Sound insulation noisy road

stevoh

Hi all

I went for a viewing today in a house which backs on to quite a busy dual carriage.

I knew that the place would suffer road noise, but just went to see what it would be like.

It was a lovely place, and pricing according to its location, near the road. Everything other than the noise was perfect.

The noise level were fine at the front of the house. At the back, with the triple glasses windows closed, it was acceptable but not ideal. I could have lived with it, but wouldn’t want to sleep in a back bedroom with the windows open.

Unfortunately in the garden the noise was at a level I don’t think I could live with. They had a thick, tall bush and a standard wooden fence.

I’m wondering if I should just walk away, or if there’s any noise reducing technology that it’s worth investigating. 

Also, not sure if I’m being overly optimistic, but with the increasing numbers of electric cars being purchased, I’m wondering if this issue may improve over the years.

benson1980

Don’t do it. If it grates a bit when viewing, it will only get worse when you live there- speaking from experience.

 If the windows have already been upgraded, options are probably a bit limited.

Over a certain distance, most of the noise is tyres on road surface rather than engine related- thus the prospect of it getting much quieter with number of EVs increasing isn’t realistic.

victor2

As above, walk away.

FreeBear

stevoh said: I’m wondering if I should just walk away, or if there’s any noise reducing technology that it’s worth investigating.

There are a number of alternative road surfaces that claim to reduce traffic noise, but that would be a measure for the highways department to implement. You could also look at physical noise barriers, but these would be expensive to install, and again, probably fall under the remit of the highways department.

If you don't like road noise, the only really viable option is to put plenty of distance between yourself and the source. Have a recently completed dual carrageway some two miles from here. Some nights, I'm aware of the noise as the boy racers try to kill themselves.

BikingBud

Have a look at these:
https://nationalhighways.co.uk/our-work/environment/air-quality-and-noise/noise/
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/813666/noise-action-plan-2019-roads.pdf

victor2

We have a motorway, in a cutting a mile away from us. If we're sitting in the garden and the wind is blowing from that direction (which is not very often), you can just make out the traffic noise. Not enough to annoy you, but enough for you to comment on the wind direction.

wigglygiggly

Like others said, if you didn't like it when just viewing you will hate it it more living there. We moved into a house 5 years ago and the house is on a busy trunk road. We are used to living next to busy roads and for a while it didn't bother us. But with a nearby city choosing to be a CAZ it means more HGVs being pushed onto the already busy trunk road. Then the local highways do not take any notice of the many complaints I have made to them regarding the state of the road causing major noise issues and vibrations. We cannot have windows open at night due to noise and pollution. We also had our windows done and every single installer told us we HAD to have trickle vents fitted. Now the road noise is amplified. Luckily, when sitting in the back garden it's not really noticeable apart from the odd van/HGV bouncing over lumps and bumps on the road.

But we love this house and hoping a new bypass which is on the cards will move the traffic away from this road. There are  advantages of living on a road like this e.g. quick access to where we need to go but honestly if you cannot bear noise, walk away. 

Bigphil1474

It's a personal thing i think. What you think is noisy, others won't. Back in the day when I lived at my mums house, I had the front bedroom which faced onto a busy dual carriageway. You could hear the juggernauts coming up the hill from half a mile away, especially at night. I still slept like a baby (I was in my early 20's). I didn't have the window open even in the summer but it was fine for me. Now I live in a quieter suburb and sometimes it a bit too quiet. I still don't open the windows at night. 

From your description, the death nail seems to be that the noise in the garden is too much for you. I think you could get away with sleeping with windows closed using fans/air-con, but if you can't cope with the noise in your garden then the only short term solution would be tall fences if allowed.

stevoh

Thanks all. This all supports my gut feeling. It’s also interesting to gauge the general sentiment about this when considering the resell potential. 

FreeBear

wigglygiggly said: We cannot have windows open at night due to noise and pollution. We also had our windows done and every single installer told us we HAD to have trickle vents fitted. Now the road noise is amplified.

Although too late now, the latest revision of the building regulations does mandate "background ventilation" - There are several ways of meeting this requirement, trickle vents are just one. There is also a clause that allows for trickle vents being omitted when the windows face sources of high noise such as a busy road. It is a shame that the likes of FENSA keep pushing the line that trickle vents are mandatory when they are not.

Depending on how long ago your windows were fitted, you could try berating the installers and get them to seal up the offending trickle vents. Alternatively, fill the holes in the frames with expanding foam.

wigglygiggly

FreeBear said:

wigglygiggly said: We cannot have windows open at night due to noise and pollution. We also had our windows done and every single installer told us we HAD to have trickle vents fitted. Now the road noise is amplified.

Although too late now, the latest revision of the building regulations does mandate "background ventilation" - There are several ways of meeting this requirement, trickle vents are just one. There is also a clause that allows for trickle vents being omitted when the windows face sources of high noise such as a busy road. It is a shame that the likes of FENSA keep pushing the line that trickle vents are mandatory when they are not.

Depending on how long ago your windows were fitted, you could try berating the installers and get them to seal up the offending trickle vents. Alternatively, fill the holes in the frames with expanding foam.

You wouldn't have a link to that would you? I tried looking and couldn't find that - so I can then point it to the installers. Was done last July so may be too late anyway.