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Blocking out neighbours humming noise

thibault.salomon19ApN4dGzthibault.salomon19ApN4dGz Posts: 6
in Problem solving
My next door neighbour has a small pond in his garden which uses a pump 24/7. The pump unit is located right next to our shared wooden fence and it is about 5 meters away from our attached properties. The issue is that the pump emits a low frequency humming noise that I can hear quite loudly in the garden and also in the house even when all doors and windows are shut. It’s been driving me mad!

I’ve discussed it with the neighbour but he doesn’t seem to hear it and has even got an engineer to come around to look at the pump but apparently it’s working as it should. 

Is there anything I can do to block out this humming noise by maybe placing some soundproofing material on our joint fence? I’m open to any suggestions! 

Pictures attached (the neighbours pump, which you can’t see, is right behind the middle fence panel). 


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Posts

  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    edited April 2022
    Welcome. No. Sounds travels in the air, so doing anything to the fence wouldn't help.

    Have you asked the NDN to unplug the pump - to make very, very sure that it is the pump that's causing the problem? 

    I can't quite imagine a little pump for a little pond making much noise at all (although it's not clear how 'little' is little). Enough of a buzz that penetrates the house walls with the doors and windows shut seems remarkable. Does the NDN keep fish?

    Is the NDN's pump for a fountain or a water filter type thing? It may be the plug in the socket that makes the buzzing not the business end of the pump.

    Is it possible to ask the NDN to move the plug or the pond?

    Maybe buy him a new pump? I have a little one I got from Ebay for £20. It's doesn't buzz.  A solar pump if their is enough sun? You make it clear that going on as is is not tenable.

    Perhaps get your own water feature - it may help drow out the noise. You can get a pump that doesn't buzz. Although it's unlikely to drown a buzz that penetrates solid walls.

    Sometimes it's infuriatingly hard to pin down the source of a hum or a buzz.
  • TheGreenManTheGreenMan Posts: 1,957
    edited April 2022
    I’m surprised that you can hear it with the windows and doors closed. 

    My washing machine is in the outhouse and I can’t hear that when it’s on full spin. 

    The only way that soundproofing would work is if you put the pump in a soundproofed box. Nothing you can do would stop the noise as it’s travelling  through the air. 

    Do you have double glazed windows? 
  • TheGreenManTheGreenMan Posts: 1,957
    Is the pump vibrating on the fence panel? 

    Or has it been installed incorrectly and is making pipes vibrate? 

    Noise can be a big burden. 

    I’m very sensitive to noise so I get it. 

    Found this. Might be a good starting point. Perhaps show your neighbour it. He may have installed it incorrectly 

    https://www.koiphen.com/forums/showthread.php?39926-Pump-Noise&s=a951dd9e31315b4639cb25fd062c72d7
  • PlantmindedPlantminded Posts: 3,580
    Surrounding the pump with a soundproofed case or box on all sides, including top and bottom, may be a solution.  I would find this difficult to accept too.  Some patient negotiating with your neighbour is needed to confirm the exact source of the noise by switching the pump on and off and then connecting it to a portable socket to see if the existing socket is at fault.  Invite your neighbour into your garden and house, explain how it is affecting you and see if an amicable solution can be reached.  I'd offer to pay half the cost of any changes just to keep good neighbourly relations.  I wouldn't try to compensate the situation by installing your own noise source!
    Wirral. Sandy, free draining soil.


  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
     I’m very sensitive to noise so I get it.


    Me too.

    When the engineer came to check the pump, did they agree there was a loud buzz?


  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    There's a material called Sorbothane, like a heavy foam rubber, which is very good at absorbing vibration sounds (if that's what's being produced).  We had to install a piece under a water pump inside a holiday cottage, and it helped deaden the sound (a bit...).
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    We have a small pond with a small pump. When we lift it out to check it, it makes an audible hum but once it is back in the water, we cannot hear it. Is 'your' pump well down below the surface? It may need to go a bit deeper.
  • thibault.salomon19ApN4dGzthibault.salomon19ApN4dGz Posts: 6
    Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. I’m not sure if the engineer noticed the noise as my neighbour only told me he had come around and that everything should now be fixed…🤷‍♂️ I’ll think I’ll get back in touch with my neighbour and ask him to come around. Hopefully he’ll be able to hear the noise as much as we do! At this point I’m willing to pay for all the cost if it means getting rid of that dreadful humming noise! 
  • thibault.salomon19ApN4dGzthibault.salomon19ApN4dGz Posts: 6
    edited April 2022
    Yes the neighbour keeps fish in this pond. I’m not familiar with ponds so I don’t know what components they’re made of or what could be making the noise…I just assumed it would be the pump but I guess it could be the air filter or an external plug? Unfortunately his pond is built-in so almost impossible to move it. I wish I could take a picture of the pond but that would mean putting the phone over the fence…

    I have double glazing in my orangery but the noise is still coming through (not as bad as it is outside). I might be very sensitive to that type of noise and it’s driving me nuts but I appreciate that not everyone is like me…
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    edited April 2022
    I've never heard a pond pump make a hum.
    It may be that your NDN has an external pond pump in some sort of housing and that's where the noise is coming from.
    I've had 2 or 3 submersible pond pumps (1500-2000LPH) over the 36 yrs I've had a pond and I've never heard a hum.
    Several friends also have submersible pond pumps and I've never heard anything from them either.

    PS - I see above you mention an air filter - if you mean a pump that produces a stream of bubbles in the water then yes, that will cause a 50Hz (mains) hum.
    I used to have an aquarium in the lounge with a big air pump. The hum drove me mad, so I drilled right through with cavity wall and installed the pump outside - I could still hear it.
    Eventually I got rid of it.
    If you could persuade your NDN to invest in a Piston air pump, that should stop the noise.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
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