Terribly annoying road noise
 

I made the mistake of buying a new duplex just 30 feet away from a road
where vehicles routinely pass by at 40+ mph every few minutes. I did
check the noise level before buying the house but my test case only
consisted of one car passing by at 25 mph. Plus the AC was on which
significantly damped out the sound ;-(

I spoked to some neighbours and they do not seem bothered by noise. I
suppose to each their own. I was hoping it bothered them too so we
could request the condo association to put up some kind of fence.

I did a google search and it seems I can reduce noise quite a lot by
doing some window "treatment". I have read about all sorts of things
from triple pane windows to interior windows to window plugs.

My question is there something really cheap I can build from materials
at Home Depot to see if this has potential? I thought I could buy some
half-inch plywood sheet, place it in the window frame and seal it with
old clothes.

What do you think?

Thx!

In article .com,
wrote:

I made the mistake of buying a new duplex just 30 feet away from a road
where vehicles routinely pass by at 40+ mph every few minutes. I did
check the noise level before buying the house but my test case only
consisted of one car passing by at 25 mph. Plus the AC was on which
significantly damped out the sound ;-(

I spoked to some neighbours and they do not seem bothered by noise. I
suppose to each their own. I was hoping it bothered them too so we
could request the condo association to put up some kind of fence.

I did a google search and it seems I can reduce noise quite a lot by
doing some window "treatment". I have read about all sorts of things
from triple pane windows to interior windows to window plugs.

My question is there something really cheap I can build from materials
at Home Depot to see if this has potential? I thought I could buy some
half-inch plywood sheet, place it in the window frame and seal it with
old clothes.

What do you think?

Thx!


That you may well and truly have a problem with the condo association.

In article .com,
wrote:

I made the mistake of buying a new duplex just 30 feet away from a road
where vehicles routinely pass by at 40+ mph every few minutes. I did
check the noise level before buying the house but my test case only
consisted of one car passing by at 25 mph. Plus the AC was on which
significantly damped out the sound ;-(

I lived a number of years in a house that 72 feet from US-51
freeway, which may soon be Interstate 39. The traffic noise
didn't bother me as much as the headlights. My dad actually
liked to listen to the trucks at night as they had to gear
down several times to make a hill north of town.

My first trip to college, my dorm was facing a busy street.
I never was able to sleep due to the noise, especially
cop cars and fire trucks. I had to move out and go to plan B.

My current home is also less than a stone's throw from I-35E.
I am lucky in that there is a dirt birm, and another row
of townhouses between myself and the highway. The roadway
is grooved concrete, so some vehicles really make a lot of
noise. If I had the windows open, it would drive me nuts.
I keep all the windows closed, and I run the furnace fan.
That nearly drowns it all out. I also have heavy cellular
window shades on all the windows. That also helps.

Anything more would be useless since no amount of treatment is
going to block out the jet airliners. I live just far enough
from the airport that the planes drop their gear over my
neighborhood. Airplanes on approach are nearly silent,
until you hear a big whump, followed by a whooosh as the
gear drops, then hits the air in the slip stream.

I agree, fart cars (those imports with the loud mufflers
that make farting noises), boom-boom cars (you know, the ones
with concert level sound systems for deaf people, or people
who will soon have hearing damage), and open pipe motorcycles
can really reduce your quality of life if you have to listen
to them, or have them ruin your sleep.

-john-

--
================================================== ====================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ====================

John A. Weeks III wrote:
wrote:

I made the mistake of buying a new duplex just 30 feet away from a
road where vehicles routinely pass by at 40+ mph every few minutes.
I did check the noise level before buying the house but my test
case only consisted of one car passing by at 25 mph. Plus the AC
was on which significantly damped out the sound ;-(

I lived a number of years in a house that 72 feet from US-51
freeway, which may soon be Interstate 39.

I've noticed a number of new homes being built here immediately adjacent
to an interstate highway. Not by the exit, mind you, but in between two
exits and RIGHT UP against the highway. So close that you can see the
expressions on the kid's faces as they jump in their pool.

These are nice homes - in a typical residential development they might
cost $250K or so. Why do people build right up against the highway when
there is so much other land available? Are land values on the highway
so much lower than they are 'inland', or is it some kind of fascination
with the traffic or highway itself?

"Travis Jordan" wrote:

Why do people build right up against the highway when
there is so much other land available? Are land values on the highway
so much lower than they are 'inland', or is it some kind of fascination
with the traffic or highway itself?

As with many major purchases, its a question of balancing a number of factors.
While I wouldn't buy within a couple of miles of an interstate or major highway,
some people feel access to a particular school district, distance to work,
distance to shops, potential for equity growth, etc are all more important.

In article .com,
wrote:

I did a google search and it seems I can reduce noise quite a lot by
doing some window "treatment". I have read about all sorts of things
from triple pane windows to interior windows to window plugs.

