Fences and Gates - Help SoundProofing from neighbors

Hello All,

I live in a residential complex in San Jose, Costa Rica. I am very happy with my home however I have been having some trouble with my neighbors behind me. They are always yelling and screaming at each other and friends come and go with loud cars making it louder then it needs to be.

I have taken a picture of my back yard.

http://www.nicholasaron.com/images/backyard.jpg

My biggest problem is the noise so what I had in mind was the following:

Add 3 horizontal iron flat bars that will attach to each vertical tube on the iron fence (intended to increase security).

Shape the flat bars to the contour of the existing iron fence.

Install Wild Sugar Cane (basically looks almost like bamboo with varnish each piece is 1 inch wide). In order to do this I need horizontal beams which the wild suger canes can attach to. So I was thinking of making a basic wood frame and adding 2" Styrofoam in open areas between the iron fence and the sugar cane wall.

The top of the cement wall from the road is 6 feet and it's at least another 2 feet on the sides and 5 feet to the top. So we are talking an 8 - 11 ft fence;

Honestly right it sounds like they talking through our fence :(

Will what I am proposing accomplish my goal?

Thanks in advance!

Nick

That won't do much to block the noise as stated in another thread.

http://forum.doityourself.com/fences-gates/201981-how-make-sound-proof-fence.html

I would probably take the neighbors to dinner & see what kind of compromise you can get. It's a lot cheaper than buying all that sugarcane & has the same chance of working, not to mention all that work.

Taking the neighbors to dinner is not an option. Lets just say there is a severe class difference and their consideration for others doesn't exist.

Besides i'd have to ask them to tell their kids not to play in the street with soccer balls, their wives from screaming at the top of their lungs to their kids, etc, etc.

It's much easier to build a barrier.

You might consider yourself part of a higher class of people but doing that limits your chance of communication. In any event, I doubt a sugar cane or any type of landscaping barrier will work. Maybe you could line the existing walls with a havy duty canvas or some type of outdoor material that comes on a roll. That might deaden the sound a little.

Does the noise continue past 10PM?

Usually the noise stops at 10 but there are many nights where the sound continues. I have tried to contact the authorities and the municipality nothing they will do.

I have lived here for a long time and these types of people will not care about our request.

What about Styrofoam it won't help? I saw some vinyl solutions maybe I should invest in that? I don't mind putting something between the sugar cane and the existing iron fence. The sugar case is more decorative.

I've been doing a bit of homework on sound proofing. It seems the styrofoam I can get at the local hardware store will not help much because of the "R" rating. However in reading around I see that drywall actually works really well for sound and I don't mind in anyway shape or form to put up exterior drywall to see if it will help. It will probably be cheaper to use dryway then importing some thick vinyl matting or the like.

I took some time to draw up some diagrams to give you guys a better idea of what we're dealing with.

http://www.nicholasaron.com/images/noise-diagram-1.gif

The specs are as such. From A-B = 3.5 ft, From B-C = 3.5ft, From C-D 3-4 ft.

http://www.nicholasaron.com/images/noise-diagram-2.gif

The specs are as such. From A-B = 3.5 ft, From B-C = 3.5ft, From C-D 3-4 ft.

http://www.nicholasaron.com/images/noise-diagram-3.gif

In this diagram I show how the fence is positioned on the concrete blocks. Since it's in the middle I have about 1-2 inches on the inside of the fence (shaded in diagram) to work with. Ideally I could use this option.

http://www.nicholasaron.com/images/noise-diagram-4.gif

In an extreme case I could move the position of the iron fence to be flush with the outter wall and providing me with about 4 inches on the inside of the fence to work with.

And sorry Pulpo I don't mean to come off rude at all. I am a very patient and diplomatic person. I have complained about neighbors in the complex even spoken to some about issues and we have resolved our differences without any further complication.

These neighbors in the back are people of very low class, they yell and scream at each other all day long. Sometimes there is music and sometimes they think what the hell, lets throw a party on the street. I will bring up the issue again at the next administrative meeting but I have not received much help from them. I don't want to go there and stir up trouble with these people since they may end up having their friends come and rob my house (i'm not joking).

The point of this though is that I want to block the visible access to my house from the street anyway and the sugar cane looks very clean and professional. It can also stay outside without any trouble at all. So I was thinking I could take advantage of my efforts and include some sound proofing material to try and reduce the noise from these neighbors. Basically it would be a sound barrier as i've seen it refered to on the net.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance, Nick

Let's forget about what looks good for now & talk about what might actually work. You can always add sugar cane or bamboo later.

I never heard of exterior drywall but I think whatever you use has to be in solid pieces with no spaces. Placing it on top of the block & against the iron sounds good or you could remove the iron & brick that section up to the caps on the columns. Bricks don't cost that much. That would solve the visibility & sound problem. Add sugar cane as needed.

I didn't think you were rude & I know the type of people you are describing. If you don't think you can get through by some form of diplomatic relations, then I'll drop that end of the discussion. Usually complexes like that have very strict rules. It's surprising that they don't enforce it themselves.

Fortunately the complex does have tons of very strict rules. Unfortunately they only apply within the complex. Since the noise is generated from the road there is nothing they will do aside from helping us with any legal information we may need.

Yes sugar cane can totally wait and I have thought about moving the wall up, unfortunately the complex rules apply and they will not permit me to change the "design" of the complex. If we were to change it we would need to do so along the entire wall.

I am going to atend the next HOA meeting to see what they suggest. Maybe we can make a vote to see who would like to raise the wall (which unfortunately I don't believe the municipality will allow).

Tonight I got the first chance to meet my neighbor to the right who is very disturbed by the neighbors in the back because of the language they use (it's very vulgar).

I'm sure we are not the only ones. The problem is that the complex is very new so the neighbors have not all moved in so the number of people who have lived this experience first hand is very few.

I have read that what you are suggesting about the blocks is the ideal solution since it somehow absorbs the sound.

Is there anything that can be done to reflect the noise all back to their house? That would be funny :)

I met some kids a few years back who had a band. They played day and night in a storage building. As you can imagine the noise was crazy.

If I didn't see it with my own eyes and ears I would never have believed it, but they cover the inside of the walls with egg cartons. You know the ones that flip open and hold a dozen eggs.

It was truely amazing how the shape of those cartons muffled the sound. You could not hear them outside at all, they played even louder after that. I beleive the shape canceled out the sound waves.

They could then be covered with something else.

There may be some acoustic panels that can be purchased.

I beleive that is what gave them the idea themselves and desided to build there own.

Here is a link to a acoustic barrier maunuf.

Man, it could be pricey.

Acoustic Panels & Soundproofing * (http://www.acoustiblok.com/industrial2.html)

Installation accessories for Acoustiblok soundproofing* and noise control (http://www.acoustiblok.com/acoustical_fence.html)

this could be your answer

Since others in the neighborhood are annoyed as well, you need to have those people on your side. Send someone else in to battle instead. You stay in the background fueling the fire.

As far as reflective materials go, the concrete block is already reflecting the sound but you can't redirect it the way you want it to go. A quick search on Google says that cork & felt being to materials that deaden sound. That's what you want. I don't know how well cork does outside but it has to be a lot cheaper than all that sugar cane. Theoretically, if you lined the walls with cork, it would reduce a lot of the noise.