Best Home Fence To Install For Noise Abatement

by Jennifer Porterfield | Last Updated: October 20, 2023

Introduction

If you’ve just set up your new home or landscaped your garden, then you can be certain that one thing you won’t want is for your neighbors to hear all your comings and goings.

Having the right noise protection will be super important when it comes to mitigating the noise that will drift into your neighbor’s homes.

Luckily, there are many different types of material that you can use to construct the perfect fence. Whether it is wood, plastic or greenery, you can be sure that you’ll have everything that you need to reflect the noise back into your own property.

You’ll need to talk with some fence experts before erecting your fence, but it is always good to know what materials to use before you embark upon your next building project.

Having the right materials for your home is very important for complimenting the space in your back garden.

So what are the best fences for noise control? How much material will you need for full coverage? Is wood better than plastic for noise dampening?

How much will you have to pay for decent fencing? What other methods are there for reducing noise in your garden area?

Well, if you want the answers to these questions and a whole lot more, then we would suggest that you keep reading, as we have compiled a handy how-to guide for completely soundproofing your garden.

We’ll also tell you how you can adequately keep noise out of your garden, so you can enjoy a relaxing BBQ with friends.

Common Sources Of Noise Pollution

There are many different types of noise pollution, both coming in and leaving your garden. A decent fence will be a buffer for both noises coming into the garden and leaving the garden. Here are a few of the most common problems that you can experience:

• Road noise – if you are living near a road, then you can experience a lot of traffic sounds that can bleed in from the highway. If you have plenty of high-speed traffic on a regular basis, then having a barbeque in your backyard might be very difficult.
• Animal sounds – if you are in a rural area, then you still might not be able to escape the noise. Bird calls and wild animal sounds can keep you awake long into the night.
• Neighbors – this can go both ways, and the chances are that if you can hear your neighbors then they can also hear you! However, some neighbors can be overly loud, having parties well into the night.
• Building work – if you are living near an area where building work is being conducted, then you can be sure that you’ll have plenty of ear-splitting drills and banging that will keep you awake and ruin your family gatherings.
• Industrial noises – sometimes you just have the misfortune of living next to a power plant or anywhere that operates heavy machinery on a regular basis. This can be the primary reason for most people to want to install high fences.

These are the noises that come from the outside of your home, but remember that the inside of your home can be the cause of noise too.

This can make people feel very self-conscious knowing that there are people listening to your conversations. Having a thick and tall fence will be a surefire method of preventing any secretive conversations from leaking out.

Now we’ve looked at some of the main causes of noise pollution, we’ll need to be looking at some of the methods you can use to completely block out these sounds.

First off, we’ll be starting by looking at the classic wooden material and seeing how well this shuts out the sound from outside and in.

Wooden Fences

One great material for blocking out the sounds from your neighborhood is red cedar wood. This stuff makes for an excellent sound barrier, especially if they are designed with maintaining your privacy.

They can also be augmented with plenty of other materials that will help really keep the noise pollution down to a minimum.

If you do want that extra thick protection for your home, then we would recommend that you pick up some mass-loaded vinyl.

This stuff is very durable and will do most of the work when it comes to absorbing any noise that is leaking from the outside of your house.

This thick vinyl for cedar wood is usually stored in large rolls and can be bought in bulk for very cheap. This stuff will fit perfectly in with the shape of your wooden fence, just make sure that you buy the type that is labeled for outdoor use. You can also use this material to wrap around posts and rails.

If you are covering a lot of wooden fencing, then you can be sure that your vinyl sheets will overlap and the seams between them are treated with acoustic caulk.

This is to make sure that no sound bleeds through the slats and that your fence is entirely soundproofed. You’ll need to make sure that the wood is firmly fastened to the frame and the wood has left no gaps.

This type of fencing is great for anyone who is working to a budget. You’ll have to make sure that you get enough wood to cover the entire area of your garden. Make sure that the fence runs tall so that it blocks out as much noise as humanly possible.

PVC Fences

These next fences require a lot less maintenance than wooden fences, giving you everything that you need for a solid noise-blocking barrier.

They are very easy to maintain and will not succumb to some of the hazardous elements of some wood, especially if it is untreated.

You can get PVC to suit the decor of any of your homes, making sure that you have everything that you need for consistent decor.

PVC will also last you a lot longer than wood, so if you want a garden border that will last you for the best part of a decade, then you can’t go far wrong with PVC.

A PVC design also comes with an interlocking system that you can use to block out the incoming sounds with a wave design.

These fences can be put together very easily, connecting together tightly without any need for additional glues or solvents. Another great thing about PVC is that it is easy to clean.

Tall Fences

One thing you’ll have to check is how tall you can legally have your fence. There are always laws in your area that govern the maximum height of fencing.

Remember that you have neighbors to consider and that having a tall fence might block out their light or ruin their view.

