Soundproofing - Reducing traffic noise.
Discussion
Hi All, I have moved to a new house on a new street. Its a lovely house in a great location but it is situated on a busy road.
The road noise isn't such a problem for me as I do most of my living in the back of the house, including my bedroom but my wife has the idea of having our two young sons in the large bedroom at the front.
The traffic noise in there is pretty loud, they would probably get used to it but if they don't have to put up with it that would be even better.
Have any of you good people ever gone about reducing traffic noise in a room? Has anything you have done had a good effect?
I'm really just looking to take the noise level from "sleeping on the footpath" level to something a bit more acceptable. I understand it will never be amazing.
All options welcome please, low- high cost. Planting trees and works outside are not possible.
The house is a new build, block built with cavity, double glazing etc.
The road noise isn't such a problem for me as I do most of my living in the back of the house, including my bedroom but my wife has the idea of having our two young sons in the large bedroom at the front.
The traffic noise in there is pretty loud, they would probably get used to it but if they don't have to put up with it that would be even better.
Have any of you good people ever gone about reducing traffic noise in a room? Has anything you have done had a good effect?
I'm really just looking to take the noise level from "sleeping on the footpath" level to something a bit more acceptable. I understand it will never be amazing.
All options welcome please, low- high cost. Planting trees and works outside are not possible.
The house is a new build, block built with cavity, double glazing etc.
46and2 said:
Hi All, I have moved to a new house on a new street. Its a lovely house in a great location but it is situated on a busy road.
The road noise isn't such a problem for me as I do most of my living in the back of the house, including my bedroom but my wife has the idea of having our two young sons in the large bedroom at the front.
The traffic noise in there is pretty loud, they would probably get used to it but if they don't have to put up with it that would be even better.
Have any of you good people ever gone about reducing traffic noise in a room? Has anything you have done had a good effect?
I'm really just looking to take the noise level from "sleeping on the footpath" level to something a bit more acceptable. I understand it will never be amazing.
All options welcome please, low- high cost. Planting trees and works outside are not possible.
The house is a new build, block built with cavity, double glazing etc.
Secondary acoustic glazing will help.The road noise isn't such a problem for me as I do most of my living in the back of the house, including my bedroom but my wife has the idea of having our two young sons in the large bedroom at the front.
The traffic noise in there is pretty loud, they would probably get used to it but if they don't have to put up with it that would be even better.
Have any of you good people ever gone about reducing traffic noise in a room? Has anything you have done had a good effect?
I'm really just looking to take the noise level from "sleeping on the footpath" level to something a bit more acceptable. I understand it will never be amazing.
All options welcome please, low- high cost. Planting trees and works outside are not possible.
The house is a new build, block built with cavity, double glazing etc.
First thing would be to check that the windows are properly adjusted and closing with a tight seal (and that all the seals are in place), all trickle vents are closed, etc.
It could also be that the windows haven’t been installed well and that more sound is leaking around the frames than it should, but this will require some opening up to confirm (and resolve).
If the windows are performing as they should, but the noise is just too loud, then as above, secondary glazing will be the simplest solution.
Ultimately, upgrading to triple glazing will be the most effective, but as the windows are new, presumably this would be an extreme option.
Are there any other openings (extractor fans/mvhr or anything else that could act as a path for noise transmission) and is the insulation to the ceiling above adequate and continuous?
It could also be that the windows haven’t been installed well and that more sound is leaking around the frames than it should, but this will require some opening up to confirm (and resolve).
If the windows are performing as they should, but the noise is just too loud, then as above, secondary glazing will be the simplest solution.
Ultimately, upgrading to triple glazing will be the most effective, but as the windows are new, presumably this would be an extreme option.
Are there any other openings (extractor fans/mvhr or anything else that could act as a path for noise transmission) and is the insulation to the ceiling above adequate and continuous?
46and2 said:
bennno said:
Secondary acoustic glazing will help.
We already have blinds, so would this be best installed on the room side of the blinds? Window - blind - secondary glazing?Do you know if it is pricey?
We did this in a flat we own next to a busy road, it made a huge difference.
As already suggested though check if you have window air vents as if so, they will be the source of most existing noise = so try that first.
Cow Corner said:
First thing would be to check that the windows are properly adjusted and closing with a tight seal (and that all the seals are in place), all trickle vents are closed, etc.
I will check over the windows and see, would caulking around the internal frame help? I did notice maybe a slight gap. The window vents are closed but as another poster commented, I think they are pretty poor quality.Cow Corner said:
It could also be that the windows haven’t been installed well and that more sound is leaking around the frames than it should, but this will require some opening up to confirm (and resolve).
This could very well be the case.Cow Corner said:
If the windows are performing as they should, but the noise is just too loud, then as above, secondary glazing will be the simplest solution.
I think this is probably the route we will take which is a shame because we have nice deep window sills (nice feature).
