Sound proof - house next to freeway

[Peter_Klim]

House is right up next to the freeway. What can/should I do to make my rooms quieter?

Each room has 2 full size double doors that look old that I'm sure could be replaced with a more solid double windows. I could cover up the opening to the chimney. Would adding one more wall a few inches parallel just to the one next to the freeway help?

Any other suggestions?

 

[Bernard]

You could always move

 

[amey01]

You could always move

+1 with Bernard. Audiophiles don't live next to freeways.

In fact, I contend that audiophiles (with their super-hearing) would have more problems than audio when living next to a freeway. I know for one I'd go insane in a day or less.

 

[edwinr]

There's lots of things you can do to sound proof your room. Double glazed windows work a treat. I'd certainly block up the fire place. If you need to, you could add another wall as you suggest, but before you do that, consider heavy curtains - not cheap, but very effective Do you have a high fence between your house and the freeway? That helps with blocking road noise.

For many, moving isn't an option. If you google sound proofing there's some good tips.

 

[Peter_Klim]

+1 with Bernard. Audiophiles don't live next to freeways.

But I do...

 

[Peter_Klim]

Thanks.

There is a wall between my property and the freeway.

I did a few google searches.

I found out that usually doing anything to the walls will not help but that most of the sound comes through the windows. The doors have glass in them. But I really do not need to have the doors leading to outside in the 2 rooms I would have the systems in. I wonder if removing them and making it one solid wall would make more of a difference than getting well built soundproof sliding glass doors and windows from a place like http://www.soundproofwindows.com/soundproofing_case_studies.html

Was just wondering if anyone here had any issues like this and what they might have done that did and did not work.

 

[Peter_Klim]

This looks promising:

http://www.soundproofwindows.com/comparison.html

 

[MPS]

Mass, concrete or thick tile wall. Air tight construction in windows and doors. Double everything, glasses, rubber seals etc. You could get more professional answers from pro musician forums.

 

[Bernard]

But I do...

You guys missed the emoticon at the end of my last comment.

One other thing to consider: I have seen windows with shutters between the two panes of glass. I imagine that would help a bit with noise reduction.

 

[Speedskater]

Ted White at Green Glue has pages and pages of instructions (but it's a lot of dry wall work).

http://www.greengluecompany.com/

 

[Nutshell]

If you want ventilation but no noise, there are special damping openings available. Like on this Dutch website: http://www.buva.nl/site/onze-producten/ventilatie/geluiddempend-ventileren/33.html

There must be American altenatives I guess.

 

[Peter_Klim]

You guys missed the emoticon at the end of my last comment.

One other thing to consider: I have seen windows with shutters between the two panes of glass. I imagine that would help a bit with noise reduction.

Hi Bernard, I didn't miss it. I didn't take your comment in a negative way at all.

I too read about the shutters between two panes of glass. It seems that would work similar in the way every other stud is attached to the same side on the inside of a wall.

Thanks to everyone else for your suggestions!

 

[JonFo]

Peter, an important element before you invest time and money here is to first characterize the problem with measurements.

Treating low-frequency intrusive noise is very very different than dealing with mid-range and higher noise.

So pull out the measurement tools and see what the spectrum distribution is.

If it's largely in the Ultra-LF, you have a huge challenge ahead and might never get a satisfactory result. Matter of fact, the more you treat mid-and high-frequency intrusion, the more noticeable the LF noise will be s it's no longer masked.

So please post some frequency graphs of the background noise level from multiple samples throughout the noisiest periods of the day.

 

[ktchnman]

I didn't have the heart to say that, Bernard, but it was the first thing that came to my mind, too.
I was shopping for a house once, found a beautiful place, newly redone pool (heck, I am in Florida), on a pretty lake, priced right, nicely maintained, about 4 houses up from a sound wall bordering a busy road. It would have driven me up a wall.

 

[invenio]

A few months ago I saw a video of a company that makes these "sheet rock suspenders". Basically it's a screw connector that goes between the sheet rock and the supporting wood beams. It essentially decouples the wall with the house structure and minimizes vibration (sound) transmission. Supposedly this works really well. I don't know how much work you want to do, but if you take the sheet rock off, you can fill the spaces with some acoustic foam and then use this product as well. Lot's of work as you basically have to redo the entire wall. Sorry I can't remember the name (I'm sure a little bit of googling would find it), but this is definitely another option.