ᐅ Noise Reduction from Neighboring Properties – Any Ideas?

Tolentino schrieb:

Sounds more like a standing wave. Is it really that bad in every room when they play music?

No, only in the half of the house where the construction radio stands in front of the windows, mainly the office and the kids’ room (right above it). On the other side of the house, you can hardly hear it.

danixf schrieb:

Then you’re very, very sensitive.

Not us – just me. And yes, I mentioned that earlier. Other noises (cars, knocking, construction work, etc.) don’t bother me. It’s only the thumping of the music (bass), for the reasons I explained before.

danixf schrieb:

There’s really no solution. A hedge might help a little but won’t work miracles.

Are you sure? There must be a way to interrupt the sound. We still have a strip of land between our neighbors and us.

Maschi33 schrieb:

Can you somehow record it? I just can’t imagine that radio making so much noise/bass that windows and masonry vibrate 3m (10 feet) away.
From a distance, this sounds like possible “high sensitivity” to me. Could that be the case?

Yes, I already said I’m very sensitive in this regard. But that doesn’t solve my problem. I don’t want to sit here annoyed every weekend this coming summer.
I don’t know if the masonry really vibrates; I only know the bass lines can be heard inside the rooms.

Snowy36 schrieb:

Well, if the window has a 32 dB glass pane and the neighbor has the same, and he plays music at 85 dB, some of it will still come through…

It was just my window between us; his Makita radio was outside in the garden.
I’m already quite sensitive about this from past experiences, and it really ruins my mood. I would like to know what possibilities there are to reduce the noise coming onto our property from there.

11ant schrieb:

Unfortunately, lack of intelligence and taste among neighbors doesn’t go away with time. I thought you moved “far out” to somewhere like the Hunsrück or similar remote area, where there are typically fewer troublemakers than in the city.

I had naively assumed that people who blast music loudly into the night can’t afford a new build, so I hoped that except for the occasional party, things would stay reasonable. But it only happened once so far, so it’s still possible this won’t be a big issue and we just got off on the wrong foot. Also, in a village with new constructions, there’s a realistic chance that they’ll have kids sometime not too far in the future—and then the punk rock blasting at half past midnight will probably stop faster than you can say “mush.” 😉

11ant schrieb:

My favorite solution is always diffusers of all kinds, but bushes and shrubs take a while to grow.

We’ve planted a hedge now, but obviously that takes time. I don’t really believe it will fully solve the problem, since no hedge grows that dense. Putting up a fence (or maybe a wall? I don’t know what else) might be overkill.
If I knew whether the bass comes through the walls or the windows, I might try making some kind of sound-insulating window insert. Like back in band practice rooms, wooden boards with egg cartons screwed on, and that wedge-shaped foam...

11ant schrieb:

If neighbors underestimate the volume of music, two things can help (depending on the kind of people): one is a friendly talk, the other is playing music yourself (styles they don’t like, so it “feels” louder to them). Pachelbel (or Bach), Khachaturian (or Mussorgsky), Beefheart (or Zappa), Fripp (or Frampton) – you have to experiment a bit. If none of these work, then Stockhausen ;-)

Stockhausen? I don’t understand that.
Those who were in the garden today definitely weren’t too loud; the problem is in my head, not their construction radio. 😉 That’s why I’m trying to solve it on our side of the property, so he can dig with the radio on and I can do something in the house without getting annoyed.
Counter-noise is not an option. My husband already wanted to solve the problem today by playing music in our house. The problem is, if I feel forced to play music myself even when I don’t want to, just to drown out others, I get really angry. 🤨 I can’t enjoy my music either because it still annoys me subconsciously that I HAVE to listen to music in order not to be irritated → so I get even more annoyed. If that makes sense to anyone.

11ant schrieb:

Or—although that requires more sense than Barth/houseplant—constantly slipping hearing-aid ads into the neighbor’s mailbox.

I need to write that down. 😀

Or, without meaning to criticize you, maybe try to address the whole issue therapeutically? That would probably be the most sensible solution. It doesn’t help anyone to carry something like that around for a long time.

kati1337 schrieb:

Not us – just me. And yes, that’s what I meant. As I said, other noises (cars, knocking / DIY work, etc.) don’t bother me. It’s only the thumping music (bass) that annoys me, for the reasons I explained earlier.

