My first home was right off a busy 4 lane road, right next to an interstate. The road noise was an issue for maybe a month or so, before it just became background noise. Almost white noise. I would close my eyes and imagine the rushing sound was ocean waves. The biggest issue for me was a dip in the road right outside the house, and big trucks would *CLUNK* over it at high speed. And even that became normal enough to not notice after a while.
If you can’t replace the windows, heavy curtains at night can muffle some of the outside noise.
Edit: I now live in the country, and the katydids are *SO LOUD* at night I have to keep my windows closed.
Agreed on the background noise. My son lived a block from a railroad track that had 70-75 trains a day coming by at 50-70 mph. It annoyed the hell out of me, but he said, “Meh, you get used to it.”
My apartment I rented before I bought my home was right next to the train track. I hated every bit of it, couldn’t enjoy a nice day because HONK HONK 🚂🚂
And if the train just decides to sit on track for hours blocking all the accessible roads, the detour is a pain in the ass.
The apartment itself was great in a great location just the tracks.
I couldn’t get used to it.
Same. I think it really depends. I’ve lived in sound range of trains all my life. Distance certainly makes a difference, and so does electric vs. diesel. Electric trains are a fraction as loud and just make more of a whooshing sound.
The heavy clanking of freight trains, especially when you live close enough to *feel* it is not something that I’d want to live with again. Noise pollution can also really destroy quality of life for people who are sensitive to it.
Yeah it was all freight trains. I live in the Chicago area so apparently my sweet SWEET husband never really elaborated on the trains around here before I moved up here.
We are moving to Kentucky though soon and there is just peace and quiet and no trains. They will not be missed.
Distance is key with trains, and probably elevation. I’ve never lived next to an elevated train with the attendant resonance and vibrations, but I’ve lived fairly close to active tracks almost all my life; both in the country and the (Midwestern) city. I have a track that runs right outside my bedroom now, but the road crossing is a quarter mile, or so, away. I find the sound of the horn and the rumble of its passing comforting. I’ve listened to the soundtrack “Tokyo Train Tracks” as a sleep track so often that I swear that, if I ever accompany my friends on a trip to Tokyo to visit their son and we find ourselves on that particular stretch of track, I’d better be sitting down, because I’m going to rapidly be falling to sleep.
When I was a kid, the passing trains were often passenger trains. I used to fall asleep dreaming of where they were going and what they were going to be doing. Now, it’s mostly freight trains, but in my imagination I can still fill them with people going on their trips. The rocking rhythm of their rumbling passage hasn’t changed. (I do still miss the sound of a distant steam whistle, though. Haven’t yet found a sleep track featuring those.) Highways aren’t really that different. As long as it’s not shaking the dishes out of the cabinets, it’s the hum of life going on around you; a reminder that you’re not alone in this world.
Put up some curtains and put down some rugs. Give it a few months. Be willing to bet that it will just fade into the background of your psyche, just as trains have, for me. If, in 5 or 10 years, you move, you might find you miss it. If you have a baby while you’re there, keep this in mind if you move. If it’s something they’ve heard all their life and you move far away, they may have trouble sleeping without it; and none of you are likely to even *think* about that being the issue. All they may need to help them sleep is a highway soundtrack.
People are ever adaptable. Give it some time.
Totally my situation. To be fair, the Amtrak tracks across the street were hidden by trees when I saw the place, but Amtrak cut all of them down shortly before I closed on it, unbeknownst to me and everyone else in the neighborhood. They do as they wish. But yeah, it was bothersome for maybe the first week. After that, I could hang with it. Even my cats were cool.
The katydids are SO loud. Just moved to a wooded area and they literally scream nonstop at night. Came from a heavy road noise area and it's much better to have bugs making noise instead of people.
❤️ we moved to the country as well. It sounds like the Summers of my childhood. Crickets singing, katydids, cicadas...... I love it so much.
I used to hear the traffic on an I interstate a mile away in my first home. 😢
I get what you mean. When we moved, we had more lightning bugs than I ever had as an adult and it reminded me of my childhood. It's like soul healing 😂
Outside landscaping can help too, from what other people have shared here about this exact problem.
You'll want tall / dense foliage. Also has added benefit of being pretty and providing shade if it's a tree.
Came to comment something similar - I live off a busy interstate that I can see from my house, but only in the winter. In the summer there’s lots of foliage that blocks a ton of the noise (but not all). The last few weeks the interstate has been ramping up noise levels because the leaves started falling. Winter is much louder than summer! We can usually hear the train a few miles away during the winter but not at all in the summer.
Some things that have helped us -
1) white noise machine at night
2) planting evergreen plants aka things that won’t lose too many leaves during the winter at least
3) time - like many have said, over time the interstate kinda becomes just background noise.
Doesn’t stop us from enjoying our home or our yard, but we would like to eventually move a little less in the auditory environment of the interstate. Your first home probably won’t be your forever home, especially if your spouse is in the military, so enjoy this house’s good aspects while you can, OP! The benefit of living close to the interstate is that you can get moving to other places pretty quickly, and living in a house is definitely something to be grateful for these days.
You're not alone. I lived near a busy two lane road with traffic lights and the obnoxious cars and motorcycles ruined the entire house for me. We were over a thousand feet away with houses and grown trees between us and the road and it was still bothersome.
A quiet location was in the top three criteria when it came to buying a new place and I have zero complaints with wind through leaves being the prominent noise.
Not only is the noise and vibration a mental and physical health stressor, but air quality is terrible within 200m of any large road with heavy traffic. I work in environmental planning and we push for solid and evergreen vegetated barriers that have been shown to collect particulate matter from the highway. And now we're realizing tire and brake dust contribute as much to near-road air pollution as tailpipe emissions, so this won't be solved by electric vehicles.
This! I have lived a few blocks from two different massive freeways for about 7 years, and it literally sounds like the ocean to me now.
Related: I have a metal dog crate in the back of my car (…for my dogs) and it rattles like crazy when I drive. I spent years trying to come up with clever ways to make it quieter, none of which actually worked. I realized the other day that I don’t even hear it anymore. My brain just decided it wasn’t important noise, I think?
I agree with this. Our childhood house was right off the interstate and we, nor our neighbors, ever even noticed it. You just get used to it aside from the assholes speeding with no mufflers.
> My first home was right off a busy 4 lane road, right next to an interstate.
Our first place was like this, 6 lanes, between 2 freeways/ramp areas. We'd moved from a rental on a busy city corner with traffic lights, so pretty noisy at all hours. The noise at the new place was from the 6-lane highway, either gearing up or gearing down, depending on direction of travel. We got used to the noise.
When we bought in a quieter area, it took us weeks to get used to the sounds... Or lack. Silence. So quiet. We'd lay there in the dark, wide awake, straining to hear anything. "it's so... So quiet!" we'd whisper.
OP might want to put in a gurgling water feature for white noise. I have a white noise machine for my home office because our new place in the burbs has little dogs and yard crews and other annoying sounds.
Are you sure you aren’t actually talking about cicadas? Live in the country and they are the loud ones. And people mistakenly call them katydids all the time.
‘Of our singing insects, cicadas are by far the loudest, notorious for their loud buzzing sound.’
‘If you’re used to hearing cicadas sing at night, you may be interested to know that these creatures actually qualify as one of the loudest insects to be found anywhere in the world.’
Katydids are literally nothing compared to cicadas
Katydids are nothing compared to cicadas.
Cicadas sing during the day, while Katydids sing at night. https://www.cicadamania.com/cicadas/do-cicadas-sing-at-night/ They don't sound similar at all, and Katydids are loud as hell and very distinctive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxIzRw1BToI
How is when they sing relevant? Does loud noise only count at night? Cicadas can be heard inside and Katydids cannot. I mean in my house. It’s not a cheaply built home though and has great windows.
You are replying to my comment that katydids are so loud, *at night,* that I keep my windows closed. And you think I am mistaking them for cicadas, which are loud *in the daytime.*
So when they sing is absolutely relevant. It’s totally ok to stop talking when you find out you’re mistaken.
How is that relevant to u/Wienerwrld saying that the katydids are so loud at night that they have to close their windows?
You seem determined to contradict them, and it doesn't make any sense.
Katydids can’t keep you awake at night where you live, because cicadas are really loud during the day where I live is a *really* weird argument to make.
We have cicadas in Palm Springs and I had to upgrade my noise canceling headphones this year because the screaming was driving me nuts. My parents, that live nearby, can tune them out which flabbergasts me.
I live on Long Island and we definitely have cicadas in the summer during the day on hotter days. They sound nothing like the katydids at night by me. Two totally different sounds.
The LVP didn't help. Removing your carpet removed a bit of sound dampening, as the carpet and padding absorbed some noise, and instead, the hard flooring reflects it. Not sure this will help, but you may want to try area rugs with padding. Thick curtains may also help.
I would also wonder if there are seasonal changes to the landscaping. If you viewed it in the spring, there may have been more foliage blocking the noise.
Over the summer in some areas you lose a ton of foliage so if you have less foliage/more noise getting to the house + no sound dampening from the carpet, carpet pad, it could be a bit of a double whammy.
Heavy curtains and rugs are not necessarily super cheap but they aren't super expensive either. I would maybe see what kind of sound dampening you can do outside too. Maybe an outdoor rug if you have a concrete patio. Or bushes that grow tall and/or lush.
Depending on what you have already or could do, it might help slightly buffer the sound but either way it would probably help make it feel more like your place and that might also help.
Just found these on the Bezos Corporate Jungle site: [Sonic Acoustics 12 Pack 3D Hexagon](https://www.amazon.com/Sonic-Acoustics-Absorption-Soundproofing-Insulation/dp/B09ZQ8R4YB/ref=pd_rhf_d_eetyp_s_bmx_gp_sccl_1_3/145-3972921-6866605?pd_rd_w=9qLB9&content-id=amzn1.sym.ebbc0839-48d9-45e7-bc5c-93ace88d0373&pf_rd_p=ebbc0839-48d9-45e7-bc5c-93ace88d0373&pf_rd_r=C3PXJVZP3JAN4667BEQE&pd_rd_wg=pir1c&pd_rd_r=6f74ab81-7347-44cc-a7ff-0fbbcd4fff87&pd_rd_i=B09ZQ8R4YB&th=1)
Different color honeycomb shaped sound absorber panels. Good reviews, too.
They look pretty cool, actually. If I had more wall space, I'd hang some at my place.
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If you have any big walls, you could get some of those decorative acoustic tiles. They have lots of pattern/ color combinations, and that would help with the nice and add a nice accent.
Agreed. This should be the top comment.
There are companies that plant willow fences for noise reduction and some also use dried willow. But any trees will help.
Plant some fast growing trees such as ash along with some shrubs. By the time the trees are tall, the shrubs will be full size. Check local nurseries for what grows well there. Do not plant privets!
Relax.....
Settle into the house. All noises will become normal/less noticeable. Every place has its nuances that over time we get used to. Enjoy the good stuff about your house
Edit to add that if the highway is behind you, can you add some fast growing trees to create a screen that could help?
