Tired of hearing every word your neighbors say while you’re trying to relax outside? In this video, I’ll show you simple and affordable ways to block outdoor noise using DIY fence upgrades, sound-masking water features, and backyard landscaping. Whether you’re dealing with loud neighbors, street noise, or just want more peace and quiet, these backyard noise reduction tips actually work.
Links to the soundproofing products I talk about in this video plus more. All links are from Amazon and are affiliate links which helps my content at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
1. Mass Loaded Vinyl – https://amzlink.to/az0gYXYRvRHOU
2. Outdoor Noise Reduction Curtain – https://amzlink.to/az0UoEGTBCiWZ
3. Outdoor speaker waterproof – https://amzlink.to/az0qIky8f2eaW
4. Foundtain 3 Tier – https://amzlink.to/az09mjeTYvkgx
5. Outdoor Sound Barrier – https://amzlink.to/az0haM0iLBQJY
6. Sound Dampening Blanket – https://amzlink.to/az0mr7hM8jsfk
Bear in mind that some of the links in this video are affiliate links, and if you go through them to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. Keep in mind that I link these companies and their products because of their quality and not because of the commission I receive from your purchases. The decision is yours, and whether or not you decide to buy something is completely up to you.
Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational, or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
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I’m going to show exactly how to cut down on neighbor noise in your backyard. From cheap fixes to heavyduty stuff and I’ll I’ll tell you what actually work and what’s basically a waste of money. So, here’s the deal. Outside noise is tough to block. There’s no roof, no sealed walls, so sound just flies right over or squeezes through most fences like it’s nothing. What’s even trickier is sound doesn’t just travel in a straight line. It can bend over the top of fences, that’s called defraction, and bounce off hard surfaces like your house, your neighbor’s garage, or even patios. That’s why a lot of people build these thin wood fences or slap up some lattice and expect it to actually kill noise. But it doesn’t. What actually matters is height, mass, and density. If your fence doesn’t have all three, it’s basically just for looks. It’ll stop eyeballs, but it won’t stop much sound. But there are a few other things that you can do to mask that noise. But the first option, which is a cheaper fix, is just adding mass to an existing fence. Because if you’ve already got a fence, the easiest upgrade is to add mass loaded vinyl or MLV. It’s basically a heavy limp sheet that blocks sound by weight alone. You just staple or screw it right onto the existing fence, then cover it with wood panels or even plants so it doesn’t look ugly. This costs around two to three bucks a square foot, so it’s pretty budget friendly for a smaller section when you really need it. Now, it won’t completely kill deep bass sounds like subwoofers or big trucks, but for voices, barking dogs, general neighborhood noise, it makes a big difference. Now, quick note on height. Just remember, if your fence is only 5 ft tall and you’re sitting up on a deck, most of that noise is still coming up straight over the top. So, sound travels in a line of sight. If you can see the neighbors yard or hear them while sitting down, the fence isn’t tall enough to do much. Most towns have bylaws that cap fences at 6 to 8 ft. So, check with your city. Sometimes you can get a variance for a taller fence, especially if you’ve got a real noise issue and it’s in the backyard. It also helps to talk to your neighbor. Most people are totally fine with a slightly taller fence if it gives everyone more privacy. And when done right, it can actually increase property value, especially if it looks good. Second option is a natural, more natural block, which is thick hedges or trees. If you’re more into a natural look, dense hedges or evergreen trees can help break up sound. They’re not magic noise blockers. Leaves and branches don’t have the mass and density like wood or mass loaded vinyl, but they scatter and absorb noise where it can. And more importantly, it does block the view, so it does feel quieter in your backyard. And of course, the thicker and taller, the better. Think big cedars, arborvite, or layered shrubs. You want something dense from the ground all the way up. Just keep in mind this will take time. Depending on what you plant, it could take a couple of years or more to really fill it up, but it looks great, adds privacy, and definitely bumps your home’s value just like this. It’s basically