Cow Corner said:
Ultimately, upgrading to triple glazing will be the most effective, but as the windows are new, presumably this would be an extreme option.
Cow Corner said:
Are there any other openings (extractor fans/mvhr or anything else that could act as a path for noise transmission) and is the insulation to the ceiling above adequate and continuous?
No other openings but I will check the loft insulation, good point!
Another poster mentioned curtains, we will probably get these as well, do noise reducing curtains actually work that well?
bennno said:
correct, depends on the size of window and if you can fit it yourself. If so it's probably £300-£600 including the acoustic mastic to fit etc.
We did this in a flat we own next to a busy road, it made a huge difference.
As already suggested though check if you have window air vents as if so, they will be the source of most existing noise = so try that first.
Thanks, I think this will be the route we go down, the room has two windows, the price seems well worth it. Did you DIY it or contact an installer?We did this in a flat we own next to a busy road, it made a huge difference.
As already suggested though check if you have window air vents as if so, they will be the source of most existing noise = so try that first.
46and2 said:
Thanks, I think this will be the route we go down, the room has two windows, the price seems well worth it. Did you DIY it or contact an installer?
I diy'd it, relatively easy as long as you measure up properly and get some plastic packing wedges - ours came from herehttps://clearviewsg.co.uk/diy-secondary-glazing/?g...
The other thing to bear in mind is the fact that you adapt. I live next to a busy-ish road. A bit of a through road connecting a few villages and a small town.
We kind of have a rush hour, during the day you can then have maybe a minute or two with no cars. At night, pretty quiet - although sometimes you get the local knobs in their Vauxhall chav wagons annoying everybody.
I think it's a trade off that I'm happy we made. There are country lanes around the corner with some lovely houses, but I'm not sure I'd want absolute road silence. I quite like a little hustle and bustle. It also means in our case that the house is quite well connected and teenager friendly - bus stop village shops on the same road etc. My teenager daughter socialises in the village and I'm relaxed about her walking back home, whereas I would not be on a country lane.
I don't know your exact positioning of course, but recall similar concerns which I have now filed under "nothing burger".
We kind of have a rush hour, during the day you can then have maybe a minute or two with no cars. At night, pretty quiet - although sometimes you get the local knobs in their Vauxhall chav wagons annoying everybody.
I think it's a trade off that I'm happy we made. There are country lanes around the corner with some lovely houses, but I'm not sure I'd want absolute road silence. I quite like a little hustle and bustle. It also means in our case that the house is quite well connected and teenager friendly - bus stop village shops on the same road etc. My teenager daughter socialises in the village and I'm relaxed about her walking back home, whereas I would not be on a country lane.
I don't know your exact positioning of course, but recall similar concerns which I have now filed under "nothing burger".
CloudStuff said:
The other thing to bear in mind is the fact that you adapt. I live next to a busy-ish road. A bit of a through road connecting a few villages and a small town.
We kind of have a rush hour, during the day you can then have maybe a minute or two with no cars. At night, pretty quiet - although sometimes you get the local knobs in their Vauxhall chav wagons annoying everybody.
I think it's a trade off that I'm happy we made. There are country lanes around the corner with some lovely houses, but I'm not sure I'd want absolute road silence. I quite like a little hustle and bustle. It also means in our case that the house is quite well connected and teenager friendly - bus stop village shops on the same road etc. My teenager daughter socialises in the village and I'm relaxed about her walking back home, whereas I would not be on a country lane.
I don't know your exact positioning of course, but recall similar concerns which I have now filed under "nothing burger".
Yea you are absolutely correct. I'm sure we will get used to it, even if we do nothing to reduce the noise. We struck it very lucky with our house, is 5 min walk to the centre of town, 5mins to the supermarket. I turn left onto the road to go to work. The local Primary school is 3 mins walk away. I love where I live, I just would like it maybe a touch quieter in certain rooms. We kind of have a rush hour, during the day you can then have maybe a minute or two with no cars. At night, pretty quiet - although sometimes you get the local knobs in their Vauxhall chav wagons annoying everybody.
I think it's a trade off that I'm happy we made. There are country lanes around the corner with some lovely houses, but I'm not sure I'd want absolute road silence. I quite like a little hustle and bustle. It also means in our case that the house is quite well connected and teenager friendly - bus stop village shops on the same road etc. My teenager daughter socialises in the village and I'm relaxed about her walking back home, whereas I would not be on a country lane.
I don't know your exact positioning of course, but recall similar concerns which I have now filed under "nothing burger".
I'd probably start with some science & try to measure where the sound was coming in, whether it was direct path leaks or transmission though materials and find out what frequencies I was looking at & at what levels. Different problems need different solutions & you don't want to guess unless the issues are immediately obvious.
Obvious ones are trickle vents, poorly adjusted windows, window frames with poor sealing to the structure, transmission through the windows, walls, or ceiling.