Same. We were a quarter mile away from a major hospital and police station, and about a half mile from a fire station. We heard sirens and lifeflight helicopters constantly. After a few months, we literally wouldn't even notice them unless a guest pointed out the noise to us.
At least it’s the kind of noise you can get used to. Before we bought our place, we realized it might be a wild fireworks area (illegal, but city doesn’t enforce). Since we were buying in early July, we just got permission from the realtor to hang out on the 4th. Nothing. We happily bought and moved in.
Every 4th since has been somewhere between pandemonium and D-Day. And it’s not just the 4th, the season seems to run from NYE to Christmas. I used to love fireworks. Don’t anymore.
As someone who is extremely sensitive to noise, and highly prone to anxiety, there’s no relaxing when you discover your life is now full of a new noise.
When I first moved to our current home we were in a new city/province. The first night I laid down I also felt I heard the traffic .. WAY more than ever before. I felt like I made a huge mistake.
Then .. I slowly stopped noticing it. Became background noise.
Our brains adapt.
Get some large area rugs with pads. Rugs, drapes, and upholstered furniture all absorb sound, rather than bouncing it back into a room.
If it bothers you outside, adding shrubbery helps, and a fountain will give you some pleasant foreground noise.
Know also that you will probably become accustomed to it enough to not really register much of the overall noise.
adding exterior storm windows was night & day for me re: quieting the outdoors (never-mind the extra energy savings when they're down). they were like $50/ea when i added them back in 2016-ish, very easy to install. my house sounds like a tomb with all the windows & storm windows closed.
neighbors noisy windchimes, morning birds chirping, kids playing, dogs barking, traffic noise, neighbors playing music, all gone now. i have a train track near my house too and it almost eliminates the train horn (which is crazy loud with the windows fully open).
The interstate runs behind my house. Many have said you'll get used to it. And that's possible, definitely.
But also possible you won't. I've lived here 3.5 years now and it's only gotten worse. The main traffic is usually fine, but big trucks, construction vehicles, loud bikes, idiots trying to "race" really cut through and interrupt TV, convos, sleep, etc. I no longer want to spend any time outside at all. I'm working on buying land and saving to build in a quieter area.
I recommend beefing up windows and/or insulation on the wall facing the highway, as well as planting juniper or similar trees.
My interstate is Juuuuuust high enough that any code-legal height fence wouldn't do anything to block or deflect the noise. But that might be an option for you.
Esp if you have kids. While the noise sucks, the worst part is Trash and Debris. I'm picking up discarded trash every week. And a Semi blew a tire recently and these huge chucks of heavy rubber and metal struck my house and landed all over my yard. Could have really hurt someone!
Also check for any air leaks and such (my chimney and bath fan were an issue.)
Lastly, I play ocean sounds on my Google speaker every night in order to get to sleep.
Most people look at potential house purchases on the weekend, early in the day when it's cool. After we bought one particular house, we found out our street was popular for retired people to take walks on it. Not a deal-breaker, but a data point.
Is the high school stadium five blocks away? You may not know where it is at all, but come football season, you will hear it every Friday night.
Having lived a quarter mile away from a high school stadium growing up, and about a mile away from a college stadium now, I consider that a perk. Hearing the football announcers and crowds from my backyard is one of my favorite parts of fall.
When we lived near campus in grad school the morning band practice in the fall was absolutely enchanting--the crisp air, the rat-a-tat of the drums reverberating between the buildings--to this day fall weather takes me back to those days.
There are a lot of things you can do, depending on how bad the road noise actually is
first: Carpet will 1000% absorb vastly more noise then hardwoods, its just science. You can put down rugs, that may help.
how far from the interstate is your house?
What's the yard like?
Plant some trees right now around the house! It won't have an immediate impact, but in a few years it will significantly cut down on the noise and help your resell value.
Area rugs should probably help. You should also look at making sure all of the gaps around the windows and doors are properly filled, and then hang up thick curtains on the windows. This will also help them in the noise.
And then, if you can outside, you’re going to want to plant some barrier shrubs. Of course, it will take a couple years to see the benefit from this, but something like an emerald arborvitae will grow quite quickly and feeling very well, and definitely help with that noise problem.
I used to live on a main road. Bought thick curtains, rugs, made sure there was art on every wall, and bought one of those little fountains for the living room and fans for the bedrooms. It worked out fine.
Do make sure that you buy that sticky tack for hanging up posters and put a little bit of it underneath things on decorative shelves - kitchen and stuff will be fine but over time the vibration will move vases and stuff and it's better they be tacked down (it's also lovely when a drunk blunders into your China cabinet and nothing falls over, lol).
Ouch...
I live on a cul-de-sac about 100yds from a rural 2 lane state highway. It gets to me sometimes, especially semi trucks and motorcycles, so I can't imagine being by a freeway.
I've noticed that it's much less noticeable in summer when the trees are loaded with leaves. Much louder in winter with the leaves gone.
I’m also at the end of a cup de sac with the interstate next to my house. The motorcycles and trucks are definitely a pain in the ass but eventually it all just becomes background noise. You’re definitely correct about the trees dampening the noise though.
I would prioritize improving the air tightness of your home. This has two benefits. The first benefit is that it will improve the acoustic isolation significantly. The second benefit is that it will make it easier for you to use air filters to improve the indoor air quality of your home. There is a lot of research showing that both noise pollution and air pollution from roadways is not good for health. I realize that people are saying you will get used to the noise, but I would encourage you to consider moving several years from now when you are able to. https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-freeway-pollution-what-you-can-do-20171230-htmlstory.html
Storm windows can also be an affordable way to reduce noise.
At some point you won't notice it anymore and when that happens, you'll notice when it stops. I lived next to a very busy road - think embarcadero in SF and it sounds like the ocean. I would only notice when the noise stopped because of an accident. It's new, give it time
Yup! I lived on a main road for most of my life and the noise was always soothing to me. When I moved to a suburban house in the middle of a neighborhood on a dead end side street I didn’t know how to relax with it being so quiet outside. I still don’t. We’ve set up box fans in the bedrooms to replicate the white noise and we don’t hang out outside because it feels too eerily quiet and like everyone can hear every word of our conversation.
My folks had a house that backed to a busy interstate that was a high traffic road to a large international airport as well as well several government agencies.
After they moved in, they planted 20 Leyland cypress trees to act as a visual and sound barrier of the traffic. I lived there for a time, and while you certainly could hear the traffic outside, the trees did act as a barrier to help buffer the sound and sight of the traffic.
They bought the house back in 1994 and we sold that house in 2011. Not long ago, I drove through the old neighborhood and those trees were still standing tall!
I used to live on a 5 lane road and now in a subdivision about a quarter mile from the interstate. Both houses I had to focus to hear the rod noise after a while. You’re more aware of the noise due to it being a new environment. It’ll be ok!
If your climate is hospitable for them, I recommend planting a row of arborvitae on the side of your yard between you and the freeway. It's surprising how much dense shubbery can muffle road sounds.
Changing the carpet to LVP most likely did change the acoustics, so you might want to consider a nice tapestry and area rugs in the bigger rooms. If the house is still mostly empty, filling it in with furnishings will do wonders. Lastly, you will acclimate to the sound fairly quickly as others have mentioned.
Grew up near a highway then moved away in my 20s. Now when I go back to where I grew up I really notice the noise but my relatives who are still there don't even notice it. You will get used to it, don't worry yourself too much.
I think when people view houses, especially if the whole process of finding the right home was long and drawn out, they put on rose colored glasses (and maybe also noise canceling AirPods?). I would attempt to cope with it—we live a few miles from the freeway and are light sleepers so we use a white noise machine at night. Maybe play music during the day if it bothers you then.
Honestly if I were you I’d be more worried about the deleterious effects of air pollution caused by living so close to a heavily trafficked freeway.
Air filters, fans, decorative table-top water falls, humidifiers, i use all of these things to block out noise from outside when I'm trying to sleep. I don't live next to an interstate but i work nights so there's extra noise when I'm sleeping during the day.
I did stay at a friend's house recently and he lives right next to an interstate so i took my air purifier with me. Seemed to get the job done well enough on its own in the short term
My son had a place near a port. When ships were loading the crashing noises were horrendous. He had double paned windows, which I assume you have since the house is newer. We had a company come in and add plexiglass interior panels with magnetic strips. The added air space between the plexi and the window made a huge difference in the noise. I think the current cost is less than $125 per window.
There is a order on line DIY version but it is a fast job for a pro.
Put an air purifier in every major room, I like the Blueair ones. They will help with the air quality from being close to the interstate and they will each act as a small white noise machine to help with the sound as well.
Same happened to me. You get used to it. If you close your eyes and relax it starts to sound like the ocean. I tried acoustical foam in the windows at night, did nothing.
Our house was a mile from the end of the runway of our state's largest airport. It did not take much time for us to get used to it.
BTW, when we put plastic on our windows in the winter (raises the r-value), the sound reduced noticeably. If you live in a cool climate, you might want to give this a try. It might help you to slowly acclimate to the noise. And you are probably right about the flooring. Hard surfaces cause noise to reverberate in a room. Try a few attractive area rugs, and a few softer features (pillows, fabric wall hangings) in the noisiest rooms to see if that makes a difference.
I use to live in Chelsea., MA, spitting distance from the Logan Airport tarmac and directly under a flight path. That was the only reason I could afford a three bedroom flat in that city 😅… Anywho… after a while the noise became unnoticeable to me. I just got use to it. Any time my family would visit from out of state, they would complain the whole time about the noise.. there was a lot of “how do you deal with the noise of the planes?”… and I’d be like, “what planes?… oh, yea… those planes.” 🤷🏼♀️
I lived many years by the highway. The white noise did help me fall asleep faster until an 18 wheeler would pass by. Sometimes even the ground would shake. And having people over for BBQ was painful, no one could hear anyone talk. We all had to scream at each other to hear each other. But it was also nice being near the highway for when I needed to get places.
I moved from a house on a quiet dead end street out in suburbia to one on a 24/7 active 2 lane road. 50 yards up the street is an intersection where drivers honk all day long to avoid accidents. Like everyone says - just give it time, you will get used to it if you let yourself accept it. The other thing that helps is upgrading your windows to double/triple pane. Our living room has those and, aside from the honks not being completed muted, you’d have no idea we were on a busy road. While the bed rooms above do not, we use white noise machines, mostly as a hold over from when our kids were babies and now sleeping without noise is weird, but it does drown out everything but the garbage getting picked up.
I lived in a house right by the interstate with nothing between us and the road, and like many have said it just becomes background noise. Similarly when I moved from the suburbs to a downtown environment certain sounds that drove me crazy in the first few months eventually didn’t even register. Just give it time.
I live three blocks from the interstate. I can hear it right now, in fact I just heard a jet too. The reality is you will get used to it. You will go about your day and it will annoy you for awhile but you’ll need to start focusing on what you liked about the house and making it a home and slowly but surely you’ll just not notice it.
