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How to Quiet Street Noise in Your Home
Author: Eric Dellolio
Last Updated: February 9, 2024
Read Time: 7 Minutes
How to Quiet Street Noise in Your Home
Author:
Eric Dellolio
Last Updated:
February 9, 2024
Read Time:
7 Minutes
Author: Eric Dellolio
Updated: Feb. 9, 2024
Read Time: 7 Minutes
Table of Contents
Larry across the street swore that loud construction on his house would be done 3 weeks ago. Sabrina next door promised not to mow the lawn before 7am, so there she is every Saturday at 7:01am. And now they’ve blocked off the freeway entrance down the road so all the traffic comes right by your house.
Good fences might make good neighbors but soundproof walls make for neighbors you don’t notice. Between loud neighbors, barking dogs, lawn equipment, construction, dump trucks - the list of nuisances outside your home can start to add up. No more! We have some great solutions for both inside and outside your house to block noise and keep your home quiet.
Larry across the street swore that loud construction on his house would be done 3 weeks ago. Sabrina next door promised not to mow the lawn before 7am, so there she is every Saturday at 7:01am. And now they’ve blocked off the freeway entrance down the road so all the traffic comes right by your house.
Good fences might make good neighbors but soundproof walls make for neighbors you don’t notice. Between loud neighbors, barking dogs, lawn equipment, construction, dump trucks - the list of nuisances outside your home can start to add up. No more! We have some great solutions for both inside and outside your house to block noise and keep your home quiet.
How to Block Out Traffic Noise in Your Bedroom
There are three strategies for blocking noise from entering your bedroom. You can take methods to increase the soundproofing of your home, by beefing up your window assembly or doors, walls that are facing outside. You can also build some soundproofing measures in your yard, like a soundproof barrier fence. These have varying levels of effectiveness and ease of installation, here are the steps we recommend to soundproof your home from traffic noise, from most to least recommended:
- Soundproof your windows with soundproof window inserts
- Build a soundproof fence around your home
- Soundproofing exterior walls and doors
Step One: Improve Window Soundproof to Stop Traffic Noise
The exterior walls of most houses and apartments generally are relatively soundproof. The reason noise makes its way into your home is usually your windows. Windows tend to be a weak point in most buildings letting in noise. The reason for this is two-fold:
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- Sound moves easily through the air, and will “leak” through even small gaps. The window opens and closes, and also can have gaps both in the jamb and around the rough opening.
- Glass is significantly less soundproof than the building materials used for exterior walls. The overall sound blocking ability of a wall is significantly reduced based on its weakest point. This graphic shows what we mean.
By improving the soundproofing of your windows, you can improve the wall's weak point and increase how much sound the overall structure will block. The easiest way to soundproof windows is to upgrade them with our Fantastic Frame Soundproof Window inserts. The inserts are designed to blend right into your current window frame. Once installed, the inserts can reduce sound through your window by up to 80% by substantially increasing the STC rating. These window inserts are also great for providing thermal window insulation.
Other options include replacing your windows altogether with more soundproof versions, which can be costly. You also can attempt to hang a soundproof barrier like mass loaded vinyl or put up a soundproof blanket over your windows, but you have to make ensure the barrier is airtight and it won't perform as well. The window also… isn’t really a window anymore. We have a breakdown of different soundproof windows costs as well an article on home depot window soundproofing alternatives if you'd like to go deeper on your options to reduce sound through windows.
Step Two: Build a Soundproof Fence to Soundproof Your Home
Another option often used in addition to window inserts is building a soundproof fence outside the home. Not only does this help reduce noise inside the house, but also makes your yard more peaceful to relax in. We suggest fences for soundproofing if you live next to a busy road or even if you're trying to make sure you don’t bother your neighbors with backyard get-togethers.
How to build a soundproof fence to reduce street noise
It’s possible to build a barrier that doesn’t block much noise. That’s why we included the basic tips below to help you make your fence as soundproof as possible. We also have a whole article on fence soundproofing where you can read more.
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- Height - Build your fence tall enough that it blocks line of sight to whatever is making noise. This will help block more of the soundwaves making their way to your home. As a rule the height of your fence should be at least 1.5 times taller than the source of the noise, and preferably 2 times. Blocking line of site should help reduce sound by at least 5dB.
- Construction - Choose a dense material with a high STC rating and make sure the barrier you’re creating is as airtight as possible. Using a soundproof material, but then leaving huge gaps in the fence essentially renders it useless. A common option we see from customers is building a wood fence and then adding mass loaded vinyl, sound blankets, or BlocknZorbe panels to it. If you have an existing chain link fence, applying mass loaded vinyl or Quiet Quilt Outdoor Soundproof Blankets will be your best option.
- Placement - If you were trying to block out light, you’d either wear sunglasses or cover the light. Sound works in a similar way. For your fence to be most effective, place it either close to the noise source, or close to the area you’re trying to soundproof. See the diagram below for a better explanation.
Additional tips on how to reduce road noise in home
The solutions we laid out are known to be effective and are likely your best option to reduce the noise coming into your home, but here are a few things to consider as you’re coming up with your soundproofing plan.
- Try sound masking: This is the concept of playing an ambient background sound to drown out more obnoxious or unwanted noises. White noise, music, or even a fan can help mask outside noise, especially when you’re trying to sleep at night.
- Double check doors and windows for gaps: Doors and windows are the biggest culprits in excessive noise. There are a lot of things that can cause a door to let in unwanted noise. If you find gaps, seal them up with things like weather stripping, acoustical sealant, or a door seal kit.
- DON’T use acoustical products: People often mistakenly use products like acoustic panels and sound absorption foam for their soundproofing projects. Sound absorbing materials are useful for improving acoustics inside a space. Adding acoustic material to your walls or windows might be great for your upcoming acapella performance, but it won’t do anything to keep noise out. Instead opt for dense, airtight barriers.
Step Three: Improve Other Exterior Barriers (Or Call Us)
If you feel like there's more going on with your street noise, I recommend giving us a call. We do sometimes run into exterior doors that are not soundproof, typically a glass sliding door or a poorly sealed door. The tricky part is identifying the actual place where the noise is coming in and fixing that. After that, you'll have a new weak point - which can be the beginning of a game of whack a mole.
We want to help make your home comfortable and quiet. It can be hard to know what to do. If you aren't sure where to start, call us to discuss whatever noise problem you're dealing with!