Need advice - am I crazy??

blair6211 · October 2013

I moved 4 months ago into a bigger house for my family. I love the house but it backs up to a main road. The road noise at night is killing me! I can't sleep and when I do fall asleep, I'm woken up when a loud car drives by. I have tried white noise, but it does not block it enough. Would I be crazy to move again so soon??

Janessadawn · October 2013

I can see why that would be annoying, but we you not aware of the proximity to the main road when you moved in? Are you renting, or did you purchase? If you're renting, it will cost you to break your lease. If you purchased, it won't be easy, quick, or cheap to turn right around and sell it, and buy another.

Is there another bedroom in which you can sleep?

musictchr25 · October 2013

While these aren't necessarily inexpensive changes, are you able to replace the window? New windows will help block out sound. In addition, heavy sound blocking curtains could be used on the wall. And lastly, you could remove the drywall on the wall and replace the insulation with a thicker sound-proofing insulation and then reinstall the drywall.

blair6211 · October 2013

I purchased the house. We were so impressed with the inside that we didn't even notice the noise outside (plus, when we visited the home the owners had the surround sound on inside so the noise was not noticeable). The windows are fairly new; I have heavy curtains hanging; and my husband said that the walls are insulated to capacity. I'm at a loss...

MommyLiberty5013 · October 2013

Plant some large trees from the pine family in your back yard. They can help dissipate the sound.

Move your bed to a different wall or switch bedrooms.

Get earplugs...the squishy kind that are bright yellow and magenta. They are awesome. I used to think I could never get used to sleeping with them, but now I can't go without.

You could also petition the city for a slower speed limit and a notice posted to truckers not to use their engine breaks.

This isn't a big enough reason to sell a home you just bought, IMHO.

Jokerkat12 · October 2013

Plant large trees or hedges, or even build an insulated sound wall and then put ivy or bushes in front of it.

You can also switch to triple pane windows.

blair6211 · November 2013

All great ideas, thank you I am just so afraid to put out the money for landscaping, windows, insulation or a new fence and it not work. Does anyone have any good experiences with these solutions?

And no matter where I place my bed, the road can still be heard.

I am in the process of getting the speed limit reduced but people always speed so I'm not sure that will completely solve the problem either.

My best bet may to have a contractor come in and offer some advice? I'm so exhausted from not sleeping well!

duckie1905 · November 2013

Nothing is going to cut sound off from the outside 100%. I live less than 2 miles from a major airport and am directly under the path of flights 24 hours a day. Is it always ideal? No. But, I've gotten used to it and planes overhead don't bother me at all anymore and we've only lived there for 4 months. A certain amount of it is just getting used to the noise. Lots of people live in big cities or off major roads and somehow, still are able to sleep at night. I'm sure you can adjust, too.

We had a contractor come in and install new windows and properly seal everything up and it helped a lot. It seems like a big expense but I feel like turning around and selling right away to buy another house could potentially cost you a lot more money.

Beads921 · November 2013

I think you'll get used to it. We used to live in an apartment that backed onto a busy road that had a fire department 1 block down. I found it really noisy when we moved in. By the time we moved 1.5 years later, I didn't even notice.

You will almost certainly lose money and possibly some sanity if you sell now. Try getting some ear plugs for now - I sleep with the orange ones all the time without issue.

Jliongrrrl · November 2013

I grew up next to a busy road and never noticed the noise.I think ear plugs and a white noise machine at the same time may drown it out. Perhaps try some melatonin in the meantime?

Dreamergirl8812 · November 2013

If you can afford it, I recommend planting trees, hedges, and fortifying any fence that already exists. Even if you hold onto the property, you will want to sell the house one day and your landscaping investment could help with future buyers.

Mom987 · December 2013

I totally feel for you! I can also sometimes hear car noise and we're 5 houses down the street and the speed limit is 45 on that road. What bothers me the most after being here 3.5 years is the neighbors' dogs barking! Ugh. We have 1/2 acre and I swear the dog We've considered the thicker windows but haven't gotten that far.

hersheykiss21 · December 2013

Consider purchasing a nature sound machine with aroma abilities. Take a deep breath, a new sleeping environment can be a nuisance. Hearing the sounds of waves might be soothing. Try to figure out a way to decompress. This is not an issue you should seriously consider moving over.

Go to a local plant nursery and talk about noise blocking. It's a good place to start without paying a contractor. Good luck!

mizangi · December 2013

This may require some city permits or something, but try building some sort of sound wall. We currently live on the opposite side of a sound wall to a freeway and except for the occasional loud motorcycle or big rig, almost never hear the traffic noise.

Need advice - am I crazy??

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