like a wall. Option three, a little bit more pricey, but build a taller, heavier fence. And here’s the honest truth. Most backyard fences are well, they’re way too short and way too light to block sound. If you really want to cut down neighbors noise, you need three things. First one, which is very important, height. Go as tall as the bylaw allows. Usually that’s around six to eight feet, but some places let you go higher in the backyard or with a variance, as I said earlier. And the second one, of course, mass, heavy overlapping boards, double panels, and even plywood. The more mass, the more sound you block. Seal it up. No gaps. Even little cracks will let sound pour through. About 50% back through. stagger your boards or use tongue and groove to close it all up. If you’re building new, the absolute best is to sandwich mass loaded vinyl between two layers of wood. Looks like a normal fence, but will stop way more noise. And here’s the trick. If your deck sits higher than your fence, you can build a privacy wall on your deck just like this. Now, this is more for privacy and less for noise, but it does work quite well for a little bit of noise reduction. You can also hang heavy outdoor curtains on pergolas or along deck railings. They’re not going to block booming bays, but they’re going to cut down on voices and give you some visual privacy. Plus, they’re easy to slide open or take down when you don’t want them there anymore. So, building a big fence or adding heavy panel just isn’t an option for everyone, but you’re already done all you can. The next best thing is to mask the noise instead of blocking it. Basically, give your ears something else to latch on to so the neighbors noise fades into the background. And a few easy ways to do that is of course outdoor speakers playing low white noise or natural sounds. just looping something off Spotify. A lot of people hide little waterproof Bluetooth speakers behind plants or under the deck. And this can be an easy way to drown that outdoor noise. Another one is windchimes. Not constant, but if you like the sound, they fill in the quiet so sudden neighbors noise doesn’t pop out. This is only if you find them relaxing, which a lot of people don’t. One of my favorites is water features. Two smaller fountains spread out actually works better than one bigger fountain. It helps carry that soft water sound all around. And of course, if you build a green natural fence, that white noise of the rustling leaves will be an added bonus. And if you want more ideas on soundproofing in general, visit my channel. And if you want to if you want to know what a really really quiet lawn mower sounds like to keep your backyard really quiet video right here. It not only mows lawn but it can actually tow quite heavy things. Quite impressive. Thank you very much for watching. Until next time, assuming you subscribed.
32 Comments
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How do I remove sunlight from my yard?
How about for condo balconies? Our unit is near a busy road with buses and jeepneys (Philippine PUVs)
You ever notice how everyone who wears Underarmour clothing is a conman?
Hi bro I have a question , does thermocol absorb sound like 2 to 3 inch thermocol
It is for a podcast studio
The room size is 11×10
mass loaded vinyl how durable?
Have you ever explain how to isolate blind boxes? (European style)
Hi – Thanks for your great videos – I have a question.
I want to practise my harmonica – but we live in a terraced house with paper thin walls and grumpy neighbours – I don't want to soundproof a whole room or buy expensive booth I just need a way to deaden the sound of the harmonica – even an insulated box which I can put over me when i play or blanket or something – any ideas?
Look, I don’t want to be a negative Nancy here, however sound doesn’t travel in straight line. Sound is a wave. So the easiest way to describe this to you is if you look down on the beach with a break wall and a wave comes say at an Angular direction towards the break wall. It will actually curve around that break wall, you can google this and see how it works. Sound is exactly the same. You can have a wall, however what happens is those sound waves are gonna curl over the top of it. Well I appreciate that you may reduce some of the intensity… Maybe! Of the sound not having an enclosed room is impossible.. this is high school physics. I do applaud how well your videos made and you’re trying to help people out. That’s really nice of you but to reduce noise in any significant form you really need to have some sort of enclosed area with by directional sound absorbing foam or something that can actually absorb the wave frequency.