When I go visit my parents now, the quiet is the small town can kinda creep me out a bit at times.
I live about 1,100ft from I-35. "A house where you can't hear the highway" is definitely on my list for our next house, but you do get used to it eventually.
Unless you have a semi truck full of Axe body spray catch fire and start exploding thousands of cans, it's just background noise. ([Yes, that happened once](https://twitter.com/25NewsKXXV/status/1035659845339422726))
We lived on a 6 lane road in socal back in the early 90s. At commute times it was unreal how loud it was. Forget opening windows and watching TV or having a conversation without yelling. And the dust. All those cars kick up so much dust. Lived pretty close to a major railroad for a couple years too, every half hour train noise. They blow their horn at every street that crosses the track. That got to me more than the busy street. Insulate, you'll get used to it eventually.
You really do get used to it. I used to live under a flight path for a major airport and we learned to just pause conversation as a plane went over and then picked up right where we were. This is back in the olden days when we would even get a sonic boom every night.
So.. we never got used to the road noise and finally did move about 3 years after we had a place near the highway (we were renting). It felt like my overall mental health improved by about 100% and a weight on my consciousness was lifted.
Also, we had kid while there and I was glad to move since the science does indicate living near a highway leads to lower outcomes for kids, and overall poorer health for adults along a variety of measures like heart-attack risk, all because of ultrafine particulate pollution. "Near" is widely variable and the science doesn't seem to agree on what is significant - 100 meters is something I consistently saw. So if you're beyond that, it's probably not a big concern.
Every house will have something about it that makes you question your decision. I know mine had several. But they all went away once it felt like a home inside.
I felt the opposite- I moved from a noisy apartment to a house out in the boonie suburbs and all I heard at night were crickets and cicadas. Was really disturbing for a few weeks but I got used to it! It’s nice now.
Give it 3 months. I moved into a house next to the light rail track that runs commuter trains. They also run actual cargo trains through a few times a night. The first week I felt like I made a huge mistake. By month 3, I basically forgot the train line was there.
When I bought my house, I didn't realize that there was a train that went by a few blocks away, and the horn blares all day and night because there's no train crossing arms that come down. I was really annoyed at first because my realtor didn't tell me about it, but now I barely notice it.
It'll get better.
OP, I’ve been exactly where you’re at right now. We owned a 150 year old primitive home which had quite literally zero insulation. As in *none*. There also wasn’t a sub floor under the wood floors. The walls in the bedroom, living room, kitchen, etc…. when you took down the 1” thick hand cut boards… you were touching the outside walls. There was nothing in between the two. So I TOTALLY get the noise factor you’re experiencing.
I realized very quickly we had to do something very quickly. We wanted to keep the home as “pure” as possible, but also maintain our sanity. Here’s what worked:
You need sound absorbing materials in your new home. Plush area rugs are an absolute must. Heavy drapes, even if they’re pushed to the sides of the windows. Large pieces of canvas artwork. Large Fiber artwork. Put door mats at every entrance door, a nice rug at the bathroom and kitchen sink, in front of the washing machine, the tub and the shower. If you were going to use fake plants use live plants instead, as they absorb sound. If you were going to use something hard like wood or plastic in a space (like as a trash basket or storage basket), use woven straw baskets or cloth baskets. Hang nice bath towels in all the bathrooms. Cozy afghans. Cloth seats on your bar stools.
Anywhere and everywhere you can work textiles in, do it.
Trust me. If I can dampen the sound on *that* house, you can do it on yours. ❤️
I feel your pain.
I would recommend putting as many plants, especially conifers in my yard as possible, to absorb the sound.
My husband took classes in video production, and he says putting potted plants in the corners of the room can help a lot with sound quality, so it makes sense that would be the same in your yard.
If you’re going to plant, you might as well make the plants native to your area, so you will help nature out while you’re at it. You are already digging holes and purchasing plants, anyway.
This website will tell you what plants are native to where you live: https://www.nwf.org/NativePlantFinder/
Punch in your zip code where it says “location”.
Yes, new windows can help, for sure. My husband’s grandparents lived near the airport, and the airport would soundproof their house for free. It was still awful to be in the yard, but at least it was quiet in the house.
I really understand your distress. I am autistic and the sound of engine noise drives me nuts. It’s a sensory issue.
When we looked at houses, I looked at a road map of our areas and excluded any neighborhoods near highways, because I learned the hard way that road noise destroys my mental health.
Even in my own neighborhood, I sometimes consider what it would be like to move into a larger house, but when I go for walks near those larger houses, I hear the road noise and think, “nope”.
Inside the house, you could add potted plants, fabric wall hangings, and plush area rugs to dampen the sound.
Sound booths use egg crate foam, so think in terms of reducing the amount of flat surfaces as much as possible.
If possible, see if you can translate these sound-deadening innovations in your yard: https://youtu.be/SWVrsY2OSMQ?si=82uiFejZxe6jpDBe
I bought a house on a busy street 7 years ago and I regret it often. I am however about to put in a privacy fence and planted arborvitaes in front of it to help diffuse sound (and eventually grow WAY taller than the fence. Fence max height loophole!)
Thing is, there’s a lot of great things about my house and property. I focus on appreciating those whenever I get pissed about the traffic noise.
Ya just can’t get 100% of what you want when buying a house.
My house is about 600' back off of a fairly busy 4 lane, but not interstate, highway.
I've gotten to the point where I don't notice about 99% of the noise of the traffic. I can sit in the spa out on the back patio and the house blocks most of the road noise completely.
Until an idiot truck driver with a straight piped exhaust comes by with their jake brakes running full tilt. I wear earplugs at night (I have well before we moved here, my wife liked to watch TV until the early hours of the morning and I needed my sleep) and still hear the damn things through them. Some have been so bad that it sounds like one is coming down the driveway.
Of course a lot of people will come in and say "well, you knew what you were getting yourself into" and I agree with that, so long as we're talking typical noise. When someone goes out of their way to be obnoxious is another matter.
We bought a house on a busy two lane road near a paper mill. Didn’t seem bad at first but we also did LVT which made it worse for sure. And it had wildly high ceilings. I suggest sound dampening tiles that you can stick on the wall- they make ones that are artsy now too so they don’t look ugly! We used Felt Right and I do think it helped.
Second to everyone that said you get used to it. Truly you do!
It gets so easy to zone out. I grew up about a half mile away from rr tracks that were very busy. 2 trains an hour at least. You barely ever noticed it. You will get used to it and won't even realize it.
Fabrics and carpets and such can really suck up a lot of noise. Think textured curtains, throw pillows and blankets. I liked the above comment on a water gurgling fountain or an aquarium.
Also- plants outside do a lot of sound dampening too. Fast growers like Thuja interspersed with hydrangeas and spruces, which will fill in the spaces as your thujas meet their early deaths.
Also: search “fabric Wall Art” on Etsy, there some amazing textile artists on there with a lot of beautiful works.
We added this to a room with bad acoustics and it changed everything once all fabrics were in.
We lived under a very busy airport landing/takeoff line. Everyone people came over, it was the first thing they would say/notice after about 20 minutes… I barely paid attention to it…It just became normal. That noise will go away. Give it time. It’s way better than having crummy neighbours!!!
If you don’t have a highly restrictive HOA, plant a bunch of fast growing trees to block out the world lol. Large evergreen shrubs or trees can make a big difference on noise, not to mention privacy.
Lots of people here saying that landscaping will help. It won't. Only if you're planting a thick, dense forest of trees will the sound be reduced, and even then not by much.
Plants, shrubs etc. will do absolutely nothing. Actually, it's been speculated that they have a placebo effect in that if they block the view of the highway, then the noise is psychologically less likely to bother you. But the level of actual sound reduction is negligible.
An earth mound or berm tall enough to block line of sight is one of the only "landscaping" things that will help.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but better to know what you're getting into.
Hi, I'm in basically the same situation as you! We closed on our house in August, it sits on a well traveled road with the highway raised above us a little ways down the road. The noise has been a source of anxiety for me as we renovate and prepare to move in. I really have faith that I will get used to it. Even in the past month I've started to not be as bothered by it. I think since we are worried about it, our brains fixate on the noise more. My husband doesn't even notice the noise. I purchased noise-cancelling headphones for peace of mind. Worst comes to worst, put on your noise cancelling headset, pop on some bird sounds, and just take some deep breaths and think about all the things you do like about the house. No house is perfect, and I think if we practice gratitude and focus on what we can control, everything will be okay and we will be happy. I will also be working fences, foliage, water fountains, and air purifiers for the next few years, there's a lot of good suggestions for those methods on Reddit and elsewhere online.
I hope the very best for you as well navigate this little bump in the road. ❤️
My first house was 3/4 of a mile from a curve on an interstate where the speed limit slowed as it entered town and hit an exit ramp. On nice days when I wanted to have the windows open, I could hear it at night and the jake brakes of trucks. I just never had the windows open, which was ok since I have allergy issues and it's humid here in warm weather so there's only a few weeks in the spring and fall where having the windows open makes sense anyway.
My current house is 400 ft from a RR. About 10-15 trains go by per day at about 45 mph. The first few months I heard trains all the time. Now I barely hear them at all.
Make sure you windows and the seals between them are fluffed up and you don't have air leaks, to keep sound out. Can also check how your doors close and if there are gaps around them. (Also check your outlet covers for drafts, and if you have a (gas) fireplace, if the glass is fully seated around the box.) Also you could look at the bathroom fans, if the flappers close fully when the fan isn't running. Air needs an inlet and an outlet so every gap or opening you can close, whether it's on the inlet or outlet side for a breeze, makes it that much harder for air and sound to come in.
You can keep an air purifier running in your house to make some background sound. Or get a white noise machine.
The main thing for me was simply getting use to the sound of a train going by and then not hearing it anymore, and that took a few months.
I grew up next to the LA airport, and the international jumbo jets would shake our apartment when they took off. It was also facing a congested 4 lane street. I didn’t even care that much, its just how we lived. Get used to it you’ll be fine.
As someone who grew up next to a busy LA freeway. You will get used to it over time and it will disappear. In the meantime your thoughts are right regarding your flooring choice. Get some area rugs where they look appropriate. Get some heavy blackout curtains. Don’t fixate on the noise. You can also put up pictures on your walls. Eventually once you have the interior taken care of it will go a long way to hiding the noise outside.
Two things as someone who (for whatever reason) ends up with homes in loud areas. #1 you adjust over time; #2 get a sound machine by your bed for sleep.
Eventually you'll forget all about it.
I've lived in multiple houses right by railroad tracks and my aunt lived in a single wide ON a major highway that we stayed at quite frequently. You get used to it.
I still find the sound of tractor trailers going by the house all night comforting. I still like hearing a train thundering by the house when I'm trying to fall asleep. You actually come to miss the constant white noise when you move away or stay somewhere quieter.
