We have a 2BR/2BA ranch style home (1.21 acre) that is beside a busy street (45 mph) (but on a small lake). The noise from the street is pretty annoying to us and we decided to sell about a year ago. We put a sign up for about 6 months with little action and then listed w/an agent. The agent has had the listing about 6 months. There has been very little action, although the realter has had 2 open houses. At this point, we are considering taking it off the market and remodeling to suit our taste - ONLY IF there is something we can do about the noise. We know we need to upgrade the windows in the house and that is no problem. The problem is enjoying the back yard. The side yard is separated from the road with a row of large shrubs (about 20' tall), but the noise still comes through. Can anyone share their experiences with fencing to block out road noise? - or give us some suggestions for selling a house on a busy road?
Before I threw **$ into any "fixes", I'd have a sound engineer analyze your situation; otherwise, you could spend thousands and still be in the same boat.
Check with local building code office as to what you can and can not do. Codes vary from area to area. These dictate height and often what materials can be used.
Soundproof windows would definitely be a plus. According to the Federal Highway Administration, most highway sound barriers are constructed of concrete or masonry block, range from 3-5 meters [9-16 feet] in height, and cost between $175 and $200 a square meter.
There are two components to blocking sound--reflection and absorption. Sound can be reflected with a plain wood fence. The absorption can be accomplished by evergreen plantings.
You already have a row of large shrubs. Adding the fence and an additional row of plantings on the interior would be a major improvement to block sound.
