NOISE REDUCTION BARRIERS – WHY YOU NEED THEM

It seems no matter where you drive these days, you’re likely to be caught in some traffic hold-up due to a construction project.

The last 10 years has seen a rise in the number of construction projects that collide with our living and working environments as governments push to build new and upgrade old road and rail infrastructure that runs straight through our suburbs. If you’re unlucky to live or work in close proximity to these projects, then you are also likely to be subject to irritating and in some cases sleep depriving noise.

More and more councils, after pressure from impacted residents and workers are beginning to crack down on construction noise and these high impact projects now require the builder to provide a Noise and Vibration Management Plan (NVMP). This has led these builders to implement Noise Reduction Barriers as an essential element on their Construction Projects, to mitigate noise pollution emanating from the site, remain compliant and ensure noisy works are allowed to continue – even after hours in some cases. Smaller domestic projects are also beginning to see the value in keeping the noise down and the neighbours happy.

Constructed from durable vinyl material, these barriers are built with both sound reflecting and absorbing material, with added acoustic felt to reduce sound reverberation. This combination of materials allows for an effective and flexible lightweight barrier suitable for attaching to temporary structures such as fencing and scaffolding. Depending on the frequency of the noise, these barriers can reduce up to 18dBA of airborne construction or machinery noise escaping the site.

The barriers are fixed to either a temporary fence, permanent fence or scaffold via heavy duty cable ties, and have overlapping Velcro on the vertical edges that ensures they seal tightly together to prevent noise passing through.

As the barriers create a solid surface with zero permeability, when installing onto a temporary fence a significant amount of support bracing and counterweights are required to ensure the installation meets AS 4687 or the builder’s specific requirement, and that the fence doesn’t topple over in the wind. In some instances that may mean up to 20 temporary fence feet per panel as counterweight bracing.

1300TempFence have provided Noise Reduction Barriers on major projects all over the country including the North East Link and Westgate Tunnel in Melbourne, Cross River Rail in Brisbane and the Westconnex Upgrade in Sydney.

We find the irritation of constant traffic disruption and noise is somewhat soothed when it’s your own Temp Fence and Noise Reduction Barriers on the project.