Trickle vents can be replaced or if it comes to it blocked. Blocking is a quick/easy test to see if a replacement would help.
Windows can need adjusting to seal properly, or rubber seals can be bad. Some are just comically badly fitted & need adjusting to actually close & compress the seal when shut. If you can't see a gap you might still hear it as it's pretty obvious if noise is coming around the edge, & also when you close it whether you can feel it all tighten.
Lots of window frames have poor sealing around the edges against the structure, either due to movement, degradation of the foam etc or just a poor original install. Not hard to check/fix though maybe a bit disruptive pulling any trim pieces & existing sealant. Current Soudal system is a three part setup of a flexible expanding foam between frame & wall (so doesn't gap after a few thermal cycles) with acoustic sealant and acrylic sealant to finish the outer and inner. Slapping some sealant on the surface won't do much if there's a gap that runs all the way past the frame.
Frames and glass are probably adequate in themselves if reasonably new, but specific acoustic units exist if you need better & checking the installation doesn't sort it.
Transmission through walls shouldn't be a big issue but depends on the frequencies & construction.
Transmission through the ceiling depends on construction & insulation levels, but not unusual for a sound path to exist through the soffit around to the ceiling edge if insulation isn't great - the soffit & some plasterboard won't block much noise on their own.
Sound reduction by curtains does work, but effective ones are *heavy* and won't deal with all possible sources.
Obvious ones are trickle vents, poorly adjusted windows, window frames with poor sealing to the structure, transmission through the windows, walls, or ceiling.
Trickle vents can be replaced or if it comes to it blocked. Blocking is a quick/easy test to see if a replacement would help.
Windows can need adjusting to seal properly, or rubber seals can be bad. Some are just comically badly fitted & need adjusting to actually close & compress the seal when shut. If you can't see a gap you might still hear it as it's pretty obvious if noise is coming around the edge, & also when you close it whether you can feel it all tighten.
Lots of window frames have poor sealing around the edges against the structure, either due to movement, degradation of the foam etc or just a poor original install. Not hard to check/fix though maybe a bit disruptive pulling any trim pieces & existing sealant. Current Soudal system is a three part setup of a flexible expanding foam between frame & wall (so doesn't gap after a few thermal cycles) with acoustic sealant and acrylic sealant to finish the outer and inner. Slapping some sealant on the surface won't do much if there's a gap that runs all the way past the frame.
Frames and glass are probably adequate in themselves if reasonably new, but specific acoustic units exist if you need better & checking the installation doesn't sort it.
Transmission through walls shouldn't be a big issue but depends on the frequencies & construction.
Transmission through the ceiling depends on construction & insulation levels, but not unusual for a sound path to exist through the soffit around to the ceiling edge if insulation isn't great - the soffit & some plasterboard won't block much noise on their own.
Sound reduction by curtains does work, but effective ones are *heavy* and won't deal with all possible sources.
I consider unwanted noise to be an absolute blight and believe it can be really damaging.
I think all the suggestions around checking the fitting of the windows and mitigation through different or additional glazing, plus curtains will be the most effective. However, ventilation can be an issue - fresh air is also really important - so this needs consideration also.
I think all the suggestions around checking the fitting of the windows and mitigation through different or additional glazing, plus curtains will be the most effective. However, ventilation can be an issue - fresh air is also really important - so this needs consideration also.
roadie said:
I consider unwanted noise to be an absolute blight and believe it can be really damaging.
I think all the suggestions around checking the fitting of the windows and mitigation through different or additional glazing, plus curtains will be the most effective. However, ventilation can be an issue - fresh air is also really important - so this needs consideration also.
Username is a thing.I think all the suggestions around checking the fitting of the windows and mitigation through different or additional glazing, plus curtains will be the most effective. However, ventilation can be an issue - fresh air is also really important - so this needs consideration also.
I’ve just replaced 12 year old double glazing in timber frames with high spec triple glazing in a laminated acoustic confirmation in alu-composite frames and the difference is very stark in both directions. (I have a piano and wanted to be able to play it any time of night without being heard outside)
A neighbours house alarm went off recently and you wouldn’t hear it in the rooms which had been done vs noticeably disturbing in the other rooms.
A neighbours house alarm went off recently and you wouldn’t hear it in the rooms which had been done vs noticeably disturbing in the other rooms.
Previous house had insulation granules which may be 'vermiculite' (???), above the ceiling plasterboard,
I don't know too much about this, other than it gets silly if you make a hole in the ceiling, but it would be something I'd look into, if I thought the loft was letting sound into the room.
Not gonna happen in my loft, it's wedged with junk!
I don't know too much about this, other than it gets silly if you make a hole in the ceiling, but it would be something I'd look into, if I thought the loft was letting sound into the room.
Not gonna happen in my loft, it's wedged with junk!
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