While excessive noise is often associated with apartment living, it can also be an issue for the homeowner. You may live by a busy highway, have neighbors who loudly party all night, or live near businesses. Eliminating all noise may prove to be difficult or impossible, but you can make a difference by taking one or more of the following steps.

Surrounding your yard with a solid fence is one option. If you use wood, you will need to caulk to fill in the spaces between the wood where sound can seep through. A typical wooden fence won’t make a large difference on the noise issue. But, you can buy soundproofing materials that you can attach to the inside of the fence and then sandwich the material between another layer of fence which will greatly improve the soundproofing ability.

Another option is using hedges. These will block more sound as they mature and fill out. Some varieties grow much taller than the height allowed for a fence, so you can block more noise. This can be an especially good choice if your lot lays lower than the offending source of sound due to the height that can be achieved. Typical hedges include arborvitae and Leyland Cypress. Some varieties can grow two or three feet in one year.

A row of trellises with evergreen vines or other densely growing vining plants could also be a solution. If you elect to put up a fence, you can also plant a hedge inside of the fence to help reduce noise.

You could also upgrade your windows. The more panes and the better the window grade, the more noise that will be blocked. If you don’t want to replace single pane windows, you may want to try exterior or even interior storm windows which will add an extra layer of glass. Use heavy draperies on your windows to help absorb sound.

Yet another possibility is doing structural work to your home. If you add a second interior wall to your outside walls, you can block quite a bit of sound.

You can find soundproofing contractors who will make custom recommendations for your particular situation. This can be expensive, but may prove to be worth the expense if your quality of life is greatly suffering.

By following these suggestions, you should be able to make a difference in the amount of outside noise entering your home and finally get some peace and quiet.