What would be the best way to build a soundproof fence around a house?
Maybe a layer of stone, a layer of soundproof foam, and a layer of good quality wood? Maybe times two for six total layers?
Best way to build a soundproof fence around a house?
What would be the best way to build a soundproof fence around a house?
Maybe a layer of stone, a layer of soundproof foam, and a layer of good quality wood? Maybe times two for six total layers?
double layers with an air gap and as tall as possible
This. Mix in hedging for best effect. Something like fence/gap/hedge/gap/fence.
Build it as tall as you want anon, I only need to build one platform to see & hear all your dastardly doings.
In a perfect world, PrepHole would have a useful sticky, and one of the major points would be YOU CAN'T FRICKING SOUNDPROOF ANYTHING. JUST MOVE GODDAMIT.
I spent a few thousand bucks remodeling a room, and climate wise it was a total success; very little electricity to keep it comfy year round. But the goddamned barking dogs, screaming leaf blowers from hell, and the throbbing 1000 watt bass shit is still there. Diminished, yes, quite a bit, but not gone.
>JUST MOVE GODDAMIT
Every house has a neighbor within 300 ft who will hate drumming at midnight.
There's no such thing as a "soundproof" fence, because some noise will always diffract over the top.
The critical factors are (you need all 3 or you won't get a good result):
1. Making sure there are no gaps in it (even hairlines), including along the bottom.
2. Somewhat obvious, but you need to break the line of sight between the noise source and receiver (you). Be aware that there are rapidly diminishing returns in this regard - just breaking the line of sight will reduce the noise by ~5 dB, but you don't get a linear relationship with increasing height so it would be a waste of money and effort to build more than a metre or so above that in an urban environment. It's unlikely you'll get more than 8 dB reduction from it.
3. Making sure the surface density (kg/m2) of your fencing is sufficiently high that the noise diffracting over the top of the fence (or around the sides), which you can't do anything about, is at least 10 dB higher than the noise that comes through the fence. For most general applications, 10 kg/m2 is ample. Highway noise barriers are usually 12.5 - 15 kg/m2.
Lapped 12mm softwood palings will do the job. Anything heavier is fine, but not necessary.
BUT if you can still hear the noise, it will probably piss you off even if you reduce the level by a full 8 dB. If the noise is annoying you inside your house, you'd be better spending your money on upgrading your glazing.
If the noise is annoying you in your back yard, a fence may not be enough and like this anon says, you might have to look at moving or getting the law involved (or just asking your noisy neighbour to tone it down a bit).
t. former acoustical consultant.
When I was up at the top of the Sears Tower, I was a bit surprised by how much street level noise I could hear all the way up there.
Whatever the Mormons did with the wall around their temple in downtown Salt Lake City works really well. The street outside if noisy but step onto the temple grounds and it's suddenly like the Garden of Eden. They also only allow attractive Mormons to be tour guides, which is a nice bonus.
pour a solid 10 inch thick concrete wall
microphone array, wall of high-quality PA speakers, and a computer to run noise cancellation processing
>Best way to build a soundproof fence around a house?
not possible
well unless you are willing to put in a highway sound/noise barrier you cant win
Use heavy material.
shrubs and trees in between line of sight and in front of any sound reflective surfaces
My dad installed a soundwall on one side of our yard since we live so close to a main road. It has bamboo as aesthetics and a 4-6in deep 8ftx8ft panels with 4x4's at the end and 2x6 as a top cap.
Worked okay, but 2 years after I presume the neighbors complained enough and the city installed a CMU wall right next to the road. That was as good as the sound wall.
The cmu is probably 1 block thick and 12 feet tall.
Still can hear harleys, ricers, and diesels go by but now it's fine.
Before you had to use a your "outside" voice/yell.