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Original poster

Dream house on a busy road

29 replies

banana506 · 04/04/2019 21:09

We have just viewed an amazing Victorian house that although needs a lot of work it has the potential to be our dream house. We have 4 children and the upstairs bedrooms are massive, no other house we have seen has given us equal size rooms for all of the kids.
It's only 4 bed but the loft is huge so could do a loft conversion when the two youngest don't want to share anymore. The downstairs also has masses of space, it's more then double our current house size.
But it is on a fairly busy village road and right on a crossroads. It is set high on the road so you have your own drive away from the road and it is at the end of the kids school road so perfect for getting to school every day.
However the noise is the only thing putting us off and I don't want to make a mistake in choosing it. The garden backs onto the road and it is quite noisy when you are out there. You don't hear the noise in the house unless the windows are open. Is it a sacrifice to far!?

OP posts:
MountainPeakGeek · 04/04/2019 22:05

The noise aspect wouldn't bother me in the slightest (but I might be in a minority, so consider resale implications) as long as the road isn't one that's congested enough that you'd be worrying about actual pollution from fumes, rather than just a bit of traffic noise.

buckeejit · 04/04/2019 22:07

No. I've lived on a fairly busy road & never again

MountainPeakGeek · 04/04/2019 22:09

Meant to add, I have my opinion having lived on two major A roads (but both houses had driveways and were set well back from the road) so it's not just a hypothetical "I don't think it'd bother me"...

Nacreous · 04/04/2019 22:13

I live on a busy road in a town, right on a cross-roads. I was terrified I'd hate it, I'd lived in the countryside all my life and the master bedroom faces the road. I honestly barely notice it at all, but it's definitely audible. It's a bit annoying with the windows in the summer, but I find it fine. I would say though that my back garden is set well back from the road and you can't hear it much from there. If I could I think it would spoil my enjoyment of the house.

However, the next door neighbours really hate the noise, so I think it's a very personal thing. I just tune it out. They really struggle to.

Squirreltamer · 04/04/2019 22:27

I live on a main road. 25 cars a min at rush hour. 10 cars a min after. But dead at night.

My house is much like the one you described. Character house, rooms way bigger than anything post Edwardian which isn’t crazy money. Etc etc

I have lots of birds in the garden and I’ve tuned out the road so only hear them. In the front garden it’s still noticeable to me but I’m only in the front cleaning the car or gardening so doesn’t bother me.

For reference the front garden is 15/20m long 65/70db when cars passing and back 20m long but the house shields about half the noise so only about 40db which is drowned out by any other noise.

As long as the price reflects the road then I’d do the same again. With electric cars main roads may not be as big of deal as they once were. But there is a 15 year wait till electric cars are the majority on the road.... but who knows it could be like when diesels took off in 2001 they became the norm very very quickly.

In my area 20% seems to be the price reduction for living on a main road. But you need to compare like for like. Size/garden/age etc. My road is the most expensive in my area as it’s the only road with period houses. So I can only compare to houses in another “nicer” area...

Disfordarkchocolate · 04/04/2019 22:35

I couldn't cope but I think lots of people can, I'm sensitive to noise like that.

As long as you're aware you can afford the space because of the noise when it comes to resale. Can you do anything to mask the noise ie fencing or planting? Encourage the birds too, there's s farm shop near me that's near a busy road but the number of birds can easily drown them out, it's amazing.

BackforGood · 04/04/2019 22:41

It's really personal.
Our house has a fairly busy main road at the front and a railway line at the back. Because a lot of people would be put off by the potential noise issues, we were able to buy a house that was virtually twice the size of what we might have afforded in some other areas. For us it has been a superb family home for over 15 years. Would 100% buy it again.
For others however, they would just never settle there.
As with all house buying decisions, you have to add up all the pros and weigh them against all the cons. This sounds right for you, IMO.

3in4years · 04/04/2019 22:44

I wouldn't want to live there personally. A colleague and I were househunting at the same time as both viewed a house on a busy road. She bought it, and couldn't believe I didn't want it! It was nice, but there is no way I want traffic noise as my background noise at home. And I like windows open.

greenlynx · 04/04/2019 23:19

I don’t mind traffic noise as such but will struggle with sleep so it depends on bedrooms location but my main worry would be about pollution. My DH won’t even consider this.
I suppose it will work if it’s your dream house in your preferable location at realistic price. Otherwise you might have problems with resale.

pinkdelight · 04/04/2019 23:22

Main roads/traffic noise don't bother me, but it doesn't sound like your dream house really. There's the road issue, plus garden backing into it which doesn't help, and it needing a loft conversion. Your dream house wouldn't have those issues so I'd at least downgrade it from that status so you can see whether it's worth a compromise or if it is actually the noisy road house.

cakeandchampagne · 04/04/2019 23:28

I think a “dream house” should only have problems that you can fix/change. And your children might be bothered by the noise, even if you aren’t.

blue25 · 04/04/2019 23:31

I would hate that noise when I'm in the garden. The constant pollution would also be a big concern for me. Our friends live on a busy road and the house vibrates when lorries go past! The noise is also noticeably worse in the rain.

happyhillock · 04/04/2019 23:33

My house sits beside a main busy road, it doesn't bother me or stops me sleeping, infact i feel quite safe with it, wouldn't like to live somewhere to quiet or isolated

babygrootandstarlord · 04/04/2019 23:35

It wasn't the noise that bothered me when I lived on a busy road, it was the waiting for ages before I could pull out of the drive. It's really annoying to have to allow extra time just to get out of the driveway!

