If your garden backs onto the A45, the A444 or one of Coventry's busier through roads, you will know how traffic hum can spoil an evening outside. An acoustic fence can make a real difference, but only in the right situation and only if it is built properly. Here is how to tell whether it is worth the money for your garden.
Sound takes the easiest route. A standard panel fence has gaps between the boards, under the gravel board and around the posts, so traffic noise passes through almost as if the fence were not there. An acoustic fence blocks it with mass and with no gaps. The boards are thick, interlocking tongue-and-groove timber or composite, usually weighing at least 10kg per square metre, and the fence is sealed tight to the ground.
Be realistic about the result. In a typical garden, a well-built acoustic fence cuts traffic noise by roughly 5 to 10 decibels. A 10 decibel drop sounds about half as loud, so that is a clear improvement, but it is not silence. Brochure figures of 25 decibels or more describe sound passing through the panel in a laboratory, not the sound that carries over the top.
The fence has to break the line of sight between you and the tyres on the road, because most traffic noise comes from the road surface. It works best when it stands close to the road or close to where you sit. That suits many gardens that sit level with the carriageway, such as those along the Kenpas Highway and Fletchamstead Highway stretches of the A45, or beside Binley Road and Holyhead Road.
It struggles when the road sits above you. Raised sections of the ring road, the A444 and embankments on the A46 and M6 near Walsgrave and Longford send sound down over the fence. Upstairs bedrooms will also notice little change.
Height matters more than anything else, and this is where many Coventry gardens hit a limit. Without planning permission you can normally build up to 2 metres, but only 1 metre where the fence is next to a road used by vehicles, and that includes its pavement. The boundary facing the traffic is often exactly the one caught by the lower limit.
Replacing an existing fence at the same height is usually fine. For anything taller you need to apply to Coventry City Council. Check your deeds too, as some estates have covenants on boundary treatments, and conservation areas carry extra restrictions. Sort this out before you order materials.
As a rough guide, a timber acoustic fence 1.8 to 2 metres high, supplied and fitted in the Coventry area, tends to cost about £150 to £280 per metre. Good quality closeboard is usually nearer £90 to £140 per metre. Your own figure depends on the site, so treat these as a starting point and not a quote.
If the noise is an irritation and not a constant roar, start smaller. Replacing tired panels with heavy closeboard and closing the gap at the bottom with a concrete gravel board can take the edge off for less money. Planting does little to block sound unless it is many metres deep, but hiding the traffic from view does make it feel quieter to most people.
An acoustic fence earns its cost when the traffic is steady, the fence can hide the road from where you sit, and you plan to stay in the house for some years. A site visit will settle the question quickly, because the levels and the line of sight are easy to check on the day.
Most gardens see a reduction of roughly 5 to 10 decibels when the fence is tall enough to hide the road and is sealed to the ground. A 10 decibel drop sounds about half as loud, but you will still hear some traffic.
Not usually, if it is no taller than 2 metres, or 1 metre where it stands next to a road used by vehicles. Anything higher needs an application to Coventry City Council, and it is worth checking your deeds for covenants as well.
Yes, by a wide margin. A hedge would need to be many metres deep to block much sound, although planting in front of an acoustic fence softens its look and helps the garden feel calmer.
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