1
$\begingroup$

So I have this problem, every Sunday we have about 200 kids come over to our house in town, and they make a LOT of noise. We also have mildly nice neighbors that do not like noise Sunday afternoon when they are trying to watch a movie on their front porch. They live directly across the street, with only two vine-covered fences on either side of the road. They are getting somewhat fed up with all the noise, (imagine 100/200 kids yelling at the top of their lungs) and my dad had the idea that we build a brick wall to stop the sound. So my question is, how high would this have to be to be efficient, and is it worth the cost? (a 7ft wall would cost about $200-500) Or would it not work at all?

I previously posted this question as an acoustics physics question, it was closed for being off-topic, they suggested engineering as better, so I posted it here.

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
12
  • $\begingroup$ How high do they make those sound "walls" by main roads ? due to people trying to sleep who live close to roads - have you done any research? $\endgroup$
    – Solar Mike
    Commented Oct 27, 2017 at 11:28
  • 4
    $\begingroup$ @SolarMike road noise (mostly low frequency) and children yelling (mostly high frequency) are very different spectra of noise to attenuate. $\endgroup$
    – ratchet freak
    Commented Oct 27, 2017 at 11:31
  • $\begingroup$ This is my main research, asking this question. And living in Uganda, I have never seen sound walls by main roads. If you know of any website that can help me, it would be of great help. Problem is, we do not want to spend much money on the wall. Another thing, this is my dads idea, it just sparked my interest to see if this concept would work, for us that is. I already know sound stopping walls exist, but I am asking if us makeing one would be worth the cost. Thanks for telling me what to clarify. $\endgroup$
    – TimothyTuininga
    Commented Oct 27, 2017 at 11:34
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Due to the laws of diffraction around a barrier, sadly a wall on the neighbor's side would be far more effective than a wall on your side. Even so -- consider how easy it is to hear the crowd yelling from outside a football (or a handegg) stadium. Walls won't help much. $\endgroup$
    – Carl Witthoft
    Commented Oct 27, 2017 at 14:56
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Welcome to Engineering Stack Exchange. As there is extensive commenting here, this may be better in chat. However, for engineering, it is best to list specific goals. While you are asking how high the wall would need to be to be effective, we'd need to know the specifics for "effective". Are you trying to reduce the sound to the level of an open forest, the sound of a loud TV, or just a bit less? How far away are the neighbors from the site? Specifics help make these questions from "It depends" to "Yes" or "No". $\endgroup$
    – Mark
    Commented Oct 27, 2017 at 17:03

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2
$\begingroup$

How tall the wall needs to be depends on a few factors as others have mentioned in the comments. Since you've provided relatively vague design criteria, I cannot give a definite answer. However, this tool is quite useful to determine the effectiveness of a wall.

The multi-spectrum mode might prove useful for you.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.