DerbyDad03 wrote:

On Aug 31, 12:00*pm, Jim Elbrecht wrote:
-snip-

The open one has some advantages if you're in snow country

We are.

and it would be cheaper, if I'm picturing it right

You might not be picturing it right.

In both cases, there are boards on both sides of the rails, so the
same amount of material was used for each style.

Get a decibel meter and walk along each side some day during rush
hour

I'm not sure I need to do that. Why don't you think an alternating
board fence would block more sound than a open fence? Take it to the
extreme and compare a chain link fence to a solid panel. Doesn't it
make sense that the more material there is for the sound to bounce off
of, the less noise will make it into the yard?

Yes, there will be some bouncing of the sound waves within the fence,
and there will be some leakage around the slats and through the
openings, but the closer to solid you get, the less noise will make it
through. Try it on your own with a radio and few boards.

I'm still not picturing the two styles, I guess. But a radio and
my property would make a poor comparison. [and I don't have a decibel
meter, anyway.g]

The effectiveness of an acoustic fence is affected by how far the
houses and the highway are from the fence.

Why do they build those solid walls next to highways? Why wouldn't
they go cheaper and put up slotted walls if it makes no difference?

Why did they cut all the trees off an embankment so the entire thing
slid into the road the following spring? Sometimes engineers make
mistakes, or are just plain ignorant.

I'm still not sure what they look like- But I'm betting the open fence
is to eliminate some snow drifts.

Jim