Where in the garden is quietest?
Compare the spots you’re choosing between — a patio, a bench, a play area, a garden office — modelled now and with a fence, and ranked honestly.
Added to a paid Insight-or-higher report for the address. Already have one? Open it and find Compare spots in your garden.
- spots at a time, each a point or an area up to 8 m across
- Up to 4
- spots at a time, each a point or an area up to 8 m across
- every spot modelled both ways
- Now + fence
- every spot modelled both ways
- apart is grouped as too close to call
- Under 3 dB
- apart is grouped as too close to call
- with the extension — ten layouts in all
- +6 for £99
- with the extension — ten layouts in all
It runs inside your report.
You place up to four candidate layouts — each a single spot or a small area up to 8 m across — by saying how far out from the house each one is, on the road side or behind the house, and how far to the left or right. For each one we read the level from the same site noise grid your report’s map is drawn from, using the same method as the report’s own “around your property” positions. No new figures are invented for the study, and nothing is extrapolated: if a spot falls outside the area the grid covers, we tell you and leave it out.
For each layout
- The modelled level now (Lden), with the range across an area
- The level with a fence — your Barrier Design fence if you have one, otherwise the indicative fence behind your report’s map, clearly labelled
- How much quieter or louder it is than your other options
- Where it sits against the BS 8233:2014 garden guideline (50 dB desirable, 55 dB upper)
- Where each figure comes from and how it was calculated
Across your layouts
- A ranking, quietest first — now and with the fence
- Options less than 3 dB apart (neighbour to neighbour) grouped as “too close to call”
- A plain-English recommendation
- Whether a fence changes which spot is best
58.2 here, 58.6 there is not a winner.
A model that says 58.2 dB here and 58.6 dB there invites you to pick the first. That would be wrong: a difference that small is well inside the model’s accuracy. So the study uses the same rule as our property Shortlist — options less than 3 dB apart are never ranked against each other. If all your options are that close, the study tells you noise is not the thing to decide on, and you can choose on sun, privacy and convenience instead.
What it can’t tell you
- It is modelled, not measured. Nobody visits your garden with a sound-level meter.
- Levels are at 1.5 m above the ground — the height our site grid is calculated at. A low seat, a child’s height or an upstairs window will differ somewhat.
- Only the main road is mapped across the garden. Other roads or railways are carried in through your report’s headline level.
- It knows nothing about neighbours, air-conditioning units or heat pumps, dogs, lawnmowers or aircraft.
- Existing garden walls, fences, sheds and hedges are not in the grid.
- It is advice about where is quieter — not a landscape design, a structural design or planning advice.
How this differs from the Quiet Garden Plan
The £99 Quiet Garden Plan answers a different question: “where is the quiet part of my garden, and what helps?” We find the quietest zone for you and add advice on seating, masking with a water feature and what planting really achieves. The Garden Layout Comparison Study is for when you already have options in mind and want them compared side by side — with and without a fence — and ranked. If you are not sure where to start, the Quiet Garden Plan is the simpler choice; if you are choosing between specific spots, the study is.
Who can buy it
Anyone with a paid Insight, Acoustic Barrier Design, Complete or Developer report for the address. The study builds on the site noise grid and labelled positions that come with Insight and above, so it is not offered on the Screening report or the Fence Feasibility Check. It is a one-off purchase for that report.
How to buy it
Open your report and find Compare spots in your garden. The study is £199 and includes four layouts at a time. Need to weigh up more alternatives? The extension adds six more (ten in all) for £99. We check your report is eligible before you pay.
No report yet? The Noise Insight Report is the first tier the study works with.
Built on the national datasets
The study adds no new data of its own: every figure comes from the site noise grid your report was built on.
Modelled from national datasets with the standard UK methods — and labelled as modelled, always.
Questions about the study
Who can buy the study?
Anyone with a paid Insight, Acoustic Barrier Design, Complete or Developer report for the address. It builds on the site noise grid and labelled positions that come with Insight and above, so it is not offered on the Screening report or the Fence Feasibility Check. We check your report is eligible before you pay.
Is anything measured in my garden?
No. It is modelled, not measured: nobody visits your garden with a sound-level meter. Each spot is read from the same site noise grid your report's map is drawn from, using the same method as the report's own positions around your property.
Which fence does the 'with a fence' figure use?
Your Barrier Design fence if you have one; otherwise the indicative fence behind your report's map, clearly labelled as such.
What if a spot is outside the modelled area?
We tell you and leave it out. Nothing is extrapolated beyond the area the site grid covers.
Can I compare more than four spots?
Yes. The study includes four layouts at a time; the extension adds six more, ten in all, for £99.
Is this a garden or landscape design?
No. It is advice about where is quieter — not a landscape design, a structural design or planning advice.
Find the quiet spot before you pour the patio.
Start with a check. Once you have a paid Insight-or-higher report for the address, the study is £199, inside your report.