Highway Noise Barrier???? White noise????

[infiniteMPG]

We live in a fairly rural area and there is a nearby interstate (about

4/10 mile as the crow flies) that the sound has never been an issue with. Recently they have started clearing the land between us and the interstate to make room for condos and shopping plazas. With the loss of the trees, the increase in traffic due to the population growth (west central Florida) the sound has increased dramatically. We were wondering if there was anything we could do directly in our yard, to our house, or around the area to reduce the noise? Are certain trees/ plants better at blocking sound then others? Of if there was any approach we could use to the devlopers to have them build a sound barrier on their new stuff (reduction in property value due to noise, etc)?

Any suggestions would be gladly welcomed!

[ythread]

What type of windows do you have?

[infiniteMPG]

Single hung and kind of cheap, what was put in the house when built in the early 1980's. The sound isn't too noticeable inside the house but I have noticed during different weather conditions the sound is worse or better. Can't remember which but I recall when it's raining, hot, humid, cloudy, clear or dry and sunny the sound is much different. Was looking more to try to barrier the sound as we like hanging out on the screened porch and you can hear it out there pretty loudly at most times.

[Blattus Slafaly]

I would sell out and move.

[ythread]

We have pretty much the same problem. I don't have any answers for you. If you plant trees look for fast growing trees in your area. It seems like around here a few people have fountians to help drown out some of the noise. I've never been bothered by traffic noise but it's the cars with the loud bass speakers that really gets to me. Our only option is to replace our windows. We have a small fountain outside but it doesn't really help that much. I think regardless you are going to have to learn to deal with it or buy a large amount of land and build in the middle. We live in Central TX which is one of the fastest growing area in the US right now. It sucks. Personally I'd like to move to Idaho or Montana but my wife's family lives here so I'm stuck for now.

[ythread]

Quickly before it gets worse.

[jmeehan]

Before you find that you are below sea level.

[ythread]

Before you find that you are below sea level.

=====================================

That would solve his noise problem.

[RicodJour]

I don't recall the specifics, but the professor in the acoustics course I took back in the day (shortly after they invented noise), made an illustration to show that you'd need one US regulation shitload of foliage to make an appreciable acoustic difference. To whit:

"The propagation of highway noise over a forest stand expressed by the variation of the sound pressure level versus the distance has clearly shown the important attenuation produced by the forest stand. In urban areas trees can be used as noise buffers, able to reduce noise with 5 to 10 dB, if some general recommendations are respected (plant trees near the noise source, plant trees/shrubs with dense foliage as close as possible, plant belt trees of 7 to 17 m wide, etc).

That's roughly 20 to 50 FEET of dense planting to achieve a 5 to 10 dB reduction.

And another source on foliage:

Fencing is just as tough as you need mass to stop sound. Unless you are living in the acoustic shadow zone of the wall (you won't be) it's an expensive way to get a poor solution. R

[ythread]

I don't recall the specifics, but the professor in the acoustics course I took back in the day (shortly after they invented noise), made an illustration to show that you'd need one US regulation shitload of foliage to make an appreciable acoustic difference. To whit:

"The propagation of highway noise over a forest stand expressed by the variation of the sound pressure level versus the distance has clearly shown the important attenuation produced by the forest stand. In urban areas trees can be used as noise buffers, able to reduce noise with 5 to 10 dB, if some general recommendations are respected (plant trees near the noise source, plant trees/shrubs with dense foliage as close as possible, plant belt trees of 7 to 17 m wide, etc).

That's roughly 20 to 50 FEET of dense planting to achieve a 5 to 10 dB reduction.

And another source on foliage:

Fencing is just as tough as you need mass to stop sound. Unless you are living in the acoustic shadow zone of the wall (you won't be) it's an expensive way to get a poor solution. R ==================================================== Reminds me of a neighbor hood I lived in where all the two story houses actually amplified the noises in between the houses. Dogs barking would get channeled between the houses and traffic noises just bounced back and forth. There is no easy answer.

[mm]

As they build the condos and plazas and plant trees around them, that should help.

[infiniteMPG]

Does anyone have suggestions for the best kind of windows to reduce outside noise? The master bedroom has a 6-foot fully pocketed sliding glass door facing south, and two narrow windows facing west and that's it. The highway is towards the west so I was thinking that maybe replacing the windows in the master bedroom might reduce the noise there and in the queit of morning is when you notice it the most.

Also seems that when the air is more humid the sound is louder. Not an acoustics expert (or even a novice) but is the thicker air when it's very humid easier for sound to travel thru?

Thanks!

