Wood Fence Sound Barrier in Woodstock

Effective sound barrier built with a wood fence in Woodstock, GA

Sound barriers are a touchy subject because most fencing will not deflect enough road noise to be worth the price people pay for them, THIS ONE WORKS!! One sunny day in Woodstock GA our client, Steve R. stood toe to toe with me and said: "Brian, don't come back here with the same old crap everyone else has given me"! I took him seriously and put me thinking cap on. "Google is your friend" so I took to the internet researching sound barriers here in the US, Britain, Japan, everywhere I could find an article on effective sound barriers with data to back up their findings to apply on our Woodstock project.

What I learned is that thickness matters! Height obviously is part of the equation, but thickness is king when it comes to sound barriers! We also had to be within a reasonable range fiscally speaking. What I came up with was a horizontal overlapping fence design from true 1" thick boards instead of the typical 1/2" boards. We also ripped a 45-degree cut lengthwise on both sides of each board so when they were placed they overlapped leaving no spaces for sound or even light to get through! We used 6x6x12' long posts with bevel cuts atop and sunk them 4' deep in grade. We first poured a concrete base 6" thick in each hole THEN concreted the posts in place after the bases had cured. We decorated the fence with a barn door design that our client came up with.

When I stood with our client that first fateful day I took my iPhone and opened the decibel meter app which read 86 from the highway noise 100 yards away. When we had finished this beautiful sound barrier it read about 50 which was a huge difference and the Active Adult Community that this fence/sound barrier serves will forever be grateful Steve R. and I met.