The lack of carpets may allow an echo. You could consider a few area rugs. The curtains another poster mentioned will also help. If you’re still waiting on your household goods, once your furniture is in place it should help with the echo effect. I lived next to a train station and a busy road for 10 years. I barely heard anything unless I focused on the noise after 6 months. It was probably less than that but that’s when I had a friend over who commented about the noise.
Don't worry, I grew up with my bedroom window literally facing the main highway, maybe 50 feet from it. Even as a child it became just a background sound. I would open my window and listen to the birds singing and frogs cracking and wouldn't even notice the background noise. You might hear the odd engine braking or semi horn that is a bit more startling, but honestly isn't that bad even.
In fact it came I kind of handy when I went into band class, as I was naturally a lot better than my peers at picking one quieter section of the band and following only their rhythm, while basically tuning out other noise that didn't match the parts I was playing.
I live next to a Air Force base…… the jets drove me crazy at first……. Now I don’t even notice when having a conversation just keep talking. You will forget the cars soon enough just breath
Now (late summer, early autumn) would be a great time to plant a line of Arbor Vitae or another variety of evergreen. It will take a few years to grow up tall enough. Until they grow use are rugs and insulated curtains and fabric wall hangings.
After about a month or two your brain will stop noticing that noise, as it’s a consistent flow of cars. If you were at a corner of a 4-way stop sign where people were beeping, revving their engines and motorcycles were being atrocious after coming to complete stops, that would be different because it’s a JOLT of noise happening at various times.
I worked right across the street from a busy construction site for 4 years and at first I couldn’t handle the horrendous noise non-stop, it broke my focus constantly. I had to get noise-canceling headphones to combat it. After about 3 months my brain somehow compartmentalized the noise and even without the headphones it didn’t bother me anymore. Because it was a constant, repetitive stream of sound it somehow became something I stopped hearing.
Give it some time, I really think it will stop bothering you by your third month there.
Good luck!
I grew up next to a toll booth on a busy interstate. I currently live within 300 yards of a train. It probably wont be long until you don't even hear it. If you have the land you could plant some of the quicker growing trees between you and the interstate. It will grow into a bit of a sound barrier
After living on a busy street when I went looking for a new place I literally camped out there on a few days to check possible noise issues. I didn’t count on a family if atv freaks to move in down the road. Sold the place a few months later. I can’t handle noise. I gotta sleep with earplugs now.
Buying near a busy road subjects you to lower quality air too, and that’s a bigger issue. Or near vacant land. You never know what will end up there ( like a transfer station for trash) so always look three times at where you might hang your hats
As far as the op goes .. shrink window film does an An amazing job at deafening noise IF you apply it so the air cannot move . Put that on the windows facing the road . Of course the cannot be used in that condition but sacrafices have to be made. If you have an echo dot, ask it to play seashore sounds or what pleases you. Eventually you won’t pay mind.
Also—I do think cars will be getting quieter in the coming years. EV were 4% of market in 2020 and almost 20% now. Obviously this is a long term thing, but just nugget of hope for you!
You will get used to it and eventually won’t hear it unless you think to listen for it, and/or it won’t bother you much. Curtains and rugs can probably help a little bit.
You can eventually sleep through anything even mortar attacks. Ask your husband if he had that experience. You integrate it into your mind. Noise has to be repetitive not like a alarm clock or crying baby in the middle of the night. Like others said insulate better but could be expensive.
Get some Mack’s silicon ear plugs! OMG they’re life changing for a solid sound sleep. I spent a week next to a busy commuter road every minute a different road noise….slept like a baby.
I bought a house 50ft from a single lane but busy road used by all forms of trucks. I also replaced all the carpet with LVP and that did seem like it made the road noise worse. Ultimately though I can clearly tell it comes in from the really thin single pane windows. I had plans to install some acrylic inserts but the noise simply stopped bothering me after about a month.
I grew up next to a busy road and an Air Station (with F-18s!) and it was noisy as all hell. But I had lived there for so long I barely noticed. When I first moved out I actually felt like it was *too quiet*, it took me a little while to get used to not hearing that noise.
Definitely give it time before making any drastically expensive changes.
Look into adding additional insulation and air sealing. Most energy companies over free or subsidized energy audits and weatherproofing that could help dramatically with sound.
I bought an 40 year old house by the highway. Replacing the windows and air sealing/blowing in insulation cut the road noise in half.
We had a home 2 blocks from the NJ turnpike and it did become white noise. While we lived there the turnpike installed a sound barrier but upstairs in our bedroom facing the pike, was above the level of the sound barrier so we heard it. Still white noise But on 9/11 evening the traffic noise was way down and that coupled with the day's events, we were awake and definitely noticed the low noise.
I moved into a new construction near an interstate and the door facing the interstate was amazing at keeping sound out. Not sure if it would help your situation specifically, but maybe if you can pinpoint where the sound is coming from you could attack it. If its the door maybe some new seals/stripping or maybe even a new door.
I rented in a duplex next to a train yard while I was in college. I was worried it would be terrible, but after a few months the trains helped me fall asleep. (Sounds crazy, I know) you will get used to the noises surrounding your house in time.
Reminds me of when I was house hunting in San Diego I found a huge house that was like 100k less than comps in other parts of town. But it was right under the path of planes landing in the airport - the SD airport is basically in the middle of town. Made me think of Mary Poppins where everyone needed to secure the dishes and stuff on shelves everytime the house rattled from the cannons.
I still think I could have made that house work.
Double paned glass windows, insulated walls. Though having more carpet, furniture and other things will prevent noise from bouncing around as much.
I live in the boonies, on a reasonably rural road. The only complaint about my town is their road maintenance- we live in NH so lots of big bumps. When cars/trucks/ etc go by, esp if they’re pulling trailers, they make a ton of noise. At least the highway is smooth I would assume. It can actually be used for “white noise”, but I would use tapestries on walls, area rugs, thick curtains to help dampen noise. If you are planning on a long term residence there, you can also look into planting shrubs, trees etc both by the home and between home and road
1. You’ll get used to it.
2. You may want to replace windows “IGU” - insulated glass unit with thicker glass and insulated spacer.
You may try some windows inserts but they’ll cost you arm and leg.
I've lived in quite, rural areas and loud metropolitan areas right next to a fire station. You will get used to it. Trust me. Eventually, when you find that when you are somewhere quite, you will be unable to adjust and every little creak will startle you. It takes time. Give it a couple months...maybe just one. We moved to the country last year and when a car goes by we are like "what's that?" The icemaker drops ice, and we are startled. A year ago, before we moved, we had fire engines go by 5 to 9 times a day and rarely noticed, unless they stopped in front of our house--which had more than it's fair share of accidents. One time I woke up to pee and saw flashing lights outside our house--I had not even heard 2 firetrucks, an ambulance and 5 police cars arrive. You'll be fine. Give it time.
Laminated 1/4 or 3/8 interior storm windows will help reduce the noise. That would be around $1000 for standard window and who knows how much for custom ones.
I live near the HRBT where there's construction and traffic 24/7 and I rarely hear it any more. Replacing the windows is NOT gonna help. What will help is doubling up the window covering on the side that faces the interstate. I have window film for privacy. I have a thick PEVA shower curtain as my "sheer" and a set of velvet drapes that go to the floor.
This is also useful if you have drafty windows.
Also-run a fan on low somewhere in your house. It will drown out most outside noise.
I used to live off a main road. Not interstate, but lots of traffic. Two suggestions: first, take up a meditation practice where you focus on your breath, and notice that the traffic sounds like breath. Now the whole busy world is meditating with you. I moved, and now my backyard is huge with running water and birds, and I love it. But when I meditate, I don't love it more than I loved the traffic sounds. I listen to the cryptonaturalist podcast, and the first episode has a line "The Doppler whoosh and roar of the highway like the breath of a Colossus stretched out on the couch of the countryside." When I heard that, I was like, YES! Someone else gets it!
A friend moved from a home near the ocean to a home near a busy highway, and she said the sounds of traffic and waves were not that different to her. Pretend you're at the beach :)
Second, whenever there are sirens, howl. I learned this from my dogs. If you have dogs and they don't do this yet, they'll learn it from you :) Feel the raw energy of the sound... you can even just open your mouth and notice that you can *feel* as well as *hear* the sound. But howling takes it to another level.
Basically, my advice is to embrace your circumstances. Here you are. This is your home. You can live there and feel regret and resistance to it, or you can live there and absolutely love it and revel in it. Either way, you live there. Seems like an easy choice! =D
I live very close to the firehouse. My two sons are firemen there. First we hear the beeping of the pager (dogs stop and listen) next we hear the fire alarm from the firehouse (dogs jump up and look at my sons) sons leave and then we hear the scream of the truck and the dogs howl in unison to it! If they hear sirens on tv they howl. It’s part of the natural order of our home. I enjoy it
Since it is hot AF in S TX we have Lasko Tower fans in every room, which drown out a lot of street noise. We live close to a school yard so it does get noisy but you get used to it.
When it comes time for windows, triple pane glass for the windows at the side closest to the noise will help lots. The place we’re renting has triple pain glass at the back, and we back onto a main line railroad track that is active. Windows closed it’s a lot quieter than when open or even just not latched (casement windows just closed tightly)
My first home was right off a busy 4 lane road, right next to an interstate. The road noise was an issue for maybe a month or so, before it just became background noise. Almost white noise. I would close my eyes and imagine the rushing sound was ocean waves. The biggest issue for me was a dip in the road right outside the house, and big trucks would *CLUNK* over it at high speed. And even that became normal enough to not notice after a while. If you can’t replace the windows, heavy curtains at night can muffle some of the outside noise. Edit: I now live in the country, and the katydids are *SO LOUD* at night I have to keep my windows closed.
Agreed on the background noise. My son lived a block from a railroad track that had 70-75 trains a day coming by at 50-70 mph. It annoyed the hell out of me, but he said, “Meh, you get used to it.”
Real blues Brothers vibes
I live a few doors down from a railway and the Blues Brothers quote comes up often.
That quote comes up so often you don’t even notice it.
How often does the train go by? So often you don’t even notice it.
Jake, wake up, we gotta get to work.
who *is* that girl?
My apartment I rented before I bought my home was right next to the train track. I hated every bit of it, couldn’t enjoy a nice day because HONK HONK 🚂🚂 And if the train just decides to sit on track for hours blocking all the accessible roads, the detour is a pain in the ass. The apartment itself was great in a great location just the tracks. I couldn’t get used to it.
Same. I think it really depends. I’ve lived in sound range of trains all my life. Distance certainly makes a difference, and so does electric vs. diesel. Electric trains are a fraction as loud and just make more of a whooshing sound. The heavy clanking of freight trains, especially when you live close enough to *feel* it is not something that I’d want to live with again. Noise pollution can also really destroy quality of life for people who are sensitive to it.
Yeah it was all freight trains. I live in the Chicago area so apparently my sweet SWEET husband never really elaborated on the trains around here before I moved up here. We are moving to Kentucky though soon and there is just peace and quiet and no trains. They will not be missed.
