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Original poster

How can we reduce traffic noise in our new house?

101 replies

Livelaughplay · 09/09/2026 12:06

Our new house is so loud from road traffic and trains. The trains I can deal with but when I just used an app to measure noise, the upstairs with windows open a bit are about 64 decibels, windows shut is 58 decibels and the garden is about 70! We do plan to replace the windows as they're old, so that might help when they're shut, but I like to have the window open to sleep, but this noise is insane. I know I can wear ear plugs which is fine, but what about the kids. Apparently WHO guidelines say these levels are really disruptive to health. The garden is going to be unenjoyable, but that was one of the reasons we bought the house!

I said this to DH when we viewed, but it's honestly perfect in every other way, this is the one massive, and increasingly larger, compromise. We are about 300m from an A road, with not much in between but fields, although I can't see the road at all, although don't know if this will still be the case once the leaves have come off.

Reasonably, what can I do? Are there special windows? But what about when they're open in summer? Mechanical ventilation? What does that feel like? I love an open window!

I am having serious regret at it feels like the whole village when I'm walking around is plagued by the road noise. I did say before we bought, but DH insisted I was being over-sensitive about it (which I know I can be), but having measured, I really don't think I am and now it's too late!

I also have a general case of buyers remorse, so I'm trying to work through things and find solutions and not catastrophise!

Help!

OP posts:
DrySherry · 09/09/2026 12:13

Can you start a campaign for a 20mph speed limit ? The difference between 30 and 20 with regard to noise is very significant and Im sure most of your village would support it.

SilenceInside · 09/09/2026 12:14

Does the road noise not drop off dramatically overnight?

A quick internet search suggests acoustic barriers can reduce noise somewhat, suggestions are a solid wall or fence with a dense hedge as thick as you can manage next to it. Would anything like that be a possibility?

josays · 09/09/2026 12:16

Are your windows single-glazed currently? Double glazing cuts out most of the noise but obviously not much when they're open.

If agree with the previous poster's suggestion about a tall fence and hedge/trees. How long is the garden - would that be possible or would it block your view/sunlight too much?

fiveyo · 09/09/2026 12:17

You need a barrier between your garden and the road. I am not sure how big your garden is - planting a high thick hedge is not great if your garden is small because it will be imposing. Ideally you'd have it some way off but obviously that is unlikely to be possible.

Inside, windows will make a massive difference but once you have the windows open all bets are off. Is the road noise just coming from the A road beyond the bottom of your garden?

Can we have a diagram??

shivermetimbers77 · 09/09/2026 12:19

I feel for you OP as I have the same issue! I believe hedges and tall trees help a bit as does a fan for white noise. Also, I have just adjusted over the five years I’ve been here: it certainly doesn’t bother me like it did at first. Good luck , hope you find some relief.

GargoylesofBeelzebub · 09/09/2026 12:20

You will get used to it. We live on a very busy road and I thought we had made a massive mistake but we just don’t notice it anymore.

Selkin · 09/09/2026 12:22

Basically there's a series of measures you can take depending on how bad it is and you can add them together.

One of the simplest cheapest things to do is to recaulk your windows with acoustic caulk. Cost about £10.

Then you can place secondary glazing on your bedroom windows, which is just perspex cut to size with magnetic tape to hold it on. £100 ish

You can build a false front wall inside your bedroom and layer the back of the wall with mass loaded vinyl with an airgap of 2cm. £300 ish

You can have solid shutters fitted on top of your acoustic caulked windows with secondary glazing and airgapped false wall and use acoustic caulk on that too. £350 per window ish.

You can actually replace your windows with triple glazing with acoustic fittings throughout, about £3000 ish.

You can plant trees in front of your house if you have a front garden. (I do not)

You can also do some clever things with felt baffles that direct and absorb sound, but this is very much getting into the territory of obsession so I will stop there.

NormalAuntFanny · 09/09/2026 12:22

We had friends whose house was literally on the corner of a six lane crossroads and they got triple glazing and it was actually like magic, completely cut the road noise.

They did have to install those mechanical vents and filters as well to air the rooms.

Original poster
Livelaughplay · 09/09/2026 12:24

DrySherry · 09/09/2026 12:13

Can you start a campaign for a 20mph speed limit ? The difference between 30 and 20 with regard to noise is very significant and Im sure most of your village would support it.

