Neighbor's pool pump noise - any suggestions? (Austin: house, landscaping)

[LilyAustin]

My neighbor has installed their pool pump and heater to the side of their house, which happens to be about 10-12 feet away from our house. We can hear the pump noise in our dining room, living room, and kitchen. It feels like we live next to a power station and is really unpleasant. I would like to have them put a cover over the pump and would even help pay for it. I have a question for anyone with experience in this area -- do pump covers even help with the noise? If I could cut the noise in half, it would be a big improvement.

Are there other things we could do to lessen the sound? Unfortunately, our wall that is next to the pump is a wall of windows.

Also, why do people attach pool pumps to the side of their home, instead of closer to the pool? I was shocked when they located it there.

[512ATX]

ask your neighbor to go to Lowe's and get some of that wicker-style fencing that is easy to cut and put together, it mostly used for gardens... and ask them to build a small fance around the units to keep the sound down. I had the same issue and made that deal with my neighbor and he likes it too because it was annoying to him too.

[LilyAustin]

Thank you for the suggestion, 512ATX. I'm about to approach my neighbor and would like to have a couple options to offer since I've seen in my research that pump covers can be expensive. The wicker-style fence might be a good alternative, especially if it can cut the noise.

[jennifw]

what kind of fence is between you? Perhaps landscaping would help absorb the noise?

[LilyAustin]

That's a great idea, but unfortunately there's no room for decent landscaping. There's about five or so feet between our house and a wooden privacy fence. Then our neighbor's house (and pool pump) are another five feet or so on the other side of the privacy fence. If we planted anything, we wouldn't have enough room to get a lawn mower to our backyard.

[someguyatx]

Have you spoken to your neighbor about it yet? I would probably start with that and I certainly wouldn't pay for a cover for their pool pump. If they aren't willing to work with you look into noise ordinances. I imagine there must be permits for installing this type of thing that should take noise into consideration.

[LilyAustin]

I am going to talk with my neighbor soon. I've been researching noise ordinances. We live in Williamson County but have an Austin address. Williamson County doesn't have a noise ordinance, but Austin does.

[Seoid]

Originally Posted by LilyAustin

That's a great idea, but unfortunately there's no room for decent landscaping. There's about five or so feet between our house and a wooden privacy fence. Then our neighbor's house (and pool pump) are another five feet or so on the other side of the privacy fence. If we planted anything, we wouldn't have enough room to get a lawn mower to our backyard.

You could plant something viney like Star Jasmine and train it to wires along the fence- that would be low-profile and help block the noise- plus it's pretty.

[512ATX]

Originally Posted by LilyAustin

. The wicker-style fence might be a good alternative, especially if it can cut the noise.

and it looks good from the street. just have him treat it with some Thompson's Water Seal once a year to keep the wood protected and not dry out.(gray)

[FalconheadWest]

If you approach with the noise ordinance thing, from experience, talk more about the "night" time ordinance as those are lower than the day time ordinances. They might think they're in compliance during the day, but are they at night? To correct the levels at night, it will automatically help correct levels during the day.