ᐅ Effective soundproofing elements near the property boundary – any recommendations?
Created on: 15 May 2021 13:54
K
kati1337
Hello everyone!
We talked again with the neighbors (about the metal shed issue, some of you might remember) and have easily agreed that we want to build a privacy screen on our side so we don’t have to deal with the shed view from the terrace.
Now, this property boundary is longer than just the length of the shed. The original idea was to enclose the rest with a hedge.
That is no longer what we want, but the neighbor will plant their hedge right on the boundary, which is fine. We will also put something along the boundary on our side, but we are still unsure what.
The neighbors on this side like it a bit louder in the garden, mostly music. They have this speaker box with heavy bass on their porch that somewhat ruined our Father’s Day. Just to be clear upfront: No, I don’t want to and shouldn’t complain to the neighbors – I’m sensitive to noise and get annoyed quickly.
Our problem is that this is a new development area and everything is still very open. The bass from the speaker hits directly against our house wall, and even with closed blinds (and who wants to keep the blinds closed all day), it pounds noticeably in the living room. I don’t want to have to keep the TV on constantly to “compete with the noise,” and it’s really hard for me to just “not listen” to it; I’d simply prefer not to have that in my living room.
Now we are considering what we could build or plant in the garden along the boundary that would absorb sound effectively.
A nice brick wall came to mind, but even a rough calculation makes it quite expensive (even if I try to build it myself): 22m x 1.80m at 50€/m² (around $54/ft²) adds up to about €2000.
Cheaper would be wooden privacy fence panels, which I also find very attractive visually, but do they absorb sound well? Or panels covered with plants?
Do you have any other ideas?
We talked again with the neighbors (about the metal shed issue, some of you might remember) and have easily agreed that we want to build a privacy screen on our side so we don’t have to deal with the shed view from the terrace.
Now, this property boundary is longer than just the length of the shed. The original idea was to enclose the rest with a hedge.
That is no longer what we want, but the neighbor will plant their hedge right on the boundary, which is fine. We will also put something along the boundary on our side, but we are still unsure what.
The neighbors on this side like it a bit louder in the garden, mostly music. They have this speaker box with heavy bass on their porch that somewhat ruined our Father’s Day. Just to be clear upfront: No, I don’t want to and shouldn’t complain to the neighbors – I’m sensitive to noise and get annoyed quickly.
Our problem is that this is a new development area and everything is still very open. The bass from the speaker hits directly against our house wall, and even with closed blinds (and who wants to keep the blinds closed all day), it pounds noticeably in the living room. I don’t want to have to keep the TV on constantly to “compete with the noise,” and it’s really hard for me to just “not listen” to it; I’d simply prefer not to have that in my living room.
Now we are considering what we could build or plant in the garden along the boundary that would absorb sound effectively.
A nice brick wall came to mind, but even a rough calculation makes it quite expensive (even if I try to build it myself): 22m x 1.80m at 50€/m² (around $54/ft²) adds up to about €2000.
Cheaper would be wooden privacy fence panels, which I also find very attractive visually, but do they absorb sound well? Or panels covered with plants?
Do you have any other ideas?
i_b_n_a_n schrieb:
Try searching for an anti-noise system (sometimes also with the option to build it yourself or under the name Muzo if interested). It's similar to noise-canceling headphones but on a larger scale. Such systems have even been tested for railway lines near residential areas. However, these systems are usually aimed at a single point where the person seeking quietness is located.
If the above option is not feasible, the shared wall with the neighbor should include sound-absorbing (dampening) elements, such as egg cartons or pyramid acoustic foam. With a bit of creativity and effort, you could also create something weather-resistant yourself. That’s a great idea! Maybe something like that could be integrated between two privacy fences, sort of? We’re planning to install one fence along the property line anyway, then place sound-absorbing material in between, followed by another privacy screen. We would lose a few square meters of garden space, but that would definitely be worth it for more peaceful living.
ypg schrieb:
Forget it!
If you want to avoid (nice) confrontation, try playing awful Celine Dion music or intense Tabata workout tunes once or twice starting around 9 a.m., when they’re home but not yet in party mood. Maybe during Sunday breakfast?!
That would be holding up a mirror that most people understand. I don’t know, I’m really not looking for confrontation. They are genuinely nice people with just slightly different preferences than us. There’s a lot tied into the relationship. We accept each other’s parcels, our children are the same age and can play together, and they look after our cats when we’re away—I don’t want any conflict with them, not even passive-aggressive, because I might risk damaging other important positives just because they have this one negative.
Schimi1791 schrieb:
Basically, this kind of thoughtlessness from neighbors is sad. I’m not sure, but have the neighbors lived there longer than you? Sure, neighbors are rarely a choice, but it shouldn’t come to a point where you have to shield yourself behind a two-meter-high (about 6.5 feet) soundproof wall, even if the neighbor is technically "in the right" with their music.
Maybe it’s just carelessness? They have lived here about three to four weeks longer than we have; it’s all a new development. It’s possible to talk to them—I already brought it up. But I can’t address it with the urgency it has for me, because they’re probably not doing anything wrong. I’m just overly sensitive. You can’t assume other people perceive music and sound the same way you do.
Most people I know like background music, they listen to music while gaming—I can’t do that because I can’t just “switch off” the music in my head. Music—especially bass lines—acts like a path or route I follow in my mind. The verses, choruses, everything plays inside my head like I’m walking along a trail. It gets annoying if my brain doesn’t recognize the music because then it tries to store it, identify it, and memorize the sequence. I can’t help that. If music’s playing, I’m hearing music, and it can distract me from other tasks I’m doing.
When I drive (20 years accident-free), I listen to music but I'm consciously aware of it. When gaming (focused, like shooters), I can’t have any music on, not even quietly. It irritates me terribly. This is such a personal and specific sensitivity that I wouldn’t want to tell the poor neighbors they can’t have their radio on while the sun is shining.
But I have to find a way to live with my own sensitivity. Just like a wheelchair user would build a ramp, I might need to install soundproof windows and an insulation wall.
Schimi179115 May 2021 22:45ypg schrieb:
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Why would they do it on purpose?
...People (unfortunately) sometimes do unimaginable things intentionally. Some even fly a plane into a high-rise building...Schimi179115 May 2021 22:50kati1337 schrieb:
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I don’t know, I’m really not looking for confrontation. They are really nice people, they just have slightly different preferences than we do. There’s a lot connected to this. We accept each other’s deliveries, our children are the same age and can play together, they look after our cats when we’re away – I don’t want any conflict with them, not even passive-aggressive, because that might ruin many other “pros” just because they have one “con.”
... That’s why: communicate instead of complaining 🙂
Schimi1791 schrieb:
Unfortunately, people sometimes do the most unimaginable things on purpose. Some even fly a plane into a skyscraper...Or into the French Alps with a fully loaded passenger aircraft. 🙁Schimi179115 May 2021 23:25kati1337 schrieb:
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Not even quietly. That annoys me so persistently.
...I have a similar 'problem' with the ticking of clocks. I find it very difficult to stay in rooms where I can hear a clock ticking, even faintly. And my hearing is certainly not particularly sharp. It even got to the point where I couldn’t fall asleep at night because of a ticking sound coming from somewhere. Eventually, I found a ticking wristwatch in my wife’s jewelry box inside the closet...