I agree water features do help. Even a small container pond on the deck
Can you do a video on dampening the sound of an unreasonably deafening fire alarm in an apartment complex? My building clearly needs to have these recalibrated. Am I gonna be able to convince them? I don’t know, but in the meantime, I wanna be able to protect my ears & my dog’s. I covered my 3 fire alarm speakers [not sensors] with layers of Viva paper towels & tape. It helped somewhat, but I know there has to be something better that I can cover the speakers [not sensors] with &/or something I can put near the speakers on the wall to absorb the insanely loud high-pitched sound. No joke the fire alarms in the building went off 5 times in the middle of the night for 30 mins.
If only cement board was more attractive and outdoor appropriate that would be a great solution.
Hedges need to be 40 feet thick to be effective noise blockers…
Putting MLV on stretches of fence is wild…that shit is so expensive you may as well buy out your neighbors properties and set them up somewhere new
Thank you for the honesty!
The bottom line is: you cannot efficiently block the noise on the backyard, try to distract yourself with visual privacy or pleasant sounds.
There is one way to reduce noise, though. Definitely doesn't work in every case, but building a high hill-like structure with earth in the direction of the noise will reduce it.
My next-door neighbor is perfectly fine; it's the loud idiots who like to rev up their engines when they drive their cars behind our concrete wall.
In the third world we build 3 metter tall concrete wall around the property.
Thanks!
What accent is that?
Thank you great video and info!
WHAT CAN I DO TO STOP MY NEIGHBOURS AIR CONDITIONER NOISE ?
if you can see your neighbors, they're too close
I've completely surrendered the yard. It's a lost cause. It's the booming bass INSIDE MY HOUSE that's got me on the verge of insanity. Society needs to do something about low frequency noise. The worst of it coming from recreational pursuits. You shouldn't be allowed to listen to your music INSIDE MY HOUSE. Meaning that it's so loud that I hear it in my house while you're in your house or car.
Very interesting video thank you. I have a pool neighbor who has overbuilt the patio deck around their pool and it reflects a lot of sound even through lots of foliage and fence. Lots of sound reflects off the pool patio I don't think there's much I can do about it. It's clear to me they violated coverage rules and maybe I need to bring this to their attention but basically uncontrolled screaming of kids as well as night activities at times is very disturbing because I can hear it inside my home. Interestingly a part of their fence is 6 inches over the property line on my side which I guess I could ask them to move but that may not solve the noise problem. Unfortunately they were not too welcoming when I talked about noise with them.
I'm fascinated by his accent. Where is he from?
Unfortunately with FL's sandy soil, anything with mass becomes a sail in the next CAT 5.
I hate wind chimes.
I'm somewhat close to a highway. I found it odd that my backyard got noisier after a sound barrier was put up at the edge of the highway. Luckily, I have good neighbors, for the most part, and the highway noise, while not too loud, does mask the neighbors.
This is not true. Unlike light, sound turns corners
Sometimes you can build a soil berm and then put the maximum height fence on top of the berm for extra height.
I have 60' high bushes around my yard so it's pretty quiet. Except my next door neighbor has duck, chickens, quail, rabbits, doves, and other animals that rotate out. I love hearing the animal noises as I relax in the back yard. My favorite are the ducks one of them quacks like she's laughing. Quakquakquakquak… Lol.
The best thing you can do is get to know your neighbors. Set expectations (quiet between 9pm & 6am during the week or when company is over & outside, pre-notifying when using loud power tools or having work done, etc.) and hold each other accountable. Introduce each other to your dogs so they don't freak out when they spot you outside (maybe even introduce the dogs to each other, if safe to do so). Discuss any pain points and acceptable ways to deal with them before things get heated.
The old saying is "good fences make good neighbors," but it should really be "good neighbors make good fences." Besides noise reduction, this can build to other benefits such as sharing tools, mowing/watering, or collecting each other's packages when away, etc.
Is there anything to do against neighbours playing loud music? You mentioned that low, booming sounds dont get masked by most fences