Noise Mitigation Ideas for Your Home

It’s 7 A.M. on a Saturday morning. The sun has just come up, and droplets of dew still hang like diamonds from blades of grass. The sky is a deep, vibrant blue, and there isn’t a cloud in sight. It sounds like a perfect morning, right? Well, it would be. That is, if it weren’t for that one guy, that just had to go and ruin things for everyone. 

If you live in a suburb, you probably know him. He’s middle-aged, maybe in his early 40s. Slightly balding, but he wears a cap to hide it. Generally, a charming person, but he has an infuriating tendency to mow his lawn every Saturday at dawn. As he stands with his hands on his hips, admiring a job well done, you scowl and bemoan your lost hours of sleep. 

The problem isn’t him; lawns have to be mowed and doing it first thing in the morning lets you beat the midday heat. Sure, maybe he could do it a little later, but that’s beside the point; when you live near other people, there is always going to be noise coming from somewhere. The question is, what can you do to add a bit of peace and quiet to your life? 

Home noise mitigation 

This is where noise mitigation comes in. There are many things that might add noise to your life, from nearby highways to inconsiderate neighbors. While some of these can be remedied in other ways that don’t require you to modify your home or property, adding some noise mitigation to your home is a much more effective solution.

There are a lot of ways to insulate your home from unwanted outside noise. Some of them are relatively quick and easy, others a bit more difficult. Some you can do yourself; for others, you might need the assistance of a handyman or general contractor. Regardless of this, with a bit of time and effort, there’s a good chance you can reduce the annoyance of excess noise from your life. 

Upgrade your windows  

If you have a bit of disposable income to spare and you really want to shut out some of that outside noise, you might want to think about getting some new windows. Sound travels through gaps and cracks much more quickly than it does through solid surfaces, and windows are usually the biggest culprit when you’re looking for such openings in your home. 

If you have older single-pane windows, there are additional benefits besides sound isolation that accompany getting new ones. Well made double pane glass windows will not only help with dampening sound but also add temperature insulation to your home as well. And on top of that, new windows always provide a facelift for the home they’re installed in! 

Get some storm blinds

If you don’t live in an area that frequently experiences hurricanes or tornadoes, there’s a good chance you don’t have storm blinds. If this is the case, you’re missing out! Storm blinds don’t just protect your windows in a storm; they are excellent sound insulation, and a good set of them can do a great deal to improve your home’s “quiet factor.” 

It is essential, however, to make sure you get good storm blinds. Due to the fact that storm blinds are often used in an aesthetic capacity rather than a functional one, many storm blinds aren’t particularly functional. Make sure that the ones you purchase are sturdy and well made! 

Insulate your walls

If you live in a typical wood frame house, your noise problems might stem from the fact that your walls are not well insulated against sound. While traditional fiberglass insulation is great for protecting against temperature, the type of insulation chosen can have an adverse effect on sound insulation, often providing little or no insulation against noise. 

To remedy this, you can have a contractor fit sound dampening inserts or install blown-in sound insulation. This isn’t the case with every home, but you might want to have a contractor check your house and see what type of insulation it currently has. If the current insulation is not an effective sound dampener, you might want to try doing this! 

Add weatherstrips to doors and windows

If you’re having problems with noise inside of your home and you’ve also dealt with leaky windows and doors, chances are your home would benefit from the addition of some weatherstripping. The gaps in window and door frames can be the source of leakage as well as decreased noise mitigation. 

This is by far the easiest idea on this list, as well as the cheapest. All you have to do is buy some weatherstripping at your hardware store and install it as dictated by the instructions on the package. If you do it correctly, you’ll not only improve the sound isolation of your home, you’ll also prevent leakage from the elements! 

Put up a fence or hedge

If most of the sound that’s bothering you comes from one specific source or direction, such as being near a highway or factory, then you might want to get a fence or hedge. If they’re well utilized, fences and hedges can be remarkably effective at insulating your property from noise. 

The type of fence or hedge will depend mainly on how much property you own and the sound source. If the source of the noise is a highway that runs parallel to the back of your property, you might want to go with a high concrete wall. If it’s your neighbors across the street, you might opt instead for a more aesthetically pleasing coniferous hedge. 

Conclusion 

Excessive noise can be a trial and a tribulation if your house and property aren’t set up to mitigate it. Neighbors caring for their lawns, highways packed with traffic, and noisy garage bands all share one characteristic in common: creating loud, unpleasant sound. And, if you can’t get the thing making the noise to stop, well, making it, you’re in quite a predicament indeed. 

However, with the help of some upgrades to your house or property, you may be able to nearly or entirely mitigate that noise. Then, you have the joy of a quiet place, carefree, unbothered property, and lawn. And when these things are at stake, there’s no cost that’s too great! From our team to you, we hope you manage to mitigate that noise!

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