Dream home, but it is on the corner of a junction

Scotbot

cogrady said:

Scotbot said:

First house I bought turned out to be under the Heathrow flight path if the wind was southerly or easterly, I was new to the area so didn't realise plus both times I  viewed the wind was in the other direction. It drove me nuts, never got used to it but that was because I could hear the planes inside the house The next house was on a road that was initially quiet but became busier due to a new development and the fact the suburb became sought after. The traffic didn't bother me too much as I couldn't here it inside  but the lack of parking did! You are kidding yourself if you think a hedge will filter the noise out when you are outside.
As you have said the reality is if it were in a better position you couldn't afford it so do you want to trade space for location? If you have kids and or dogs is there a fence that will keep them safely off the road?  Both front and back, toddlers will run out the front door before they learn road sense. You will probably get used to the traffic if you can't here it inside but noise is not the only consideration 

Thanks for this. The house I'm looking at is secure from the side and back, but the front would need a hedge for the exact reason to keep children safe (with the added benefit of blocking the light from headlights of cars at night shining onto the house directly). A driveway gate would also need to be installed, as there is none at the moment. Luckily parking isn't a problem, as there is a private driveway to the side and back of the house. I remember when we viewed that we couldn't hear the cars inside. 
How do you find the noise of traffic when you are in the garden?

I couldn't really here the traffic in the back garden, plus the only time I was in the garden would be weekends or evenings so outside of rush hour. To be honest the neighbours kids were noisier than thd traffic.

zagubov

Although it's not something the OP has raised concerns about, if the house is at the very corner of the junction, you might want a burglar alarm fitted or visible. I seem to remember reading that corner houses attract more crime.

Cakeguts

I have lived where I live for over 30 years. When we first moved here it was quiet for where it is. Over those 30 years the noise has increased to the point where it is unbearable and we are not on a main road.  One of the things that has happened is that our road has become a rat run. People drive down it to avoid the traffic on the main roads. This is a small residential road where cars parked on both sides mean that there is only room for one vehicle to pass down the middle.  We have ambulances, small vans, large lorries and large vans as well as small community buses all using it to avoid the main road.  There is also a main line railway and tube line not far away.  The trains on the main line now make a high pitched whistling sound as they pass and added to all of this we now have helicopters going over at certain times of the day that were not there 30 years ago and we have increased noise from planes. 

I cannot get used to this amount of noise.  I hear every vehicle that goes down the road and every train. We have double glazing and you can still hear it all. When lockdown started the first thing we and our neighbours noticed was you could hear the bird song. Normally it is drowned out by noise.  During lockdown it was wonderful. I could sit in our garden without wearing ear defenders.

We are going to have to move I can't stand the noise any longer.

Scotbot

If you stand outside the house can you hear yourselves talking? I could with the house on the busy road but not with the house under the flight path. When a plane went over you had to stop until it had gone past. I imagine HGVs and buses could be an issue, depends on the road location as to how many, if any you will get

cogrady

royalmike said:

At the moment I am renting in a small market town but on the corner of the main road out, ok for a few months but would never buy in this sort location, traffic wakes me up 5am every morning don't need an alarm clock. 

If you don’t mind, would you be able to please provide a street view for comparison?

cogrady

Mickygg said:

Personally I wouldn’t take the risk. It is obviously an issue as you have posted on here and surely if you were to move in it would be on your mind the whole time. 

My main issue wouldn’t be so much the passing noise but the standing traffic at the junction. For pollution and noise of accelerating.

I live fairly near a main road and I can hear it in the garden but it doesn’t bother me. A neighbour lives on the main road with the garden running along it. They have struggled to sell for years. It’s a lovely house and if it wasn’t on the road I would have bought it, but the trouble is that’s been the feedback over the years, great house wrong location. It’s on a bend which doesn’t help as traffic accelerate and of course some put their foot down and create a lot of noise.

I really wouldn’t contemplate buying it until I could see for myself the traffic at rush hour post Covid 19. The fact that this isn’t possible would make it a no for me. 

Would it be alright to share a street view of the property, just to compare it to the house I’m looking to buy please?

cogrady

Scotbot said:

If you stand outside the house can you hear yourselves talking? I could with the house on the busy road but not with the house under the flight path. When a plane went over you had to stop until it had gone past. I imagine HGVs and buses could be an issue, depends on the road location as to how many, if any you will get

Yeah we can. The house isn’t on a road where there is a constant hum of traffic, just lots of cars coming and going from the town.

coffeehound

I would see the crux as whether you want to sit out in the garden much.  If there isn't much cover, it would probably be blighted by the traffic.  

Otherwise in that situation, something that might help a lot is a mechanical heat recovery ventilation (MHRV) system.  It could take air in along a duct from the corner of the plot nearest the woods thus avoiding the worst of any fumes (assuming the neighbour doesn't keep animals or light bonfires down there) and therefore obviate the need to have windows open at any time.  

royalmike

cogrady said:

royalmike said:

At the moment I am renting in a small market town but on the corner of the main road out, ok for a few months but would never buy in this sort location, traffic wakes me up 5am every morning don't need an alarm clock. 

If you don’t mind, would you be able to please provide a street view for comparison?

https://www.google.com/maps/place/1+Atherton+Rd,+Hungerford+RG17+0LD/@51.4120196,-1.5195148,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x4876ab52ebbe2d71:0x21fcad32a83d3bdc!8m2!3d51.4120196!4d-1.5173261

cogrady

royalmike said:

cogrady said:

royalmike said:

At the moment I am renting in a small market town but on the corner of the main road out, ok for a few months but would never buy in this sort location, traffic wakes me up 5am every morning don't need an alarm clock. 

If you don’t mind, would you be able to please provide a street view for comparison?

https://www.google.com/maps/place/1+Atherton+Rd,+Hungerford+RG17+0LD/@51.4120196,-1.5195148,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x4876ab52ebbe2d71:0x21fcad32a83d3bdc!8m2!3d51.4120196!4d-1.5173261

Appreciate this, thanks. It’s a fairly similar setup to the house I’m looking at, with it being on a junction like this.