In my opinion, bass frequencies are disturbing in a particularly unpleasant way. I even have to ask my husband regularly to turn them down.

kati1337 schrieb:

We still have a strip of land between our neighbors and us.

Apart from a greened wall, I can’t think of anything else. The tricky part is that he might take the wall “personally.”

kati1337 schrieb:

There was only my window in between; his Makita radio was outside in the garden.

I just noticed now that his radio was in the garden. I missed that in your first post. So I think it’s fairly clear he should turn down the bass or use headphones.

kati1337 schrieb:

I stupidly assumed that the crowd blasting loud music late into the night can’t afford a new build, ...

Stereotypes are often true, but not always. ;-) My assessment aligns with yours. 🙂

kati1337 schrieb:

Those who were in the garden today certainly weren’t too loud, the problem lies in my mind, not in his construction radio. 😉

I’m not so sure about that. The thumping bass is extremely unpleasant for many people, but maybe I’m just trying to reassure myself because of my own “bass sensitivity.”

kati1337 schrieb:

The problem is, when I feel forced to play music myself even though I might not want to listen to any, just to drown out other people, I get really angry. 🤨 Then I can’t enjoy my music either because I’m still subconsciously annoyed that I HAVE to listen to music to not be irritated → I get even more annoyed. If that makes sense to anyone.

That definitely makes sense to me because it’s exactly the same for me. Not sure if that’s any comfort to you. ;-)

In short, I see two options: He wears headphones or you’ll have to put up a fence or a wall after all. :-(

kati1337 schrieb:

What bothers me is just the thumping of the music (bass), for the reasons explained earlier.

There may be other reasons beyond what you suspect:
“Furthermore, low frequencies are perceived not only by the ears but also through the stomach and the bones.”
Quote from an interview with Dr. Stephan Ernst, Head of Audiology at the Ear, Nose, and Throat Clinic of UKGM, in the Gießener Allgemeine.

I think the combination of a baby and a new build makes you more sensitive, I know that from my wife and our daughter. It will pass.

Still, shrubs help even when they are small because they disturb the sound waves.

Pinkiponk schrieb:

In my opinion, bass sounds are disturbing in a particularly unpleasant way. I even have to regularly ask my husband to turn them down.

Apart from a green wall, I can’t think of much else. It’s tricky because he might take the wall “personally.”

I only just noticed that his radio was in the garden; I missed that in your first post. In that case, I think it’s fairly clear that he should either turn down the bass or use headphones.

Stereotypes are often true, but not always. ;-) My assessment matches yours. 🙂

I’m not so sure about that. The thumping of bass is extremely unpleasant for many people, but maybe I’m just trying to reassure myself because of my own "bass sensitivity."

For me, that makes perfect sense because it’s exactly the same with me. Not sure if that’s any consolation. ;-)

In short, I see two options: he puts on headphones, or you’ll have to put up a fence or a wall. :-(

That’s a bit comforting, at least I’m not the only one.
Maybe I’ll wait until next summer. By then, everyone here will know each other better, and I can see if this will be a permanent issue or if it was just unlucky timing because he was laying stones right at the corner near our property line. He always uses headphones when mowing the lawn anyway, and if he does work more centrally in his garden and the hedge grows taller, the noise might not carry as much here.
If it still bothers me next year, we’d have to do something. Would you simply build a wall then, or are there special fences or something similar for this kind of situation? Before putting anything up, I’d let them know anyway.

Nico238 schrieb:

Or, without meaning to offend you, maybe try therapy for it?
That would probably be the most reasonable solution. It doesn’t help anyone to carry such things around for a long time...

I’ve actually undergone various therapies, successfully too—but my aversion to thumping bass wasn’t considered something worth treating by the therapist, more or less normal. Some people just get more disturbed by noise than others; it doesn’t have to be a defect. 😉
I don’t feel offended at all; on the contrary, I think many more people should try therapy. Not only because they become easier to deal with, but because I know how much it can improve quality of life. Nobody believes that beforehand.