block wall to reduce outdoor noise

[scott]

Hello,

I have a relative that has a house next to a neighbor who is running an in-home daycare. Generally the children reside outdoors unsupervised and scream for most hours of the day. The neighbor is directly adjacent to my relative.

Being in the backyard is very unpleasant, and even indoors with all of the doors and windows closed, the noise is clearly audible and a nuisance. He has quality construction with double-paned windows.

It's come down to either having to sell the house (which is truely unfortuante, as it may incur not only risk of financial loss, but it was a really ideal house), or finding some way to mitigate the noise level.

I've suggested constructing a block wall, a minimum of 6 feet tall (8 feet would be ideal) and 60 feet long. Right now, the properties are seperated by a rickety old wood fence, that has large cracks between the boards, that I'm sure offers zero noise dampening.

So, my question is, what effect would the block wall have? I'm looking for something that would reduce the indoor noise to something that is barely perceptible, as well as reduce the outdoor noise by about half. Will a block wall do this?

I don't want him to have to sink the cost of the block wall into the property and then still have to sell it, with the block wall adding an even greater financial risk to the sale.

Thank you for your opinions!

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[M]

if they are unsupervised kids in a true day care situation call the authorities.

[SteveF]

As someone who just finished moving way the heck out in the country because of a subdivision that popped up in my former back yard I can relate.

First off, I'd have your relative check to see if it is legal for their neighbor to operate an in-home daycare on the property. If not covered by a county or town ordinance they might be in violation of subdivision covenants and restrictions. In the yuppie-land where my brother lives you can't park your boat or inoperable cars in the driveway nor can you operate a business of any kind.

The block wall will help but no idea if enough to make it worth doing (and I kinda' expect not). For a few hundred dollars it might be possible to hire a consulting engineer to come out and take a look before spending a bunch on a wall. Folks who specialize in sound control work for every state's Dept of Transportation. If near a larger airport, they all do sound studies so you could call and ask who did theirs. I've gotten useful information just by calling our state's engineering college and talking to some of the professors for a few minutes.

Good luck. Steve.

Steve.

[Jonny]

I would attempt thick and tall shubbery next the existing fence.

Dumping the kids outside while preparing their lunch is not unusual. Prying and always spying their interactions, bars their real interactions. They can get that later on when they go to prison, cuz their mommy didn't luv em. And their mom and dad had no idea of how to administer discipline, left it up to the care center, school or whatever. Or, in the case of a school, forbade physical discipline and physical restraint entirely.

[scott]

We checked and local regulations permit an unlicensed daycare to have three children, plus their own family members. They have three children of their own and are watching four others (for a total of 7). That's one over the limit, so technically we could submit some form of complaint, but it seems a trivial enough difference that it would serve to create more enmity between us and the neighbors than it would actually solve any problems.

I too am a bit skeptical of how much difference a block wall will make. I was hoping someone had some personal experience. I've heard that it could achieve as much as a 10 dB drop, which would probably be enough, but that is probably under ideal conditions.

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[John Reddy]

Thick shrubbery to reduce sound? That's as ridiculous as the rest of your answer.

[carolyn]

Shrubbery actually makes a good sound barrier. It does cut down the noise getting through - it doesn't eliminate it. It also looks much nicer, in my opinion, to brick, and it also cools down the air temperature on those hot sunny days, cuts down the wind on windy days, and ...

Carolyn

[Jonny]

I'd say somethng inappropriate, but won't be bent that way with your response. Manipulate someone else. Have nice day.

[Italian Mason]

[Deputy Dumbya Dawg]

The best thing to stop sound is MASS. The easier frequencies to stop are the high ones, just like kids screaming. The block wall will have lots of mass and offer broadband blockage over 200Hz.

If this were a room made of blocks it would work well to stop sound probably to where it is not a bother. If you put a door in the room and left it cracked, the block room would be severely compromised and loose about 90% of its sound blocking ability.

Now make it a wall with no sides or top. It will do next to nothing.

Your relative should look into sealing up their house and then put sound absorbing materiel inside of the house to soak up what sound makes it into the home. Check out this book for ideas.

peace Phil

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[PPS]

I would start with the path of least costs, informing the authorities. While having one over may seem trivial to you, it is a violation of their license, and it's entirely possible that they could be forced to close their daycare (it violates fire codes). At the very least it will reduce the noise by one, and put the neighbors on call that the need to take care in the overall noise problem. Who cares if it causes "enmity between us and the neighbors"? They certainly don't give a damn about you, after all, your considering moving or building a wall to rectify the problem.

[Deputy Dumbya Dawg]

: > I too am a bit skeptical of how much difference a block wall will make. I : > was hoping someone had some personal experience. I've heard that it could : > achieve as much as a 10 dB drop, which would probably be enough, but that : > is probably under ideal conditions.

When it comes to noise abatement 10dB ain't shit. Not as loud, yes, still too loud you bet! Low frequencies expect -1dB they will wrap right around that wall like it is not even there.

You need like -40dB to get that feeling like you closed the car door on it. Closing a bed room door on it is 9 dB on a good day. Soundproofing is expensive and kind of like building a boat. One small hole and it is all over.

peace dawg