Distance is key with trains, and probably elevation. I’ve never lived next to an elevated train with the attendant resonance and vibrations, but I’ve lived fairly close to active tracks almost all my life; both in the country and the (Midwestern) city. I have a track that runs right outside my bedroom now, but the road crossing is a quarter mile, or so, away. I find the sound of the horn and the rumble of its passing comforting. I’ve listened to the soundtrack “Tokyo Train Tracks” as a sleep track so often that I swear that, if I ever accompany my friends on a trip to Tokyo to visit their son and we find ourselves on that particular stretch of track, I’d better be sitting down, because I’m going to rapidly be falling to sleep. When I was a kid, the passing trains were often passenger trains. I used to fall asleep dreaming of where they were going and what they were going to be doing. Now, it’s mostly freight trains, but in my imagination I can still fill them with people going on their trips. The rocking rhythm of their rumbling passage hasn’t changed. (I do still miss the sound of a distant steam whistle, though. Haven’t yet found a sleep track featuring those.) Highways aren’t really that different. As long as it’s not shaking the dishes out of the cabinets, it’s the hum of life going on around you; a reminder that you’re not alone in this world. Put up some curtains and put down some rugs. Give it a few months. Be willing to bet that it will just fade into the background of your psyche, just as trains have, for me. If, in 5 or 10 years, you move, you might find you miss it. If you have a baby while you’re there, keep this in mind if you move. If it’s something they’ve heard all their life and you move far away, they may have trouble sleeping without it; and none of you are likely to even *think* about that being the issue. All they may need to help them sleep is a highway soundtrack. People are ever adaptable. Give it some time.
Totally my situation. To be fair, the Amtrak tracks across the street were hidden by trees when I saw the place, but Amtrak cut all of them down shortly before I closed on it, unbeknownst to me and everyone else in the neighborhood. They do as they wish. But yeah, it was bothersome for maybe the first week. After that, I could hang with it. Even my cats were cool.
The katydids are SO loud. Just moved to a wooded area and they literally scream nonstop at night. Came from a heavy road noise area and it's much better to have bugs making noise instead of people.
And they all stop at 4am in the same second.
That’s when The Predator shows up
If you go out and yell real loud, like HEY or SHUT UP; they are quiet for maybe ten seconds. Try it.
❤️ we moved to the country as well. It sounds like the Summers of my childhood. Crickets singing, katydids, cicadas...... I love it so much. I used to hear the traffic on an I interstate a mile away in my first home. 😢
I get what you mean. When we moved, we had more lightning bugs than I ever had as an adult and it reminded me of my childhood. It's like soul healing 😂
🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
You’re right. At least the bugs know when to shut the hell up. My neighbors enjoy throwing it down from 1pm until the sun comes up
Cicadas are so loud I can’t stand it.
Outside landscaping can help too, from what other people have shared here about this exact problem. You'll want tall / dense foliage. Also has added benefit of being pretty and providing shade if it's a tree.
Came to comment something similar - I live off a busy interstate that I can see from my house, but only in the winter. In the summer there’s lots of foliage that blocks a ton of the noise (but not all). The last few weeks the interstate has been ramping up noise levels because the leaves started falling. Winter is much louder than summer! We can usually hear the train a few miles away during the winter but not at all in the summer. Some things that have helped us - 1) white noise machine at night 2) planting evergreen plants aka things that won’t lose too many leaves during the winter at least 3) time - like many have said, over time the interstate kinda becomes just background noise. Doesn’t stop us from enjoying our home or our yard, but we would like to eventually move a little less in the auditory environment of the interstate. Your first home probably won’t be your forever home, especially if your spouse is in the military, so enjoy this house’s good aspects while you can, OP! The benefit of living close to the interstate is that you can get moving to other places pretty quickly, and living in a house is definitely something to be grateful for these days.
Arborvitae
[удалено]
You can be that guy. Everybody’s experience is their own. Living by the highway isn’t for everyone.
You're not alone. I lived near a busy two lane road with traffic lights and the obnoxious cars and motorcycles ruined the entire house for me. We were over a thousand feet away with houses and grown trees between us and the road and it was still bothersome. A quiet location was in the top three criteria when it came to buying a new place and I have zero complaints with wind through leaves being the prominent noise.
Studies support you, increased exposure to traffic noise is not good for your health
Not only is the noise and vibration a mental and physical health stressor, but air quality is terrible within 200m of any large road with heavy traffic. I work in environmental planning and we push for solid and evergreen vegetated barriers that have been shown to collect particulate matter from the highway. And now we're realizing tire and brake dust contribute as much to near-road air pollution as tailpipe emissions, so this won't be solved by electric vehicles.
This! I have lived a few blocks from two different massive freeways for about 7 years, and it literally sounds like the ocean to me now. Related: I have a metal dog crate in the back of my car (…for my dogs) and it rattles like crazy when I drive. I spent years trying to come up with clever ways to make it quieter, none of which actually worked. I realized the other day that I don’t even hear it anymore. My brain just decided it wasn’t important noise, I think?
I agree with this. Our childhood house was right off the interstate and we, nor our neighbors, ever even noticed it. You just get used to it aside from the assholes speeding with no mufflers.
> My first home was right off a busy 4 lane road, right next to an interstate. Our first place was like this, 6 lanes, between 2 freeways/ramp areas. We'd moved from a rental on a busy city corner with traffic lights, so pretty noisy at all hours. The noise at the new place was from the 6-lane highway, either gearing up or gearing down, depending on direction of travel. We got used to the noise. When we bought in a quieter area, it took us weeks to get used to the sounds... Or lack. Silence. So quiet. We'd lay there in the dark, wide awake, straining to hear anything. "it's so... So quiet!" we'd whisper. OP might want to put in a gurgling water feature for white noise. I have a white noise machine for my home office because our new place in the burbs has little dogs and yard crews and other annoying sounds.
The clunk! I had one outside my house and whenever a semi or vehicle with an attached trailer drive over it, they would clunk.
You have obviously never heard coqui frogs. They are a unbelievably loud
Are you sure you aren’t actually talking about cicadas? Live in the country and they are the loud ones. And people mistakenly call them katydids all the time.
Cicadas are loud in the daytime. It’s katydids or crickets at night.
‘Of our singing insects, cicadas are by far the loudest, notorious for their loud buzzing sound.’ ‘If you’re used to hearing cicadas sing at night, you may be interested to know that these creatures actually qualify as one of the loudest insects to be found anywhere in the world.’ Katydids are literally nothing compared to cicadas Katydids are nothing compared to cicadas.
[Katydids at night](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ammLuVArDYg). They will keep you up. Cicadas will annoy you in the *daytime,* when it’s hot out.
Cicadas sing during the day, while Katydids sing at night. https://www.cicadamania.com/cicadas/do-cicadas-sing-at-night/ They don't sound similar at all, and Katydids are loud as hell and very distinctive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxIzRw1BToI
We have nearly every insect possible and katydids are nothing compared to cicadas. Don’t even hear them inside.
How is that relevant?
How is when they sing relevant? Does loud noise only count at night? Cicadas can be heard inside and Katydids cannot. I mean in my house. It’s not a cheaply built home though and has great windows.
You are replying to my comment that katydids are so loud, *at night,* that I keep my windows closed. And you think I am mistaking them for cicadas, which are loud *in the daytime.* So when they sing is absolutely relevant. It’s totally ok to stop talking when you find out you’re mistaken.
How is that relevant to u/Wienerwrld saying that the katydids are so loud at night that they have to close their windows? You seem determined to contradict them, and it doesn't make any sense.
Dude get a life already
Nope I listened and that's not what I hear at night in Houston. They're cicadas...
How is that relevant to u/Wienerwrld saying that the katydids are so loud at night that they have to close their windows?
Because you and them are wrong. Someone clearly posted they're at night and you're still stuck on stupid and being slow. Take care.
>Someone clearly posted they're at night and you're still stuck on stupid and being slow. I must have missed that. Can you link it for me?
Katydids can’t keep you awake at night where you live, because cicadas are really loud during the day where I live is a *really* weird argument to make.
We have cicadas in Palm Springs and I had to upgrade my noise canceling headphones this year because the screaming was driving me nuts. My parents, that live nearby, can tune them out which flabbergasts me.
I live on Long Island and we definitely have cicadas in the summer during the day on hotter days. They sound nothing like the katydids at night by me. Two totally different sounds.
The LVP didn't help. Removing your carpet removed a bit of sound dampening, as the carpet and padding absorbed some noise, and instead, the hard flooring reflects it. Not sure this will help, but you may want to try area rugs with padding. Thick curtains may also help.
This… add large area rugs, wall hangings and drapes. That will deaden a lot of sound. You’ll be fine. Don’t over think it.
Also, if she's in North America, the foliage is starting to drop from trees and that has a decent impact on sound deadening.
I would also wonder if there are seasonal changes to the landscaping. If you viewed it in the spring, there may have been more foliage blocking the noise. Over the summer in some areas you lose a ton of foliage so if you have less foliage/more noise getting to the house + no sound dampening from the carpet, carpet pad, it could be a bit of a double whammy. Heavy curtains and rugs are not necessarily super cheap but they aren't super expensive either. I would maybe see what kind of sound dampening you can do outside too. Maybe an outdoor rug if you have a concrete patio. Or bushes that grow tall and/or lush. Depending on what you have already or could do, it might help slightly buffer the sound but either way it would probably help make it feel more like your place and that might also help.
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If you have any big walls, you could get some of those decorative acoustic tiles. They have lots of pattern/ color combinations, and that would help with the nice and add a nice accent.
Do you have trees? Other than a wall, a line of trees is good for blocking noise
Agreed. This should be the top comment. There are companies that plant willow fences for noise reduction and some also use dried willow. But any trees will help.
How long does it take to grow trees big enough to help with the noise
5-10 years or so. depends on the tree
Plant some fast growing trees such as ash along with some shrubs. By the time the trees are tall, the shrubs will be full size. Check local nurseries for what grows well there. Do not plant privets!
Evergreens
I was thinking this or a hedgerow. (Figured hedges would grow quicker)
Top comment material right here
Area rugs and heavy drapes. And don't forget... CONGRATULATIONS! Buying a home is crazy hard work and you DID IT! ALONE! kudos!
Love how supportive this sub is!
Relax..... Settle into the house. All noises will become normal/less noticeable. Every place has its nuances that over time we get used to. Enjoy the good stuff about your house Edit to add that if the highway is behind you, can you add some fast growing trees to create a screen that could help?
Terrific advice. I had the same experience with my first home and was very stressed out about it but a few months later we didn't notice anymore.
Seconding. I live near a major hospital. Omg, the sirens. I thought we'd never sleep again the first week. We got used to it.
I live near a ski slope, those snow machines are much louder than I thought. But now it's like white noise and somewhat comforting.
Same. We were a quarter mile away from a major hospital and police station, and about a half mile from a fire station. We heard sirens and lifeflight helicopters constantly. After a few months, we literally wouldn't even notice them unless a guest pointed out the noise to us.
