How to Reduce Traffic Noise in Your Backyard

The great thing about living in a civilization is the abundance of resources and friends it puts at your fingertips. Unfortunately, that cat is out of the bag and everyone else wants to do it too.

If you own a house in a city but still appreciate peacefulness, you’ve probably spent some time wondering how to reduce traffic noise in your backyard. Well, we can’t silence the world, but we sure can turn it down.

The most effective item to consider for how to reduce traffic noise in your backyard is a fence. It could be a standard, six-foot fence or a full-on outdoor privacy wall. More on those below.

Certain landscaping techniques can help quite a bit as well. Creating a sort of secondary fence with dense, wide-leaved shrubs is an excellent supplement to a good, thick fence.

Finally, not everyone can lower their yard, but if it’s an option for you, it might be what you’re looking for. Sometimes, you can simply scoop out enough soil from your yard to lower the ground, and then build whatever fences and gardens you like up above. Dirt is one of the best sound deadeners around; if you do this, your fence will have less work to do.

How about contributing your own vibes to the backyard soundscape? While your really dense vegetation secures the perimeter inside the fence, maybe add some looser, more flowy shrubs closer to the house. Some plants move in the breeze much more than others and create a nice ambient rustle of their own. Of course it’s not a complete solution, but it can certainly be a helpful part of your overall plan.

For a more constant slate of self-made sounds, consider water features with trickling, burbling, splishing and/or splashing water. Water features in the backyard are gorgeous and in this case, very helpful for changing what you hear.

The higher and thicker your fence is, the more noise it will block. Some people go for a full-on privacy wall to really section off their house from the city. These can create beautiful environments for landscaping and gatherings. No one can see over a privacy wall, and you won’t be able to hear (as much) through it.

Do you have an air conditioner? How much of the problem is coming from the outdoor unit of your air conditioner? Maybe do this in pieces and start as simple as can be: try wrapping a Quiet Fence around your air conditioner to help it keep its thoughts to itself and then see how much more there is to be done.

Block it or camouflage it. Go!

Of course, the particulars of how to reduce traffic noise in your backyard will take careful consideration. Nobody’s setup is the same. But we hope that the ideas in this article, especially the outdoor privacy walls and Quiet Fence, will get you started.

Give a solid home construction company like Fitzpatrick Painting a call to talk about your situation and see what might help you the most!