Ask RiotACT: How to reduce traffic noise pollution?

You need to insulate your walls. Existing walls can be insulated by pumping in insulation.
You can double glazed windows and doors or install secondary glazing.
We used a local company called Justrite to do both. I think they provide free quotations as well.
you can check their
website at http://justrite.com.au/products-and-services/double-glazing/
http://justrite.com.au/products-and-services/retrofit-wall-insulation-cavity-wall/
Hopefully this will help

The solution to this issue would be the introduction of proper building standards so that people are no longer expected to live in ill-fitted and un-insulated flimsy structures the like of which you would rarely see anywhere else in the 1st-world.

I recently visited a new housing development just outside Galway. The quality was outstanding, the homes were solid and very well-insulated and they looked really good. The contrast with the absolute rubbish that gets built in Canberra’s new suburbs was incredible.

After we had our house retrofitted with wall cavity insulation it not only made a difference to the heating, but also to the outside noise. Also have fitted our type of perspex double glazed windows to the front of the house.

I feel for you. Road surface noise across the ACT is a lot worse than it needs to be because of chip-seal road surfacing, as opposed to the smoother alternatives used in Sydney etc. I wonder if chip-seal is exacerbating the noise in your case. Its cheap and nasty and spread generously on the roads of ACT. I’d go for a screen built as a temporary structure while the plants take hold.

Investigate the benefits of having Magnetite fitted to your windows.

TuggLife said :

All good suggestions. I’d recommend double glazing if you don’t have it already – for heating as much as for noise pollution. Also, those roller door-style window coverings, although they do make your house look distinctly antisocial (and if your house is heritage listed, probably won’t be allowed). Proper insulation is also a must.

+1. Double glazing, and proper weather sealing on doors makes a very big difference.

gazket said :

The source of the problem is probably the major road outside your house.

A few options:
1. Move to a quieter street
2. Plant some dense bushes in-between the road and your house
3. Build a screen between the road and your house to deflect the sound
4. Move your bedroom to the opposite side of the house to where the road is

Double glazing your windows isn’t the only answer. Just because your windows are double glazed it doesn’t mean that your home will be sound proofed. You will need to look at your window framing, and then what is inside your walls and ceiling.

All good suggestions. I’d recommend double glazing if you don’t have it already – for heating as much as for noise pollution. Also, those roller door-style window coverings, although they do make your house look distinctly antisocial (and if your house is heritage listed, probably won’t be allowed). Proper insulation is also a must.

If all that fails and moving is not an option, I would suggest noise-cancelling headphones. You can buy some that have microphones, so you can even connect them to your phone to save taking them on and off if you want to talk to the other people in the house.

The source of the problem is probably the major road outside your house.

A few options:
1. Move to a quieter street
2. Plant some dense bushes in-between the road and your house
3. Build a screen between the road and your house to deflect the sound
4. Move your bedroom to the opposite side of the house to where the road is

Double glazing your windows isn’t the only answer. Just because your windows are double glazed it doesn’t mean that your home will be sound proofed. You will need to look at your window framing, and then what is inside your walls and ceiling.