How to make a house quiet inside located near a loud highway?

[mikefong123]

Sound proof the house. Unfortunately, this product is not available in the USA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2TaWG4aeEU

[harry chickpea]

Originally Posted by possibleyou

A relative of mine recently purchased a home that is located very close to a state highway. The highway is behind the house. I couldn't believe how loud you can constantly hear the cars driving past from inside the house. Is there any way to help fix this noise problem and make the home quiet? Would planting more evergreen trees work? What kind of trees best help with sound? Perhaps a fence? What kind of fence material? Sound proof blinds? Would adding more furniture bounce the sound waves? Would it be legal to plant trees along the state public property highway without obtaining permission and or building a wall? Please give suggestions down below:

KB and Elnina have it right (and having stayed at hotels near highways, very few get soundproofing right and quieter rooms are often elevated above the level where a house would be).

SOME sounds can be attenuated, but others will penetrate any normal construction. The fact that the home was built near such a road isn't encouraging, as in almost all areas, the only way to sell for a profit is if it is built cheap.

I've been watching a block of apartments being constructed in Huntsville Alabama - directly beside a mainline railroad that has regular hundred+ car coal drags, AND a major road crossing at one end of the new building. I can only imagine the tenants after they sign the rental agreement sight unseen and that first train blasts through. Even the deaf will feel it in their feet.

[victimofGM]

Originally Posted by kwong7

The noise should reduce as electric vehicles become more widely adopted and/or traffic gets to the point when vehicles are whizzing by. But in the meantime, a retaining wall and leafy trees planted in a staggered formation should help. Noise reduction windows with thick curtains can help a lot as well as making sure the walls and jams are thoroughly insulated. Wall decor or tapestry can help. Finally white noise such as wind chimes and a nice whole house/backyard audio system would help. Basically materials can be used to bounce (reflect), absorb, or slow down sound waves to make the interior more quiet.

Actually, electric vehicles may be louder. Most of the noise we hear from in the home isn’t from the engines nor exhaust (except for certain motorcycles and modified performance cars and trucks). Most of the noise is from the tires and imperfections in the pavement. Electric vehicles can weigh nearly 1,000 lbs more than their similar size gas counterpart. All that weight on large tires (made to handle the instant torque of EVs) can mean more road noise when those tires hit those road imperfections. When a large off road vehicle passes by it’s the studded mud/off-road tires we hear. The road at our house has a speed limit of 25 mph and we easily hear those off-road tires over the vehicle’s engine and exhaust.