which was one of the main roads in to Manchester city centre, a dual carriageway, so I expect a fair bit busier than the road you are on.

I moved there after living in an avenue on a cobbled street previously.

It took me about 4-5 months, but I did get used to it.