[DerbyDad03]

It won't help you now, but this reminds me of the following advice:

"If you buy a house for the view, you better be able to afford the view."

Nothing sucks more than to buy a house with a view of the lake over a gently rolling field only to have the owner of the field put up a billboard or a warehouse a few years later.

The house I grew up in was across a narrow street from some woods owned by a college in NYC. Over the years, tennis courts, a baseball field and other athletic features replaced the woods. Still, not so bad - for all the years we lived there, the worst we had was a large grass covered field across from our house.

I drove through the old neighborhood last year - the view now consists of a 7 story glass and steel building, less than 100 feet from my old front door. My Dad was so glad he sold the place a few years before the building went up.

[mm]

This is, btw, a major reason for my other thread, where I wanted to cut up the log in the stream. I don't want the owners of the stream bed to be bothered, I don't want them to think about the stream. I want as many years as possible to go by where they ignore it and the thin strip of land on the other side, because I expect that eventually, all my woods will be gone and something medium to terrible will be there.

On the other side of the stream and beyond the woods and the next street, the land was posted and I went to the zoning hearing. I didn't intend to complain and I didn't, but my very presence and the few simple questions I asked annoyed the developer a little bit. When they adjournded from the hearing room to an office, I followed along and no one objected. He had his zoning already, and planned to cut down all the trees on his lot and put in some offices and ...a

7-11!!!!. I figured I was stuck. I don't know what happened, no one was objecting while I was there. They cut down all the trees and ended up just putting a flood pond and a very quiet parking lot, a free one with no sign or attendant. That was 10 years ago.

What part of NYC is this? I lived there 12 years and tried as best I could to learn the whole city.

[Steve Barker DLT]

OH NO! Not a billboard.......

s

It won't help you now, but this reminds me of the following advice:

"If you buy a house for the view, you better be able to afford the view."

Nothing sucks more than to buy a house with a view of the lake over a gently rolling field only to have the owner of the field put up a billboard or a warehouse a few years later.

The house I grew up in was across a narrow street from some woods owned by a college in NYC. Over the years, tennis courts, a baseball field and other athletic features replaced the woods. Still, not so bad - for all the years we lived there, the worst we had was a large grass covered field across from our house.

I drove through the old neighborhood last year - the view now consists of a 7 story glass and steel building, less than 100 feet from my old front door. My Dad was so glad he sold the place a few years before the building went up.

[DerbyDad03]

re: What part of NYC is this?

Go to GoogleMaps and look at the Street View for 149-03 Reeves Ave

11367. (The title on the Street View picture say 96 Reeves Ave for some reason)

On the left you'll see a row of attached brick houses, I lived in the

2nd one from the corner. Directly across Reeves Ave you'll see a glass and steel building - OK I was mistaken, it's only 3 stories.

Where the building now stands is where the woods then field used to be.

BTW - Pan out on the map and look at the area bordered by Reeves Ave, Main St, Gravett Rd/Melbourne Ave and Kissena Blvd.

Starting at the corner of Main St & Gravett Rd and heading north, you can go from Kindergarten to Junior High School to High School to Graduate School all within the confines of that 2 mile "block".

[mm]

This is freaky. I can see what you're having for dinner. Spaghetti, right?

1. 3 1/2. Who's counting?

I had never used street view before.

No good for me. I've completed kindergarten already.

[Lou]

If your property is big enough, can you install a berm around the perimeter and then a solid wooden fence on top of the berm? A 4' berm should help displace the sound waves, and the fence is a fence. It should deflect a certain amount. As for inside, find windows with as many panes as possible. It's hard to find a dealer in FL that sells triple pane, but they are available. Inside the windows you may want to replace the curtains with lined drapes. The kind that have two fabrics sewn together to block out light and absorb sound. After that a high powered rifle used every once in a while will help cut the traffic down. Lou

[Paulaner]

We have a similar situation, and found this website:

We haven't tried any of the products though. I was thinking that a triple pane high quality sliding glass door might give similar results, but I'm not sure. Our issue is at a vacation place, so we may sell instead of fix this annoyance.

From what I have read, and I'm no acoustics expert either, you need solid density to block sounds. The thicker the better. No gaps.

I did stay in a hotel in Barcelona one time and when I saw the hotel was right by a very busy intersection I thought I wouldn't get any sleep. Turns out the room with a window looking at the intersection was actually quiet. They had installed two windows, one on the outside and one on the inside. When I opened the inside window the noise was significantly louder, and of course very loud when I opened the outside one. There was about 10" of gap between the two windows, I don't know if that matters.

Let us know how it works out, success or failure.