Neighbours From Hell – How To Build A Sound Barrier Wall?

[fritter1970]

I think the idea of communicating to the noisy neighbour through the village elder is the way to go. But you need to give the village elder a few bullets to put in his gun. So how do you do this? You tell the village elder that you have a mongoloid elderly parent with a serious ear condition residing in your premises, and that the loud music is making him/her froth at the mouth...... get the picture?

[Mrjlh]

Throw a block party. Invite all the neighbors and have a BBQ. Just make sure you don't run out of drinks otherwise some idiot will drive off and kill himself going to the store. Make friends. Then at some point mention how "Quiet" it is, how peaceful and how it helps your heart condition.

[neilrob]

Bamboo plants are very effective sound barriers. They grow high and fast and with plenty of thick vegetation. They are also cheap. So I suggest buying bamboos (you can get them a couple of meters high for about 80B per plant) and planting a densely spaced row of them all along where would be most effective. The density and the sheer volume of leaves is remarkably effective at cutting sound. They also look nice. Good luck!

[jackr]

If things become intolerable for whatever reason, you can move somewhere else and leave the problem behind, without a painful financial loss.

It is also cheap to buy and home owners can also sell up and move, you know. Long-term renters piss money down the drain and cannot personalize the digs. Personally never felt truly relaxed when renting.

Midrange sound (like from radios) really carries; 150m is nothing. The PA from a nearby village easily carries a kilometre or more and the horns are behind a huge bank of trees. Very seldom used though. Short of scraping up a berm (already mentioned), you could try cancelling some of the sound out with a similar setup... would need the same sort a speakers (naturally pointing at them as far from your house as you can) and cable length, and obviously the same station.

[funcat]

Bamboo plants are very effective sound barriers. They grow high and fast and with plenty of thick vegetation. They are also cheap. So I suggest buying bamboos (you can get them a couple of meters high for about 80B per plant) and planting a densely spaced row of them all along where would be most effective. The density and the sheer volume of leaves is remarkably effective at cutting sound. They also look nice. Good luck!

Bamboo plants look good from outside,but they grow fast and drop leaves all the time making quite a big maintenance problem...and,as mention before,they don't really block this kind of noise.

[Aikido]

I had a similar problem when i lived in thailand, our neighbours new boyfriend started to play his music very loud in the morning and well into the afternoon.

Fortunatley for me i had purchased a very good quality music system when we bought the house, and i also had a good selection of Jimi Hendrix and Led zep, to mention but a few.

Alas no competion and after a short while he got the message and turned the music down as he obviously couldnt hear it as my speakers were aimed at his house, problem solved.

[Ulysses G.]

It is pretty obvious that you apply your Thai Visa nick - Aikido - to real life as well.

[Chicog]

It is also cheap to buy and home owners can also sell up and move, you know. Long-term renters piss money down the drain and cannot personalize the digs. Personally never felt truly relaxed when renting.

Good luck selling the house with the neighbour playing ear-popping music every day.

Best show potential buyers around in the dead of night, eh?

[Aikido]

It is pretty obvious that you apply your Thai Visa nick - Aikido - to real life as well.

Sometimes in these situations the only way is to fight fire with fire :jap:

[Contractor]

One of the main reasons not to buy property. You should feel blessed you do not own the property. Well sort of.

Correct, unfortunately.

I have heard numerous stories over the years of foreigners investing their life savings to buy/build their own dream home in Thailand, only to have it turn into a nightmare for whatever reason – new highway projects opening close by, bars opening with music thumping until way after midnight, new construction projects nearby, plus of course Neighbours from Hell, unforeseen flooding, etc.

As in our case, there is always a risk of paradise turning into purgatory in Thailand, no matter how 'safe' you think you are, far away from populated areas.

Buyer beware therefore.

Rental property in Chiang Mai is inexpensive, likely to remain that way, and the further out you go, the cheaper it becomes. As a tenant, just don't -- as we have done -- invest large sums on improvements.

If things become intolerable for whatever reason, you can move somewhere else and leave the problem behind, without a painful financial loss.

Good post.

My sympathies with the OP as he has obviously made an effort to have a peaceful life only to have it spoilt by a neighbour.

IMHO

As far as sound barriers go, these can be effective if placed adjacent to the source of the noise, but less so near to the property that is suffering the noise.

I would caution against paying people not to trouble you. Although this may win an immediate positive, such an action may lead to unintended consequences from unscrupulous people.

As already said, a water feature in the garden may help.

The OP says his property is on a lease – he does not say for how long, but this may prove to be his best advantage if he can move if necessary without losing a huge investment.

Good luck.

[Screws]

offer to buy the guy a nice walkman - if

Or, pick your 'own' 6 - 8 hours -