Acoustic Fencing.

RobDavies

I live on a busy main road, and this summer's weather has meant that we have our windows open all the time.  
Obviously this has a knock on effect with traffic noise, so does anyone think that this might work?....

https://www.jacksons-fencing.co.uk/acoustic-fencing

Or is it snake oil?  I'm very sceptical....

Sporky

It's certainly possible to make a fence that will block (more) sound transmission than a basic one. Some sound will still make it over or around or diffract around the fence, but I don't think it's snake oil.

However, unless the fence blocks line of sight to the road from your windows I'm not sure it can help - sound mostly goes in straight lines.

stickyfiddle

All I can think of is shouting "enguard" really loudly. Does that help?

p90fool

You could try Joe Bonamassa perspex amp screens if you're feeling flush? 

mistercharlie

You should open the windows at night, and close them during the day. Also, try to block the sun with shutters, blinds, or curtains. That’ll fix the heat, and the noise. 

Opening windows when when it’s hot outside just makes it hotter inside. You wouldn’t open the windows up in winter to heat the place up.

ICBM

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EJUD6HHNclc/T2a_r3s1uSI/AAAAAAAAFf8/w5A-XAKQ0ZE/s1600/00090.jpg




It's not snake oil, but you will need planning permission to put up anything high enough to make a significant difference I think, and it will cost a lot - and it will also only reduce noise, not eliminate it.

hywelg

As @ICBM says there laws about the height of fencing adjacent to a public highway. Think its 1.2m?

Maybe consider leylandii .

EricTheWeary

mistercharlie said:

You should open the windows at night, and close them during the day. Also, try to block the sun with shutters, blinds, or curtains. That’ll fix the heat, and the noise. 

Opening windows when when it’s hot outside just makes it hotter inside. You wouldn’t open the windows up in winter to heat the place up.

Seems quite rare to see external window shutters in the UK other than ornamental ones. Yet common in lots and lots of the rest of the world. 
There is a house by us with the internal 'plantation' shutters that I'm quite admiring of. 

randella

EricTheWeary said:

There is a house by us with the internal 'plantation' shutters that I'm quite admiring of. 

They look great and I'd love some - I'm considering them for my living room bay.  Problem is they're the wrong way round, if you like: shutters in, say, France allow you to keep the windows open and still leave your house secure because the shutters are on the outside and lock.

I've often wondered why we don't have them more in the UK, but then I remember that we get these summers about once every three decades.

NPP

hywelg said:

As @ICBM says there laws about the height of fencing adjacent to a public highway. Think its 1.2m?

Maybe consider leylandii .

or privet, which grows very quickly. 

And then build the fence behind it.

ESBlonde

A high fence may cause planning problems because people notice the sudden change. An organic change like a hedge growing tends not to suddenly arouse suspicion. However leylandii have a terrible reputation in built up areas because while they grow fast which is nice at first, they continue growing blocking light and spreading out to take up land and absorbing moisture/killing grass.
Tall poplar trees might be good but loose thier leaves in winter 9that may not be a problem. Beech trees can look very attractive and retain some of thier brown leaves through winter. they can be trimmed in hedge form to prevent spread and allow height to continue for a while.

57Deluxe

mart

ESBlonde said:

A high fence may cause planning problems because people notice the sudden change. ...

So you could build it really, really slowly ... kinda like Emp’s laminate floorng.

ToneControl

You would never be allowed to build it tall enough to reduce noise upstairs

any fence will make some difference, it reflects mid and high frequency sound.
But only if it blocks the line of sight

HAL9000

57Deluxe said:

Looks like a mix of acoustic and electric fence to me...

ICBM

It looks like the mangled bodies have been strung up as a warning to the others...

RobDavies

Cheers lads.  

It's a very expensive solution to something that usually only bothers us for a few days a year. 

We're quite used to the low rumble of lorries and buses, it was our choice to live on a busy road after all, but it's the ridiculous hairdryer motorbikes and boy racers that are the issue. 

I think buying one of those police tyre stingers might me a more effective solution....

p90fool

I do sympathise, despite being a biker myself the sportsbike brigade sound like Brand's Hatch when I'm sat in my garden on summer Sundays, even though I live in a village with a 30 limit. 

It's really hard to sympathise much when you see the police tape, flowers and Aston Villa shirt tied to a nearby fencepost a few days later. 

thermionic

It’s a nice, mellower, subtler alternative to electric fences.

ToneControl

RobDavies said:

Cheers lads.  

It's a very expensive solution to something that usually only bothers us for a few days a year. 

We're quite used to the low rumble of lorries and buses, it was our choice to live on a busy road after all, but it's the ridiculous hairdryer motorbikes and boy racers that are the issue. 

I think buying one of those police tyre stingers might me a more effective solution....

cheaper to install air con I think

EricTheWeary

{ weird quote thing}

There was something, if briefly, on Radio 4 this morning about external blinds. Essentially a lot more efficient than internal ones at heat reduction. Chap had them fitted to his house for £5k  ( don't know how many windows) but these are automated ones that open/ close/ tilt. Small apartments with big windows ( as you see on a lot of modern builds) can be almost unliveable in the summer so these are what would work best. On traditional French apartments they run from one side of the building to the other so you can have the shutters up against the heat but windows open on the shady side. I guess that's where it falls down with modern apartments in large buildings.