For my business, I daily visited an office (lawyer's) that was about 30
feet from an incredibly noisy street in San Jose, Ca. The din outside
was absolutely deafening in the daytime; trucks, cars, motorcycles,
horns, pneumatic drills, you name it. The speed limit is 40 on that
street, but most vehicles travel MUCH faster there, and those speeds and
the constant revving from congested traffic with its racetrack nature
all contributed to the harmful decibel level.

But once you stepped inside the office and shut the door, all that noise
dropped away. The silence was just astounding; you could hear the quiet
hum of the computer fan. Speech was conducted at conversational levels
or lower.

I asked the lawyer about it once, and he shrugged his shoulders as if he
had never noticed it before. He did say that he chose to lease the
building partly based on how well-insulated it was, with its
double-paned windows and thick wall insulation. I suspect that part of
the noise-reducing quality of the building came from its construction
material (at least on the side of the building that faced that street),
although I can only guess at what that is.

I agree, white noise with a fan and/or furnace help a lot. I think that
will only be the best solution. Modifying the window just costs too
much with questionable benefits.
I am never going to buy a property close to a road ever again!

The odd thing is the houses near the road are priced the same as those
away from the road in the same subdivision. You would think they would
be lower priced to reflect their less desirable location.

When I asked my neighbours about the road noise they responded as
though they had never thought about it till I brought it up. I suppose
the majority are not concerned with it, while a minority are. Just my
observations.

On Mon, 31 Jan 2005 12:47:03 GMT, someone wrote:

Why do people build right up against the highway when
there is so much other land available?

Because in many areas, there is NOT so much land available - that is
within a reasonable commute, in a good school district, in a low crime
area, reasonably priced, etc.


Reply to NG only - this e.mail address goes to a kill file.

On 30 Jan 2005 22:46:17 -0800, someone wrote:

If you live where it is quiet, the smallest noise will annoy you. If
you live where it is noisy, you won't even notice. Now I live in a
rural area now, 400 feet back for a lightly traveled dirt road. If I
listen real hard, on a quiet night I can hear the interstate about 2
miles away. However, the wind and the wildlife keep some city visitors
awake.

I used to live on a 4-lane U.S. route. I also lived in a major city
with the trolley line going by on its rails. When in the city, the
interstate was actually much closer as the crow flies, but I never
heard it, far to much closer noise masked it.

If you don't get used to it soon, move. Where and under what
circumstances did you live before that there was "no" noise?
Sometimes what bothers people is a "different" noise, not "more"
noise.


Reply to NG only - this e.mail address goes to a kill file.

v wrote:
Because in many areas, there is NOT so much land available - that is
within a reasonable commute, in a good school district, in a low crime
area, reasonably priced, etc.

That I understand. But the homes I'm curious about are built directly
on the highway in the middle of large, undeveloped areas where much of
the adjacent property is still for sale.

"Travis Jordan" wrote in message
...
v wrote:
Because in many areas, there is NOT so much land available - that is
within a reasonable commute, in a good school district, in a low crime
area, reasonably priced, etc.

That I understand. But the homes I'm curious about are built directly
on the highway in the middle of large, undeveloped areas where much of
the adjacent property is still for sale.

because the land is cheap, really cheap, and there is more profit to be had
by the builder. there may not be roads to the other land, which the builder
would have to put in.

it always comes down to money.

Andy Hill wrote:
First, how long have you lived there? I once rented an apartment
that was
about that distance from a major highway. It took me well under a
month to get
used to the noise level (and, having come from pretty rural area, it
*did* take
some getting used to). Soothing background noise, if you choose to
look at it
that way.

If you've been there more than a couple of months and still haven't
adapted, I
have a feeling it's going to be cheaper to take your losses, sell,
and move
elsewhere than to try to retrofit the condo.

You have some good points. I guess there is noise everywhere. So rather
than move where there isn't noise, focus on trying to minimize what
reaches your ear by white noise and perhaps sound proofing windows.
Thx!

On Tue, 01 Feb 2005 18:06:40 GMT, someone wrote:

That I understand. But the homes I'm curious about are built directly
on the highway in the middle of large, undeveloped areas where much of
the adjacent property is still for sale.

Okay, yeah, that's a Q. Would be interesting to find out how much (if
any) less $ the homes go for. One thing to consider - where do the
buyers come from - if they are city people buying their first suburban
home, a coupla thousand bucks may make a big difference to them, AND
it may not occur to them that it is noisy when compared to where they
already lived. Not everyone EXPECTS "quiet" as a criteria in a new
house.

There are some people around the corner from me, whose house is an old
mill only a few feet from the state highway. They are owners, they
are educated people, they are not hurting for money. They did tell me
that they were certainly not going to buy a house where they might
have trouble getting out to the road in the winter (some nights you
can't get up the hill I live on without 4WD). Apparently the trucks
whizzing by don't bother them, and perhaps they think that I am nuts
for building in such an inaccessible palce.

-v.



Reply to NG only - this e.mail address goes to a kill file.