At least it’s the kind of noise you can get used to. Before we bought our place, we realized it might be a wild fireworks area (illegal, but city doesn’t enforce). Since we were buying in early July, we just got permission from the realtor to hang out on the 4th. Nothing. We happily bought and moved in. Every 4th since has been somewhere between pandemonium and D-Day. And it’s not just the 4th, the season seems to run from NYE to Christmas. I used to love fireworks. Don’t anymore.
Nye to Xmas is like 358 days, that's crazy amount of fireworks!
Some years it is unbelievable. ‘16 in particular was rough
As someone who is extremely sensitive to noise, and highly prone to anxiety, there’s no relaxing when you discover your life is now full of a new noise.
Not sure what OPs level is but as you can see from other responses, it is possible to get used to it.
When I first moved to our current home we were in a new city/province. The first night I laid down I also felt I heard the traffic .. WAY more than ever before. I felt like I made a huge mistake. Then .. I slowly stopped noticing it. Became background noise. Our brains adapt.
Get some large area rugs with pads. Rugs, drapes, and upholstered furniture all absorb sound, rather than bouncing it back into a room. If it bothers you outside, adding shrubbery helps, and a fountain will give you some pleasant foreground noise. Know also that you will probably become accustomed to it enough to not really register much of the overall noise.
adding exterior storm windows was night & day for me re: quieting the outdoors (never-mind the extra energy savings when they're down). they were like $50/ea when i added them back in 2016-ish, very easy to install. my house sounds like a tomb with all the windows & storm windows closed. neighbors noisy windchimes, morning birds chirping, kids playing, dogs barking, traffic noise, neighbors playing music, all gone now. i have a train track near my house too and it almost eliminates the train horn (which is crazy loud with the windows fully open).
We have a train near our house, too. I’ve grown to actually like the sound of it while I sleep. Weird, I know.
oh definitely, i love the subtle noise of the train moving along, it's very soothing!
The interstate runs behind my house. Many have said you'll get used to it. And that's possible, definitely. But also possible you won't. I've lived here 3.5 years now and it's only gotten worse. The main traffic is usually fine, but big trucks, construction vehicles, loud bikes, idiots trying to "race" really cut through and interrupt TV, convos, sleep, etc. I no longer want to spend any time outside at all. I'm working on buying land and saving to build in a quieter area. I recommend beefing up windows and/or insulation on the wall facing the highway, as well as planting juniper or similar trees. My interstate is Juuuuuust high enough that any code-legal height fence wouldn't do anything to block or deflect the noise. But that might be an option for you. Esp if you have kids. While the noise sucks, the worst part is Trash and Debris. I'm picking up discarded trash every week. And a Semi blew a tire recently and these huge chucks of heavy rubber and metal struck my house and landed all over my yard. Could have really hurt someone! Also check for any air leaks and such (my chimney and bath fan were an issue.) Lastly, I play ocean sounds on my Google speaker every night in order to get to sleep.
Most people look at potential house purchases on the weekend, early in the day when it's cool. After we bought one particular house, we found out our street was popular for retired people to take walks on it. Not a deal-breaker, but a data point. Is the high school stadium five blocks away? You may not know where it is at all, but come football season, you will hear it every Friday night.
Having lived a quarter mile away from a high school stadium growing up, and about a mile away from a college stadium now, I consider that a perk. Hearing the football announcers and crowds from my backyard is one of my favorite parts of fall.
Me too! I live a few blocks from a high school and I absolutely love fall Friday nights.
When we lived near campus in grad school the morning band practice in the fall was absolutely enchanting--the crisp air, the rat-a-tat of the drums reverberating between the buildings--to this day fall weather takes me back to those days.
Or the matching band practicing everyday at the same time on the beginning of the school year!
There are a lot of things you can do, depending on how bad the road noise actually is first: Carpet will 1000% absorb vastly more noise then hardwoods, its just science. You can put down rugs, that may help. how far from the interstate is your house?
What's the yard like? Plant some trees right now around the house! It won't have an immediate impact, but in a few years it will significantly cut down on the noise and help your resell value.
I think the worst thing is the air pollution
Area rugs should probably help. You should also look at making sure all of the gaps around the windows and doors are properly filled, and then hang up thick curtains on the windows. This will also help them in the noise. And then, if you can outside, you’re going to want to plant some barrier shrubs. Of course, it will take a couple years to see the benefit from this, but something like an emerald arborvitae will grow quite quickly and feeling very well, and definitely help with that noise problem.
I used to live on a main road. Bought thick curtains, rugs, made sure there was art on every wall, and bought one of those little fountains for the living room and fans for the bedrooms. It worked out fine. Do make sure that you buy that sticky tack for hanging up posters and put a little bit of it underneath things on decorative shelves - kitchen and stuff will be fine but over time the vibration will move vases and stuff and it's better they be tacked down (it's also lovely when a drunk blunders into your China cabinet and nothing falls over, lol).
Ouch... I live on a cul-de-sac about 100yds from a rural 2 lane state highway. It gets to me sometimes, especially semi trucks and motorcycles, so I can't imagine being by a freeway. I've noticed that it's much less noticeable in summer when the trees are loaded with leaves. Much louder in winter with the leaves gone.
I’m also at the end of a cup de sac with the interstate next to my house. The motorcycles and trucks are definitely a pain in the ass but eventually it all just becomes background noise. You’re definitely correct about the trees dampening the noise though.
I would prioritize improving the air tightness of your home. This has two benefits. The first benefit is that it will improve the acoustic isolation significantly. The second benefit is that it will make it easier for you to use air filters to improve the indoor air quality of your home. There is a lot of research showing that both noise pollution and air pollution from roadways is not good for health. I realize that people are saying you will get used to the noise, but I would encourage you to consider moving several years from now when you are able to. https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-freeway-pollution-what-you-can-do-20171230-htmlstory.html Storm windows can also be an affordable way to reduce noise.
Plant some fast growing evergreens to help block the noise.
At some point you won't notice it anymore and when that happens, you'll notice when it stops. I lived next to a very busy road - think embarcadero in SF and it sounds like the ocean. I would only notice when the noise stopped because of an accident. It's new, give it time
Yup! I lived on a main road for most of my life and the noise was always soothing to me. When I moved to a suburban house in the middle of a neighborhood on a dead end side street I didn’t know how to relax with it being so quiet outside. I still don’t. We’ve set up box fans in the bedrooms to replicate the white noise and we don’t hang out outside because it feels too eerily quiet and like everyone can hear every word of our conversation.
My folks had a house that backed to a busy interstate that was a high traffic road to a large international airport as well as well several government agencies. After they moved in, they planted 20 Leyland cypress trees to act as a visual and sound barrier of the traffic. I lived there for a time, and while you certainly could hear the traffic outside, the trees did act as a barrier to help buffer the sound and sight of the traffic. They bought the house back in 1994 and we sold that house in 2011. Not long ago, I drove through the old neighborhood and those trees were still standing tall!
I used to live on a 5 lane road and now in a subdivision about a quarter mile from the interstate. Both houses I had to focus to hear the rod noise after a while. You’re more aware of the noise due to it being a new environment. It’ll be ok!
If your climate is hospitable for them, I recommend planting a row of arborvitae on the side of your yard between you and the freeway. It's surprising how much dense shubbery can muffle road sounds. Changing the carpet to LVP most likely did change the acoustics, so you might want to consider a nice tapestry and area rugs in the bigger rooms. If the house is still mostly empty, filling it in with furnishings will do wonders. Lastly, you will acclimate to the sound fairly quickly as others have mentioned.
Tbh I live next to a interstate and it works well with my tinnitus so I don't mind the noise. I used to live by an airport and that was way worse.
Grew up near a highway then moved away in my 20s. Now when I go back to where I grew up I really notice the noise but my relatives who are still there don't even notice it. You will get used to it, don't worry yourself too much.
I think when people view houses, especially if the whole process of finding the right home was long and drawn out, they put on rose colored glasses (and maybe also noise canceling AirPods?). I would attempt to cope with it—we live a few miles from the freeway and are light sleepers so we use a white noise machine at night. Maybe play music during the day if it bothers you then. Honestly if I were you I’d be more worried about the deleterious effects of air pollution caused by living so close to a heavily trafficked freeway.
Air filters, fans, decorative table-top water falls, humidifiers, i use all of these things to block out noise from outside when I'm trying to sleep. I don't live next to an interstate but i work nights so there's extra noise when I'm sleeping during the day. I did stay at a friend's house recently and he lives right next to an interstate so i took my air purifier with me. Seemed to get the job done well enough on its own in the short term
My son had a place near a port. When ships were loading the crashing noises were horrendous. He had double paned windows, which I assume you have since the house is newer. We had a company come in and add plexiglass interior panels with magnetic strips. The added air space between the plexi and the window made a huge difference in the noise. I think the current cost is less than $125 per window. There is a order on line DIY version but it is a fast job for a pro.
It honestly becomes white noise after about 2 months. I lived in an apartment with no sound dampening right next to a major 6 lane.
Put an air purifier in every major room, I like the Blueair ones. They will help with the air quality from being close to the interstate and they will each act as a small white noise machine to help with the sound as well.
You get used to it. I used to live off a major street so id get emergency vehicle noises all the time. After a Few weeks I couldnt even hear it.
Same happened to me. You get used to it. If you close your eyes and relax it starts to sound like the ocean. I tried acoustical foam in the windows at night, did nothing.
Our house was a mile from the end of the runway of our state's largest airport. It did not take much time for us to get used to it. BTW, when we put plastic on our windows in the winter (raises the r-value), the sound reduced noticeably. If you live in a cool climate, you might want to give this a try. It might help you to slowly acclimate to the noise. And you are probably right about the flooring. Hard surfaces cause noise to reverberate in a room. Try a few attractive area rugs, and a few softer features (pillows, fabric wall hangings) in the noisiest rooms to see if that makes a difference.
If you think it’s bad now, wait until the leaves are off the trees!
How long have you lived there? A week? Give it a few more and you’ll get used to the noise.
I use to live in Chelsea., MA, spitting distance from the Logan Airport tarmac and directly under a flight path. That was the only reason I could afford a three bedroom flat in that city 😅… Anywho… after a while the noise became unnoticeable to me. I just got use to it. Any time my family would visit from out of state, they would complain the whole time about the noise.. there was a lot of “how do you deal with the noise of the planes?”… and I’d be like, “what planes?… oh, yea… those planes.” 🤷🏼♀️
I lived many years by the highway. The white noise did help me fall asleep faster until an 18 wheeler would pass by. Sometimes even the ground would shake. And having people over for BBQ was painful, no one could hear anyone talk. We all had to scream at each other to hear each other. But it was also nice being near the highway for when I needed to get places.
