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An acoustic screen or often called a sound wall achieves its effectiveness through proper placement between a noise source, such as traffic or neighborhood noise, and a receiver, such as yourself in your yard. By placing an obstacle in the direct sound path in the form of a sound wall with specific technical properties such as mass, absorption and gap density, you obtain a low-noise shadow zone behind the wall.

This principle is also called the "Principle of Maekawa," after the Japanese professor who researched and mapped it extensively. Maekawa examined the effect of different frequencies of sound colliding with a sound panel and mapped the sound reduction behind the sound wall. For example, he stated that the performance of a sound wall depends on a number of parameters: The distance from the sound source to the wall, the height of the wall and the distance to the receiver behind the wall.

When recommending a sound wall to a client, we at Sonomuro seriously consider these parameters so that we can assure that the installed sound wall will actually have the desired effect!

Every situation is different, of course. Thus, every house or garden is situated differently. In addition, the nature of the issues such as traffic noise, machine noise or neighborhood noise other in nature.

As a rule of thumb, the effectiveness of a noise wall depends on the distance of the noise source from the garden. Sound sources more than 50 meters away from your yard are much more difficult to absorb with a sound wall. A busy street just adjacent to the garden lends itself much better to a sound wall that works well.

Depending on the nature of the noise pollution, Sonomuro's experts choose absorbent or reflective panels. In this way, we ensure maximum and efficient operation of the sound wall!

The slogan here is: The higher and the longer the sound wall the better! This follows from Maeakawa's acoustic principle. Now we have to be pragmatic and look at the effect of a higher wall, relative to the budget, down a relative increase in the effectiveness of a sound wall. However, choosing the right configuration is very important: a return or U shape of the sound wall on the sides of the garden can give a great improvement with respect to the arriving and leaving traffic noise. This is to prevent the sound from slipping behind the screen....

With a street adjacent to the garden, 2m is already a good solution. Of course, local regulations and permits for high sound walls must also be considered.

A properly functioning noise barrier is going to produce "before and after" a difference in noise levels of -7 to -15dB(A) (Decibel) or more. Just be aware that the deciBel scale is logarithmic, meaning that -3dB already means a halving of sound pressure!

Since we do not have a decibel meter in our ears, it is generally accepted that for a sound level difference of -10dB, people also subjectively experience half the sound level. In addition, all people are obviously different in their experience of sound strengths, and this also sometimes in other ways such as high or lower tones/frequencies.

Of course, we are also talking about outdoor acoustics here. In an enclosed space such as a music studio, the room can be soundproofed on side walls, ceiling and floor. In outdoor acoustics, there is usually still a lot of "air" above us and a sound wall will never lead to a "zero" sound level. Imagine that the traffic is a lot more muffled or that you still realize that the neighbors are in their yard, but the conversations and pool noise are muffled and thus become much more bearable... The traffic noise or neighborly noise will be able to be nicely muffled but of course never completely disappears. Customers who have this expectation we must unfortunately disappoint!

Soundproof or "sound insulating" screens usually have a higher "reflectance value" than absorbent screens. That is, they "an sich" isolate or reflect more sound than absorbent screens. These higher reflectance values, expressed in dB (decibels), reflect the degree of sound insulation, or in a sense, the amount of sound that does not pass through the sound wall.

Sound absorbing screens, one-sided or two-sided absorbing, are going to absorb or trap/absorb more sound in the acoustic core of the panel. The sound energy that comes in contact with the absorbing surface of the panel disappears to some extent into the acoustic core and the sound waves die out in that core, so to speak. This occurs according to frequency to a greater or lesser extent according to the type of screen, thickness and acoustic core used.

The answer depends very much on your specific situation. At Sonomuro, we help review your situation to make the right recommendation. As a rule, it can be said that we are around machine noise (often dull low-frequency tones) or in small gardens we recommend (one or two-sided) absorbent screens. This is to avoid creating a cathedral effect and circulating sound. By adding absorbent surfaces, we can reduce the reverberation time, which will give much more acoustic comfort. Compare it to a restaurant with a chilly floor and no curtains where the noise is unbearable because of a large echo or reverberation time. A room with some curtains and a carpet makes the acoustics much more pleasant.

Soundproof screens are more appropriate with traffic noise because they usually have higher sound insulation values. That is, the sound transmission through the panel is lower and thus better insulating. At traffic noise close to the wall we reflect more sound away from the garden. But it should be considered whether there are other tall buildings across the street or other parameters that would create additional reflections that would in turn negatively affect the effectiveness of the wall.

A sound panel is an fence, and in most municipalities or regions there are provisions regarding the type or allowable height of fences to the street or between neighbors. Check your municipality's website to see what the provisions are here.

In many cases, especially when the sound wall needs to be higher, there will be a permit requirement attached.

The sound panels are designed to be like a traditional wooden fence can be mounted. Both the SonoWall and NoiStop panels are quite heavy though, weighing between 40-60 kg each. In our experience, 2 handy people together can install as much as 15 meters of fence per day, depending on the surface.

A fencing company or garden contractor can undoubtedly install the SonoWall; a comprehensive technical manual is available.

What does a sound wall Is, of course, a common question! As a budget indication for a 2m high SonoWall Reflective, you can count on 299€ per running meter. This amount includes posts, panels and cover battens, charged back per running meter, without installation. So a SonoWall 10m long will be 3000€ as a guide price.

Our acoustic noise barriers can come in certain designs and certain heights which makes the price vary. We will be happy to make you an appropriate quotation.

Yes, our SonoWall, NoiStop and PileBYG panels are all vegetative. The metal NoiStop panels lend themselves best to it, due to their metal mesh on both sides of the panel. The wooden SonoWalls are also vegetative. The Class 3 and Class 4 impregnated wood has nothing to fear from plants. A clear guide allows plants to cover the wall beautifully.