It's an A road 300m behind the house, so I'm not sure how much campaigning will be successful, although I will look locally to see if there are any projects or awareness already going on

OP posts:
Takethatter · 09/09/2026 12:26

We have secondary glazing and it makes a big difference it just all goes quiet when we close the door or window. We live in an old house so the main windows are single glazed and the secondary windows are double glazed. Re the garden, you do get used to it, put a radio on when you are sat out

Original poster
Livelaughplay · 09/09/2026 12:26

SilenceInside · 09/09/2026 12:14

Does the road noise not drop off dramatically overnight?

A quick internet search suggests acoustic barriers can reduce noise somewhat, suggestions are a solid wall or fence with a dense hedge as thick as you can manage next to it. Would anything like that be a possibility?

It does drop a bit, but it's still a busy A road, so it's never going to reduce to nothing. It's also the garden which we'll be in during the day.
I can do a bit more planting I suppose, will need to be something strategic. I'm not sure if anything will be tall enough to impact the noise upstairs

OP posts:
Original poster
Livelaughplay · 09/09/2026 12:27

josays · 09/09/2026 12:16

Are your windows single-glazed currently? Double glazing cuts out most of the noise but obviously not much when they're open.

If agree with the previous poster's suggestion about a tall fence and hedge/trees. How long is the garden - would that be possible or would it block your view/sunlight too much?

The windows are double glazed, but they're old and they need replacing. So I need to do research to make sure when we do it we get the right thing, but as you say, when open it's not going to help much, or outside in the garden. The garden is long enough to do something with for sure, but a solid mass might not be practical because of the layout.

OP posts:
5289843DM · 09/09/2026 12:30

Triple glazing is an option. Friends have this who back onto a high speed train line one side and a high street the other and its silent inside. Doesn't help if you want the windows open though.

Building up a bank of soil or installing a sound proofing fence can help, but obviously not always practical. Trees can have a slight impact.

Original poster
Livelaughplay · 09/09/2026 12:30

fiveyo · 09/09/2026 12:17

You need a barrier between your garden and the road. I am not sure how big your garden is - planting a high thick hedge is not great if your garden is small because it will be imposing. Ideally you'd have it some way off but obviously that is unlikely to be possible.

Inside, windows will make a massive difference but once you have the windows open all bets are off. Is the road noise just coming from the A road beyond the bottom of your garden?

Can we have a diagram??

There's basically a train line, then an A road, then 300m of fields and my garden and then the house. At the moment I can't see the road at all because there's trees and hedges in the fields. At the end of our garden are mature hedges and tree lines - it's kinda scrubby on the wild bit we back onto. It feels like the sound just comes from all around though. If I plant something really solid in our garden, we'll lose the lovely view. If I plant something kind of sporadic, will that make it a lot less effective?

OP posts:
Twoshoesnewshoes · 09/09/2026 12:31

Are there any barriers directly beside the road?
therecare new builds going up in the city where I work, next to the motorway- there are very stout looking fences up alongside the road, around 8 to 10 feet high.
this, or evergreen hedging, will make a difference for the whole village, if you can rally people.

Original poster
Livelaughplay · 09/09/2026 12:31

shivermetimbers77 · 09/09/2026 12:19

I feel for you OP as I have the same issue! I believe hedges and tall trees help a bit as does a fan for white noise. Also, I have just adjusted over the five years I’ve been here: it certainly doesn’t bother me like it did at first. Good luck , hope you find some relief.

Good to know you've adjusted! When the kids are in or we have music on, I'm sure it will be less noticeable, it's sort of overnight that concerns me. But maybe it will be less (still doing a bit of work on the house so we haven't actually spent the night there yet)

OP posts:
Original poster
Livelaughplay · 09/09/2026 12:32

GargoylesofBeelzebub · 09/09/2026 12:20

You will get used to it. We live on a very busy road and I thought we had made a massive mistake but we just don’t notice it anymore.

That's good to hear - how long did it take you to get used to it? I think I am particularly sensitive to it. People on the road have been living here for 30 years, so it can't bother them too much! I think it's nuts!

OP posts:
Original poster
Livelaughplay · 09/09/2026 12:34

Selkin · 09/09/2026 12:22

Basically there's a series of measures you can take depending on how bad it is and you can add them together.

One of the simplest cheapest things to do is to recaulk your windows with acoustic caulk. Cost about £10.

Then you can place secondary glazing on your bedroom windows, which is just perspex cut to size with magnetic tape to hold it on. £100 ish

You can build a false front wall inside your bedroom and layer the back of the wall with mass loaded vinyl with an airgap of 2cm. £300 ish

You can have solid shutters fitted on top of your acoustic caulked windows with secondary glazing and airgapped false wall and use acoustic caulk on that too. £350 per window ish.