You can’t build a fence that is as tall as you want, but you can have it at the right specifications that it will allow some sound dampening for your property.

We would certainly recommend that you get thick enough boards to keep the noise out, making sure that the slats connect properly and that there is no sound bleed.

Sound dampening all depends on the size and volume of the fencing that you’ll be using. PVC slats are generally a lot thicker than most of the other models that you can get, including ones made from wood and artificial wood.

Green Fences

This is when you use mother nature to help you screen out some of the hazardous and irritating noise that can often damage your otherwise serene garden party.

This not only does a great job of muting all of your sounds, but it will be plenty green and aesthetically very pleasing.

We would recommend that you get evergreen shrubs, as they will remain green and pretty all year round. You can also have trees lining your wooden or PVC fencing, which will help give you double the protection.

Trees and fencing is also a great design combination, the trees helping you screen the walls, which can often look bare.

Another great feature of green fences is that they replenish themselves. Unless you live in a particularly arid climate, then you won’t even need to water them.

These trees should grow very tall, although you’ll still need to make sure that they are not in contravention of any height laws that might apply in your municipality.

Evergreens are also great for noise reduction, the thickness of the leaves helping you dampen any sound that comes through them.

We would certainly recommend that you grow your trees nice and thick, as this will increase the amount of sound buffering that they will provide.

How Can You Build A Soundproof Fence?

When you are building your own soundproof fence, one thing you’ll have to factor in is the height of the fence. You should ideally have a fence between 12 and 15 feet high, as this will help you to block out most of the noise coming from outside. The taller the fence, then the more noise reduction you’ll experience.

You’ll have to make a trade-off with how much light that your fence will block out. If you are contravening the local bylaws of your area, then you might find yourself the subject of neighbors’ complaints and have to shorten the fence eventually anyway.

You’ll need to make a thorough sweep of your garden before you install your fence, as any bumps and lumps in the ground will affect the design of the fence and also might compromise the soundproofing qualities.

Most gardens are not 100% level anyway, so make sure that you know where the uneven ground is.

You should try to work out all these design errors before you start building the fence, as it will be much more difficult to rectify them at a later stage.

If you get all the issues sorted out in the blueprint stage, then you’ll save yourself a lot of time in the long run. Amending your fence afterward will also cost you extra money.

Maintaining Your Fence

Once you have built your fence, you will have to check it a few times every month for holes, especially at the bottom of the fence. This is where critters will dig underneath your fence or even try to bite through the material.

This is one of the main boons of having PVC, as it will be much harder for these animals to chew through.

If the structure of your fence is compromised, then you can be sure that the soundproofing quality will diminish. One method of restoring the integrity of your fence is by patching it with wood or epoxy glue.

Make sure that you paint over and seal it around the edges to make it super sound- and waterproof.

What Are The Best Plants For Soundproofing?

You’ll have to make sure that your plants are both decent for soundproofing and that they’ll lend themselves well to your garden in terms of aesthetics.

If you have plants that aren’t visually appealing, then you might run the risk of damaging them. Some plants will be better for absorbing noise too.

If you take advice from any plant expert, then you can be sure they’ll tell you that some species of plant are much better at noise reduction than others.

You’ll need creepers that cover the entire wall, with plenty of thick leaves and branches that you can be sure will absorb most of the sound.

Plants will start to lose their effectiveness during the winter, as they will have less growth on them. If you are using your plants to soundproof your fences during the summer, then we would suggest that you use evergreen plants, as this will provide you with plenty of coverage.

You should make sure that you have plenty of coverage in between the leaves of your plants, especially during the summer months.

We would certainly recommend that you have plants that have broad leaf spans. This will guarantee you the maximum level of coverage for your fencing.

We would recommend that you place as many shrubs as possible in front of your fence, as this will help increase the sound dampening effect.

Building a berm with shrubs on the top will also be very important for increasing the dampening effect on your fence.

You’ll also have to make sure that you are watering your plants regularly, as this will keep them nice and green throughout the year. Remember: the more green your shrubs are, then the more coverage you’ll have on your fence.

White Noise

One method of combating noise that is leaking in from the neighborhood is more noise, that’s right, you heard us. White noise can be a great method of canceling out harsher sounds.

All you need for this is to have a speaker playing a contrasting sound such as running water.

You’ll need to make sure that you have the counteracting sound playing in more close proximity to your party than the offending sound that you are trying to get rid of.

If you are combining this technique with the shrub and soundproof wall sound, then you can be even more certain of a quiet time in your backyard.

You can also get backyard reduction speakers that you can place around your main seating area and they will do the job of getting rid of all unwanted noise. You should always make sure that these speakers are set up properly before you activate them.

Frequently Asked Questions

We hope that our list of soundproof fencing has helped you to better decide what setup would be better for your needs.

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