Breakers · 04/04/2019 23:44

How busy are we talking? We live on a main rural road between two villages. We thought we would need to get used to the noise as everyone said it was a busy road. We have found that it isn't that busy. It has quite a few cars on it between 7.30 and 8.30 but still only 1 or 2 visible on the very long stretch of road at any one moment and after 8.30 it is mostly empty with the odd car speeding past. It is considered a busy road though because it is the main one. Are you talking that type of busy or a main street in a city centre which may have constant congestion and traffic fumes? I did once live in such a road and thought it was crazy noisy when I moved in and didn't notice the noise a short while later. I did always notice the line of traffic though I got used to it and it didn't bother me too much.

Original poster
banana506 · 05/04/2019 07:15

Thanks for the replies, it's not as busy as some of the roads above sound.
It's a 30mph village road and as it's the crossroads for the school with lollipop lady cars tend to drive sensibly down it. But it's the road that connects the villages to the town if that makes sense so you get a lot of cars on it.
At the moment the garden is completely exposed. We would need to fence and build a garage which might help block some of the noise. I just find it hard to imagine how it would be. I think we need to try and re visit at different times if the day!

OP posts:
Disfordarkchocolate · 05/04/2019 07:33

I also think the area counts a lot too. Our last two flats were in the centre of a small town. One only had an annoying noise in the morning and the pub taxi door slamming and engine running at night. The next one had a speeding problem that was more of an issue as it was unexpected noise and not safe. Your junction could mean slower traffic but more noise from stopping and starting traffic and revving engines. Just things to consider. Good luck.

Sirrah · 05/04/2019 07:39

Those roads, while busy at certain times of the day, are usually really quiet in the evening or over the weekend. It wouldn't put me off, especially if I could put up a fence and grow some shrubs to absorb the noise and pollution.

It's a good idea to go back at different times, and think about when you'll be using the garden most before you make a decision.

troubleswillbeoutofsight · 05/04/2019 07:42

I live semi rurally but very near a motorway. For the first six months I thought I'd made a dreadful mistake. However, the noise doesn't bother me much anymore. I can even sleep with my window open now. I think I read somewhere that it takes the brain around six months to adjust to different regular noise. Good double glazing really helps as do tall trees in the garden. I have lived in a city where foot traffic went on through the night, I'd prefer car traffic any day. I'd go for it

SinkyMalinks · 05/04/2019 07:51

We’re (fingers crossed!) about to complete on a house like this. The edge of a village on the road that links to the city. I know the road will be busy in the rush hours but quiet the rest of the time. Our back overlooks fields though.

We’re getting more space than we could have afforded if we’d only looked at cul-de-sacs and quiet roads. It’s a compromise, but it’s still a house we want now (not quite decided if it’s the forever house...)

We do currently live on a rat run road so are well used to traffic noise. And have previously picked holiday villas based on cheapness due to being under a flight path - so clearly we are not noise sensitive!

RaffertyFair · 05/04/2019 08:06

How busy is the road at weekends?
Will getting on and off your drive be a problem - I.e. will you have to reverse to get in it off your drive or can you turn round on your drive / front garden?

Just out of curiosity, how does your garden back onto the road as well ?

crimsonlake · 05/04/2019 08:44

I bought a house on what I thought was a quiet road, turns out it is a cut through. The traffic starts up about 6.30 am and is really busy during the rush hour. During the day and at weekends it ebbs and flows, during the night it is very quiet. I have installed new double glazing and wear ear plugs at night, more to stop me being disturbed really early in the morning and to stop myself hearing neighbours loud young grandchild who practically lives there. I really miss not being able to sleep with the windows open, or have them open downstairs.
I was horrified at first as I moved from a very quiet road, I live with it now, it is what it is. My outlook to the front is fields if I ignore the road, so I am not overlooked by other houses. It could be worse there could be children playing out in the street as well as to the back of me.

Seeline · 05/04/2019 08:53

Our house is on a fairly busy road (bus route, and because of local rail bridges used by pretty heavy lorries that can't fit under the bridges) and the Edwardian property is only set back about a car length from the pavement. It is double glazed. We also back onto a railway line (commuter route) which is set up on an embankment of about 4m.
We got used to the noise very quickly, and now I really only notice if the trains aren't running, or there is a problem on the road.
The road isn't that busy at night, and although we sleep in the front, with the windows open in hte summer it is not usually the traffic that wakes us. If woken at night it is usually someone walking past bellowing into their mobile that is the problem.

Crankybitch · 05/04/2019 09:57

We had a house like that previously- after a couple of weeks we didn’t hear the noise. When we moved to a house not near a road we couldn’t sleep for a few weeks as it was so quiet

You can probably do something - hedge / trees etc to cut down the noise in the garden

acciocat · 05/04/2019 10:35

I couldn’t but I love sitting out in the garden and the constant traffic noise would really put me off. But as others have said it’s a personal thing.

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