You can actually replace your windows with triple glazing with acoustic fittings throughout, about £3000 ish.

You can plant trees in front of your house if you have a front garden. (I do not)

You can also do some clever things with felt baffles that direct and absorb sound, but this is very much getting into the territory of obsession so I will stop there.

This is really helpful, thank you. We will be replacing the windows, so will look at acoustic caulk at the same time. We were wondering about external shutters for the future heating climate, so perhaps that will actually be a help as well. Then possibly even if the windows are open, the shutters would be shut... might help a bit? I think we can plant more trees- just might take a while to have an impact!

OP posts:
Original poster
Livelaughplay · 09/09/2026 12:36

NormalAuntFanny · 09/09/2026 12:22

We had friends whose house was literally on the corner of a six lane crossroads and they got triple glazing and it was actually like magic, completely cut the road noise.

They did have to install those mechanical vents and filters as well to air the rooms.

Ooh tell me more. I was looking at mechanical heat ventilation recovery - is this the same thing? I dont know if it can be done on an older house or not. Does the air feel fresh? I love open windows and fresh air and hate stuffiness, so perhaps this is what I need. Is it expensive do you know?

OP posts:
Original poster
Livelaughplay · 09/09/2026 12:37

Takethatter · 09/09/2026 12:26

We have secondary glazing and it makes a big difference it just all goes quiet when we close the door or window. We live in an old house so the main windows are single glazed and the secondary windows are double glazed. Re the garden, you do get used to it, put a radio on when you are sat out

I think we'll have to sort some outdoor speakers or something! Secondary glazing could be a good addition as well. I grew up in an old house and we had that. How do you get air in though? I'm worried that once the windows are open, it'll be straight back to noise.

OP posts:
Ashmol · 09/09/2026 12:38

I also think you will get used to it. When I was young we lived right on a main road and the traffic noise was significant. Add to that we were across the road from a big church that chimed big bloody bells at regular intervals. After a while we never heard either the traffic or the bells.

It was hilarious when people came to visit, they were astounded at the noise, but we looked at them in amazement as to what they were talking about!

Original poster
Livelaughplay · 09/09/2026 12:39

5289843DM · 09/09/2026 12:30

Triple glazing is an option. Friends have this who back onto a high speed train line one side and a high street the other and its silent inside. Doesn't help if you want the windows open though.

Building up a bank of soil or installing a sound proofing fence can help, but obviously not always practical. Trees can have a slight impact.

Triple glazing might be the way forward. I think this will have to be the start at least, is it really that effective? Is it noisy as soon as they open windows though? And how does the air quality feel?
I could get creative with some soil! I think maybe making pockets of quiet in the garden perhaps, rather than something completely solid

OP posts:
Original poster
Livelaughplay · 09/09/2026 12:41

Twoshoesnewshoes · 09/09/2026 12:31

Are there any barriers directly beside the road?
therecare new builds going up in the city where I work, next to the motorway- there are very stout looking fences up alongside the road, around 8 to 10 feet high.
this, or evergreen hedging, will make a difference for the whole village, if you can rally people.

There is nothing at all! Which I find so strange and you can hear the road all over the village, even on the other side with houses and space in between. I'm thinking I'm going to have to immediately start a community campaign, because really that's going to be the most effective, to stop it at source. But it's an old road so completely unsure how to go about it. I imagine it's pretty pricey

OP posts:
Original poster
Livelaughplay · 09/09/2026 12:43

Ashmol · 09/09/2026 12:38

I also think you will get used to it. When I was young we lived right on a main road and the traffic noise was significant. Add to that we were across the road from a big church that chimed big bloody bells at regular intervals. After a while we never heard either the traffic or the bells.

It was hilarious when people came to visit, they were astounded at the noise, but we looked at them in amazement as to what they were talking about!

Really? This sounds very promising. I actually used to live near a busy road as well, and I don't remember thinking about it, but when I've left and come back I have done. This just feels like an intrusive wall of sound. DH says it really genuinely doesn't bother him - I don't know if he's just got his head in the sand or can't hear it over the sound of the kids!! Not going to make them any quieter!

OP posts:
Westfacing · 09/09/2026 12:44

Before you go spending a lot of money on triple-glazing, acoustic fencing and high hedges just give yourself a few months to acclimatise - enjoy the thrill of your new home instead of worrying about the downsides

I live in inner London so know all about traffic noise - am so used to it I don't even hear it!