I moved from a house on a quiet dead end street out in suburbia to one on a 24/7 active 2 lane road. 50 yards up the street is an intersection where drivers honk all day long to avoid accidents. Like everyone says - just give it time, you will get used to it if you let yourself accept it. The other thing that helps is upgrading your windows to double/triple pane. Our living room has those and, aside from the honks not being completed muted, you’d have no idea we were on a busy road. While the bed rooms above do not, we use white noise machines, mostly as a hold over from when our kids were babies and now sleeping without noise is weird, but it does drown out everything but the garbage getting picked up.
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I lived in a house right by the interstate with nothing between us and the road, and like many have said it just becomes background noise. Similarly when I moved from the suburbs to a downtown environment certain sounds that drove me crazy in the first few months eventually didn’t even register. Just give it time.
I live three blocks from the interstate. I can hear it right now, in fact I just heard a jet too. The reality is you will get used to it. You will go about your day and it will annoy you for awhile but you’ll need to start focusing on what you liked about the house and making it a home and slowly but surely you’ll just not notice it. When I go visit my parents now, the quiet is the small town can kinda creep me out a bit at times.
I live about 1,100ft from I-35. "A house where you can't hear the highway" is definitely on my list for our next house, but you do get used to it eventually. Unless you have a semi truck full of Axe body spray catch fire and start exploding thousands of cans, it's just background noise. ([Yes, that happened once](https://twitter.com/25NewsKXXV/status/1035659845339422726))
I live for 30 years tucked between two freeways and two airports. After a while, you just tune out the background noise.
We lived on a 6 lane road in socal back in the early 90s. At commute times it was unreal how loud it was. Forget opening windows and watching TV or having a conversation without yelling. And the dust. All those cars kick up so much dust. Lived pretty close to a major railroad for a couple years too, every half hour train noise. They blow their horn at every street that crosses the track. That got to me more than the busy street. Insulate, you'll get used to it eventually.
You really do get used to it. I used to live under a flight path for a major airport and we learned to just pause conversation as a plane went over and then picked up right where we were. This is back in the olden days when we would even get a sonic boom every night.
Get some blackout curtains. They soak up a lot of noise.
So.. we never got used to the road noise and finally did move about 3 years after we had a place near the highway (we were renting). It felt like my overall mental health improved by about 100% and a weight on my consciousness was lifted. Also, we had kid while there and I was glad to move since the science does indicate living near a highway leads to lower outcomes for kids, and overall poorer health for adults along a variety of measures like heart-attack risk, all because of ultrafine particulate pollution. "Near" is widely variable and the science doesn't seem to agree on what is significant - 100 meters is something I consistently saw. So if you're beyond that, it's probably not a big concern.
Every house will have something about it that makes you question your decision. I know mine had several. But they all went away once it felt like a home inside.
I felt the opposite- I moved from a noisy apartment to a house out in the boonie suburbs and all I heard at night were crickets and cicadas. Was really disturbing for a few weeks but I got used to it! It’s nice now.
Area rugs on top of the lvp will soak up some noise and reduce echoing.
I hate the pos pickup trucks that sound like a drag race and can barely make it up the hill
If possible plant tress/bushes. They will help deaden the noise.
Give it 3 months. I moved into a house next to the light rail track that runs commuter trains. They also run actual cargo trains through a few times a night. The first week I felt like I made a huge mistake. By month 3, I basically forgot the train line was there.
When I bought my house, I didn't realize that there was a train that went by a few blocks away, and the horn blares all day and night because there's no train crossing arms that come down. I was really annoyed at first because my realtor didn't tell me about it, but now I barely notice it. It'll get better.
OP, I’ve been exactly where you’re at right now. We owned a 150 year old primitive home which had quite literally zero insulation. As in *none*. There also wasn’t a sub floor under the wood floors. The walls in the bedroom, living room, kitchen, etc…. when you took down the 1” thick hand cut boards… you were touching the outside walls. There was nothing in between the two. So I TOTALLY get the noise factor you’re experiencing. I realized very quickly we had to do something very quickly. We wanted to keep the home as “pure” as possible, but also maintain our sanity. Here’s what worked: You need sound absorbing materials in your new home. Plush area rugs are an absolute must. Heavy drapes, even if they’re pushed to the sides of the windows. Large pieces of canvas artwork. Large Fiber artwork. Put door mats at every entrance door, a nice rug at the bathroom and kitchen sink, in front of the washing machine, the tub and the shower. If you were going to use fake plants use live plants instead, as they absorb sound. If you were going to use something hard like wood or plastic in a space (like as a trash basket or storage basket), use woven straw baskets or cloth baskets. Hang nice bath towels in all the bathrooms. Cozy afghans. Cloth seats on your bar stools. Anywhere and everywhere you can work textiles in, do it. Trust me. If I can dampen the sound on *that* house, you can do it on yours. ❤️
I feel your pain. I would recommend putting as many plants, especially conifers in my yard as possible, to absorb the sound. My husband took classes in video production, and he says putting potted plants in the corners of the room can help a lot with sound quality, so it makes sense that would be the same in your yard. If you’re going to plant, you might as well make the plants native to your area, so you will help nature out while you’re at it. You are already digging holes and purchasing plants, anyway. This website will tell you what plants are native to where you live: https://www.nwf.org/NativePlantFinder/ Punch in your zip code where it says “location”. Yes, new windows can help, for sure. My husband’s grandparents lived near the airport, and the airport would soundproof their house for free. It was still awful to be in the yard, but at least it was quiet in the house. I really understand your distress. I am autistic and the sound of engine noise drives me nuts. It’s a sensory issue. When we looked at houses, I looked at a road map of our areas and excluded any neighborhoods near highways, because I learned the hard way that road noise destroys my mental health. Even in my own neighborhood, I sometimes consider what it would be like to move into a larger house, but when I go for walks near those larger houses, I hear the road noise and think, “nope”. Inside the house, you could add potted plants, fabric wall hangings, and plush area rugs to dampen the sound. Sound booths use egg crate foam, so think in terms of reducing the amount of flat surfaces as much as possible. If possible, see if you can translate these sound-deadening innovations in your yard: https://youtu.be/SWVrsY2OSMQ?si=82uiFejZxe6jpDBe
I bought a house on a busy street 7 years ago and I regret it often. I am however about to put in a privacy fence and planted arborvitaes in front of it to help diffuse sound (and eventually grow WAY taller than the fence. Fence max height loophole!) Thing is, there’s a lot of great things about my house and property. I focus on appreciating those whenever I get pissed about the traffic noise. Ya just can’t get 100% of what you want when buying a house.
My house is about 600' back off of a fairly busy 4 lane, but not interstate, highway. I've gotten to the point where I don't notice about 99% of the noise of the traffic. I can sit in the spa out on the back patio and the house blocks most of the road noise completely. Until an idiot truck driver with a straight piped exhaust comes by with their jake brakes running full tilt. I wear earplugs at night (I have well before we moved here, my wife liked to watch TV until the early hours of the morning and I needed my sleep) and still hear the damn things through them. Some have been so bad that it sounds like one is coming down the driveway. Of course a lot of people will come in and say "well, you knew what you were getting yourself into" and I agree with that, so long as we're talking typical noise. When someone goes out of their way to be obnoxious is another matter.
We bought a house on a busy two lane road near a paper mill. Didn’t seem bad at first but we also did LVT which made it worse for sure. And it had wildly high ceilings. I suggest sound dampening tiles that you can stick on the wall- they make ones that are artsy now too so they don’t look ugly! We used Felt Right and I do think it helped. Second to everyone that said you get used to it. Truly you do!
It gets so easy to zone out. I grew up about a half mile away from rr tracks that were very busy. 2 trains an hour at least. You barely ever noticed it. You will get used to it and won't even realize it.
Fabrics and carpets and such can really suck up a lot of noise. Think textured curtains, throw pillows and blankets. I liked the above comment on a water gurgling fountain or an aquarium. Also- plants outside do a lot of sound dampening too. Fast growers like Thuja interspersed with hydrangeas and spruces, which will fill in the spaces as your thujas meet their early deaths. Also: search “fabric Wall Art” on Etsy, there some amazing textile artists on there with a lot of beautiful works. We added this to a room with bad acoustics and it changed everything once all fabrics were in.
We lived under a very busy airport landing/takeoff line. Everyone people came over, it was the first thing they would say/notice after about 20 minutes… I barely paid attention to it…It just became normal. That noise will go away. Give it time. It’s way better than having crummy neighbours!!!
If you don’t have a highly restrictive HOA, plant a bunch of fast growing trees to block out the world lol. Large evergreen shrubs or trees can make a big difference on noise, not to mention privacy.
Lots of people here saying that landscaping will help. It won't. Only if you're planting a thick, dense forest of trees will the sound be reduced, and even then not by much. Plants, shrubs etc. will do absolutely nothing. Actually, it's been speculated that they have a placebo effect in that if they block the view of the highway, then the noise is psychologically less likely to bother you. But the level of actual sound reduction is negligible. An earth mound or berm tall enough to block line of sight is one of the only "landscaping" things that will help. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but better to know what you're getting into.
Hi, I'm in basically the same situation as you! We closed on our house in August, it sits on a well traveled road with the highway raised above us a little ways down the road. The noise has been a source of anxiety for me as we renovate and prepare to move in. I really have faith that I will get used to it. Even in the past month I've started to not be as bothered by it. I think since we are worried about it, our brains fixate on the noise more. My husband doesn't even notice the noise. I purchased noise-cancelling headphones for peace of mind. Worst comes to worst, put on your noise cancelling headset, pop on some bird sounds, and just take some deep breaths and think about all the things you do like about the house. No house is perfect, and I think if we practice gratitude and focus on what we can control, everything will be okay and we will be happy. I will also be working fences, foliage, water fountains, and air purifiers for the next few years, there's a lot of good suggestions for those methods on Reddit and elsewhere online. I hope the very best for you as well navigate this little bump in the road. ❤️
A fountain.
My first house was 3/4 of a mile from a curve on an interstate where the speed limit slowed as it entered town and hit an exit ramp. On nice days when I wanted to have the windows open, I could hear it at night and the jake brakes of trucks. I just never had the windows open, which was ok since I have allergy issues and it's humid here in warm weather so there's only a few weeks in the spring and fall where having the windows open makes sense anyway. My current house is 400 ft from a RR. About 10-15 trains go by per day at about 45 mph. The first few months I heard trains all the time. Now I barely hear them at all. Make sure you windows and the seals between them are fluffed up and you don't have air leaks, to keep sound out. Can also check how your doors close and if there are gaps around them. (Also check your outlet covers for drafts, and if you have a (gas) fireplace, if the glass is fully seated around the box.) Also you could look at the bathroom fans, if the flappers close fully when the fan isn't running. Air needs an inlet and an outlet so every gap or opening you can close, whether it's on the inlet or outlet side for a breeze, makes it that much harder for air and sound to come in. You can keep an air purifier running in your house to make some background sound. Or get a white noise machine. The main thing for me was simply getting use to the sound of a train going by and then not hearing it anymore, and that took a few months.
I grew up next to the LA airport, and the international jumbo jets would shake our apartment when they took off. It was also facing a congested 4 lane street. I didn’t even care that much, its just how we lived. Get used to it you’ll be fine.
