Do a 10-minute sound walk before you buy a home

What is a sound walk?

A sound walk is a slow walk where you listen instead of look. For a home near a road, a railway or a busy junction, ten minutes of deliberate listening tells you things a viewing does not, because viewings tend to happen at the quietest and most convenient time of the week.

It costs nothing, needs no equipment, and it is a good companion to a noise map or an address check: the map shows what a model estimates for the area, and the walk shows what you can actually hear at the places you care about.

When should I do a sound walk?

Do the same short route at three different times: a weekday rush hour, a weekday evening around 10pm, and a Saturday morning. Noise at a home near a road or railway can look very different across those three, and the late-evening visit is the one most people skip.

If you can only manage one visit, make it the late-evening one if sleep matters to you, because night-time noise is what affects sleep. Our guide to what Lden and Lnight mean explains why maps report a night figure separately.

How do I do a 10-minute sound walk?

Pick five points and stand still at each for about a minute: the front door, the pavement outside, the garden or rear window, the side of the house where the bedroom would be, and the end of the street. Close your eyes for part of each minute if it is safe to do so.

At each point, write down two things: the loudest sound you heard, and the steadiest sound, meaning the one that never really stopped. A constant hum usually points to a main road in the distance. Repeated events, such as trains or buses, show up as peaks. A single lorry is a one-off, but note it anyway.

What should I listen for?

Listen for four things. First, the constant background: a steady hum that fills the gaps. Second, repeated events: trains, buses, a roundabout, a school. Third, one-offs: a lorry, a motorbike, a siren. Fourth, what you hear indoors with the windows shut, which is how the home will sound most of the time.

If you are viewing a house, ask to stand in the bedroom with the window closed, then open. The difference tells you how much the windows are doing.

Can I use a phone app to measure the noise?

A phone app can show a rough level, and it is useful for comparing two spots on the same walk. It is not a measurement: phone microphones are not calibrated to the standards used for noise surveys, and the result changes with the phone and where you hold it. Use it to compare, not to prove a figure.

Where an exact measured level matters, for example in a dispute or a planning condition, a proper measured survey is the right next step.

How do I keep my notes?

A notes app is enough. For each point, record the time, the place, the loudest sound, the steadiest sound, and a score from 1 to 5 for how much it would bother you if you lived there. Repeat the same route on each visit so the notes line up.

What do I do with the results of a sound walk?

Compare your notes with the official noise map for the area, which our guide to reading a Defra noise map explains, and with an address check such as Is this address noisy?. If your ears and the map disagree, that is worth understanding before you commit: the map is modelled for an area, while your walk is one real afternoon at one real house.

Our guide to buying a house near a motorway or busy road has a longer checklist, including questions to ask the seller.