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Your RE Agent (or any real estate company) has maps provided to them free of charge by the RDU Airport Authority.
Barring going through your Realtor - you can get the same flight path map directly from the airport authority (and probably on their website these days.)
You ALSO want to check your proximity to Sharon Harris.
These are ALL things your Realtor is obligated to disclose.
I don't care how nice a home is, I can't live on a flight path. The sound of planes drives me bonkers.
(And no, I won't get used to it. In Los Angeles, I never did.)
Is there a website, or something with Triangle neighborhoods and flight paths?
Here is a map with noise contours. (http://www.rduaircraftnoise.com/noiseinfo/Composite_Noise_Contours_11x17.pdf - broken link)
But it is only noise contours, i.e., the common decibels of plane noise. Outside those contours, you will still hear planes, and the flight paths change from time to time. And with changes in winds, they alter paths a little.
You might consider N Raleigh, in the Falls of the Neuse Road area from North Ridge to Bedford at Falls River.
Or Clayton
Chapel Hill,
North Durham,
Raleigh in the Lake Wheeler area,
West Lake.
West Raleigh around Duraleigh Road to Inside the Beltline.
North Hills
There are plenty of choices that don't put you in the approaches.
Sorry, just a stream of consciousness over dessert...
Last edited by MikeJaquish; 11-29-2007 at 06:24 PM..
Here is a map with noise contours. (http://www.rduaircraftnoise.com/noiseinfo/Composite_Noise_Contours_11x17.pdf - broken link)
But it is only noise contours, i.e., the common decibels of plane noise. Outside those contours, you will still hear planes, and the flight paths change from time to time. And with changes in winds, they alter paths a little.
Mike, this map is very interesting. Our house does not show up in the contours but we fall into the category that you describe above. We do get planes that fly overhead of us at certain times of the day and night. It's funny because we did not notice it when we first moved in, because we moved from a noiser urban neighborhood and were use to noise. When we got use to the suburbian quiet then we started hearing them. There is only one that bothers me, and it's at 4 am and I only hear it if I'm awake. Fortunately, I'm usually asleep during that time.
That's for the info about realtor disclosures and the map. VERY handy!!!
It's really weird, but when I'm in my home I absolutely hate hearing noises from outside...lawn mowers, neighbors music, traffic, playgrounds, planes, ANYTHING.
In Los Angeles, in addition to the planes, there were ALWAYS helicopters (traffic copters, crime copters, etc...) I literally thought I was going to lose my mind with the noise...
Fortunately, my neighborhood here in Durham is super quiet. I think I'm the noisiest person on the block. (I hope I don't bother anyone )
if you live outside the contour maps. The maps are figured from complex calculations. Noisy flights can and do occur outside the countours and there are variations in the flight paths, type of aircraft, etc. There is going to be another runway added in the next 10 years or so, which will change things as well. The RDU site warns people fairly well, although they are missing a good explanation of what the contours really mean. The following paragraphs are taken from the Noise website. The last paragraph has the advice I give to folks...visit your prospective homesite several times and stay a while to see what the noise is like and how much it bothers you before you make an offer. I advise going at night, too. Remember the noise inside the home may be considerably less as the home may have some sound dampening. If you are not an outdoor person you may not care.
"Noise disclosure is based on noise exposure and not flight tracks. Noise exposure is the overall average daily decibel level based on noisiest conditions. If the noise exposure is below fifty-five decibels as shown on the Composite Noise Contour Map, then noise disclosure is not required even if flight tracks exist overhead."
"The flight track map depicts one day of operations for each operational mode. Although there can be some day-to-day variation in the airspace where airplanes operate, in general the flight track map shows where airplanes fly when operating at RDU. There can be variation in the altitude of the airplanes due to various reasons, both on departure and on approach. An airplane flying lower than other airplanes can cause a noise disturbance. (See Noise Information)"
"Take at least two hours at the homesite to observe aircraft operations in each operational mode. There are two modes for aircraft operations at RDU. When the winds are south, southwest or west, the planes depart towards Morrisville and Cary and arrive over north Raleigh. When the winds are north, northeast or east, the planes depart towards north Raleigh and arrive over Cary and Morrisville. The noise impact will be different for each operational mode at the homesite. A good time to observe is between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays. Most planes fly during the day and early evening. Some flights occur late at night. Weekends may be busy too. Personal observations are important. However you probably don't have the time to observe at all hours. Airplanes fly at all hours. There is no curfew at RDU."
Where we live now in Albany, NY, we are only 2 miles from the airport terminal. Albany, unlike Raleigh, has two main runways that are a cross, and we are almost exactly out from the angle of the cross. So the only way we'd get a plane overhead is if they make a very sharp turn immediately after takeoff. However, even being 2 miles off the flight path, when they are taking off in a particular direction, it can be pretty loud in our backyard.
The last reply has some excellent advice. I did this before we bought the house. I spent several hours at different times of day over several weeks sitting in my car in the neighborhood listening to the planes flying over to see if it was something that would bother me. It wasn't, and we've been very happy in the house. It was actually relaxing to sit in the afternoon or early evening and watch the planes landing... again, they are 2-3 miles out and don't go overhead. We used to live about 5 or 6 miles away, but in an area where they flew directly overhead and to me that was more annoying than where we are now.
My advice is to invest some time sitting in the neighborhood during different peak flight times to see what its like before you buy. Our house in Raleigh is going to be near Lake Wheeler so it would seem to be pretty far off the flight paths so I've not spent much time worrying about it.
Here is a map with noise contours. (http://www.rduaircraftnoise.com/noiseinfo/Composite_Noise_Contours_11x17.pdf - broken link)
But it is only noise contours, i.e., the common decibels of plane noise. Outside those contours, you will still hear planes, and the flight paths change from time to time. And with changes in winds, they alter paths a little.
You might consider N Raleigh, in the Falls of the Neuse Road area from North Ridge to Bedford at Falls River.
Or Clayton
Chapel Hill,
North Durham,
Raleigh in the Lake Wheeler area,
West Lake.
West Raleigh around Duraleigh Road to Inside the Beltline.
North Hills
There are plenty of choices that don't put you in the approaches.
Sorry, just a stream of consciousness over dessert...
We're actually one block away from the last contour (55 decibel). It could be a lot worse for us, but we do get maybe 2-3 "loud ones" a day. In all honestly though I love the area I live in and wouldn't trade it for similar neighborhoods in other parts of North Raleigh. I just love the location being that we're 5-7 minutes from the airport, 15 minutes from the RBC center, 15 minutes to the middle of RTP, right around the corner from Brier Creek, 10 minutes from Crabtree, the list goes on and on. Just a great location to live at in the Triangle and a very safe area in which to live.
The plane noise is not that bad IMO. Now the barking dogs that live behind me...uugghh
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