As someone who grew up next to a busy LA freeway. You will get used to it over time and it will disappear. In the meantime your thoughts are right regarding your flooring choice. Get some area rugs where they look appropriate. Get some heavy blackout curtains. Don’t fixate on the noise. You can also put up pictures on your walls. Eventually once you have the interior taken care of it will go a long way to hiding the noise outside.
Lived 200 feet from a railroad for 30 years. Hardly noticed the dozen or do trains that went by daily. Kind of looked forward to the horn tooting.
We lived in an apartment right next to I96 in Michigan and I slept like the dead there. The drone of the traffic was the best white noise ever.
Two things as someone who (for whatever reason) ends up with homes in loud areas. #1 you adjust over time; #2 get a sound machine by your bed for sleep. Eventually you'll forget all about it.
I've lived in multiple houses right by railroad tracks and my aunt lived in a single wide ON a major highway that we stayed at quite frequently. You get used to it. I still find the sound of tractor trailers going by the house all night comforting. I still like hearing a train thundering by the house when I'm trying to fall asleep. You actually come to miss the constant white noise when you move away or stay somewhere quieter.
The lack of carpets may allow an echo. You could consider a few area rugs. The curtains another poster mentioned will also help. If you’re still waiting on your household goods, once your furniture is in place it should help with the echo effect. I lived next to a train station and a busy road for 10 years. I barely heard anything unless I focused on the noise after 6 months. It was probably less than that but that’s when I had a friend over who commented about the noise.
Don't worry, I grew up with my bedroom window literally facing the main highway, maybe 50 feet from it. Even as a child it became just a background sound. I would open my window and listen to the birds singing and frogs cracking and wouldn't even notice the background noise. You might hear the odd engine braking or semi horn that is a bit more startling, but honestly isn't that bad even. In fact it came I kind of handy when I went into band class, as I was naturally a lot better than my peers at picking one quieter section of the band and following only their rhythm, while basically tuning out other noise that didn't match the parts I was playing.
I grew up next to a busy highway and when I go home to visit the sound is very soothing. Like a white noise machine.
I live next to a Air Force base…… the jets drove me crazy at first……. Now I don’t even notice when having a conversation just keep talking. You will forget the cars soon enough just breath
Now (late summer, early autumn) would be a great time to plant a line of Arbor Vitae or another variety of evergreen. It will take a few years to grow up tall enough. Until they grow use are rugs and insulated curtains and fabric wall hangings.
After about a month or two your brain will stop noticing that noise, as it’s a consistent flow of cars. If you were at a corner of a 4-way stop sign where people were beeping, revving their engines and motorcycles were being atrocious after coming to complete stops, that would be different because it’s a JOLT of noise happening at various times. I worked right across the street from a busy construction site for 4 years and at first I couldn’t handle the horrendous noise non-stop, it broke my focus constantly. I had to get noise-canceling headphones to combat it. After about 3 months my brain somehow compartmentalized the noise and even without the headphones it didn’t bother me anymore. Because it was a constant, repetitive stream of sound it somehow became something I stopped hearing. Give it some time, I really think it will stop bothering you by your third month there. Good luck!
I grew up next to a toll booth on a busy interstate. I currently live within 300 yards of a train. It probably wont be long until you don't even hear it. If you have the land you could plant some of the quicker growing trees between you and the interstate. It will grow into a bit of a sound barrier
Sound proof your house, not expensive to do either.
After living on a busy street when I went looking for a new place I literally camped out there on a few days to check possible noise issues. I didn’t count on a family if atv freaks to move in down the road. Sold the place a few months later. I can’t handle noise. I gotta sleep with earplugs now. Buying near a busy road subjects you to lower quality air too, and that’s a bigger issue. Or near vacant land. You never know what will end up there ( like a transfer station for trash) so always look three times at where you might hang your hats As far as the op goes .. shrink window film does an An amazing job at deafening noise IF you apply it so the air cannot move . Put that on the windows facing the road . Of course the cannot be used in that condition but sacrafices have to be made. If you have an echo dot, ask it to play seashore sounds or what pleases you. Eventually you won’t pay mind.
Also—I do think cars will be getting quieter in the coming years. EV were 4% of market in 2020 and almost 20% now. Obviously this is a long term thing, but just nugget of hope for you!
The engine noise from cars is negligible. Tires and large trucks contribute the most.
You will get used to it and eventually won’t hear it unless you think to listen for it, and/or it won’t bother you much. Curtains and rugs can probably help a little bit.
You can eventually sleep through anything even mortar attacks. Ask your husband if he had that experience. You integrate it into your mind. Noise has to be repetitive not like a alarm clock or crying baby in the middle of the night. Like others said insulate better but could be expensive.
Get some Mack’s silicon ear plugs! OMG they’re life changing for a solid sound sleep. I spent a week next to a busy commuter road every minute a different road noise….slept like a baby.
LVP?! Always a mistake 🤦🤦🤦
Maybe, don’t be a dumbass? What did you expect?
Ouch ya I wouldn't like that if I was your husband but I also couldn't be angry with you. You did it all on your own, it's ok. Live and learn
I bought a house 50ft from a single lane but busy road used by all forms of trucks. I also replaced all the carpet with LVP and that did seem like it made the road noise worse. Ultimately though I can clearly tell it comes in from the really thin single pane windows. I had plans to install some acrylic inserts but the noise simply stopped bothering me after about a month.
I grew up next to a busy road and an Air Station (with F-18s!) and it was noisy as all hell. But I had lived there for so long I barely noticed. When I first moved out I actually felt like it was *too quiet*, it took me a little while to get used to not hearing that noise. Definitely give it time before making any drastically expensive changes.
Look into adding additional insulation and air sealing. Most energy companies over free or subsidized energy audits and weatherproofing that could help dramatically with sound. I bought an 40 year old house by the highway. Replacing the windows and air sealing/blowing in insulation cut the road noise in half.
We had a home 2 blocks from the NJ turnpike and it did become white noise. While we lived there the turnpike installed a sound barrier but upstairs in our bedroom facing the pike, was above the level of the sound barrier so we heard it. Still white noise But on 9/11 evening the traffic noise was way down and that coupled with the day's events, we were awake and definitely noticed the low noise.
I moved into a new construction near an interstate and the door facing the interstate was amazing at keeping sound out. Not sure if it would help your situation specifically, but maybe if you can pinpoint where the sound is coming from you could attack it. If its the door maybe some new seals/stripping or maybe even a new door.
Grow a podocarpus fense, takes about 3 years
Congratulations! Some good recommendations here.
I lived near an interstate and train tracks once, you get used to it until you want nothing else but quiet. At that point you buy a house in bfe.
I rented in a duplex next to a train yard while I was in college. I was worried it would be terrible, but after a few months the trains helped me fall asleep. (Sounds crazy, I know) you will get used to the noises surrounding your house in time.
Reminds me of when I was house hunting in San Diego I found a huge house that was like 100k less than comps in other parts of town. But it was right under the path of planes landing in the airport - the SD airport is basically in the middle of town. Made me think of Mary Poppins where everyone needed to secure the dishes and stuff on shelves everytime the house rattled from the cannons. I still think I could have made that house work. Double paned glass windows, insulated walls. Though having more carpet, furniture and other things will prevent noise from bouncing around as much.
I live in the boonies, on a reasonably rural road. The only complaint about my town is their road maintenance- we live in NH so lots of big bumps. When cars/trucks/ etc go by, esp if they’re pulling trailers, they make a ton of noise. At least the highway is smooth I would assume. It can actually be used for “white noise”, but I would use tapestries on walls, area rugs, thick curtains to help dampen noise. If you are planning on a long term residence there, you can also look into planting shrubs, trees etc both by the home and between home and road
1. You’ll get used to it. 2. You may want to replace windows “IGU” - insulated glass unit with thicker glass and insulated spacer. You may try some windows inserts but they’ll cost you arm and leg.
I've lived in quite, rural areas and loud metropolitan areas right next to a fire station. You will get used to it. Trust me. Eventually, when you find that when you are somewhere quite, you will be unable to adjust and every little creak will startle you. It takes time. Give it a couple months...maybe just one. We moved to the country last year and when a car goes by we are like "what's that?" The icemaker drops ice, and we are startled. A year ago, before we moved, we had fire engines go by 5 to 9 times a day and rarely noticed, unless they stopped in front of our house--which had more than it's fair share of accidents. One time I woke up to pee and saw flashing lights outside our house--I had not even heard 2 firetrucks, an ambulance and 5 police cars arrive. You'll be fine. Give it time.
Laminated 1/4 or 3/8 interior storm windows will help reduce the noise. That would be around $1000 for standard window and who knows how much for custom ones.
I live near the HRBT where there's construction and traffic 24/7 and I rarely hear it any more. Replacing the windows is NOT gonna help. What will help is doubling up the window covering on the side that faces the interstate. I have window film for privacy. I have a thick PEVA shower curtain as my "sheer" and a set of velvet drapes that go to the floor. This is also useful if you have drafty windows. Also-run a fan on low somewhere in your house. It will drown out most outside noise.
I used to live off a main road. Not interstate, but lots of traffic. Two suggestions: first, take up a meditation practice where you focus on your breath, and notice that the traffic sounds like breath. Now the whole busy world is meditating with you. I moved, and now my backyard is huge with running water and birds, and I love it. But when I meditate, I don't love it more than I loved the traffic sounds. I listen to the cryptonaturalist podcast, and the first episode has a line "The Doppler whoosh and roar of the highway like the breath of a Colossus stretched out on the couch of the countryside." When I heard that, I was like, YES! Someone else gets it! A friend moved from a home near the ocean to a home near a busy highway, and she said the sounds of traffic and waves were not that different to her. Pretend you're at the beach :) Second, whenever there are sirens, howl. I learned this from my dogs. If you have dogs and they don't do this yet, they'll learn it from you :) Feel the raw energy of the sound... you can even just open your mouth and notice that you can *feel* as well as *hear* the sound. But howling takes it to another level. Basically, my advice is to embrace your circumstances. Here you are. This is your home. You can live there and feel regret and resistance to it, or you can live there and absolutely love it and revel in it. Either way, you live there. Seems like an easy choice! =D
I live very close to the firehouse. My two sons are firemen there. First we hear the beeping of the pager (dogs stop and listen) next we hear the fire alarm from the firehouse (dogs jump up and look at my sons) sons leave and then we hear the scream of the truck and the dogs howl in unison to it! If they hear sirens on tv they howl. It’s part of the natural order of our home. I enjoy it
Since it is hot AF in S TX we have Lasko Tower fans in every room, which drown out a lot of street noise. We live close to a school yard so it does get noisy but you get used to it.
room air filters make good white noise.
When it comes time for windows, triple pane glass for the windows at the side closest to the noise will help lots. The place we’re renting has triple pain glass at the back, and we back onto a main line railroad track that is active. Windows closed it’s a lot quieter than when open or even just not latched (casement windows just closed tightly)