ROAD TRAFFIC AND INTERIOR NOISE: A SURVEY OF NOISE LEVELS IN HOUSES EXPOSED TO TRAFFIC NOISE

A large number of people are exposed to excessively high levels of traffic noise within their homes and conventional housing design and construction practices are not sufficient to reduce traffic noise to acceptable levels. The substantial differences between the Australian Standard requirement and the measured levels, differences up to 17 dB(A), suggest that traffic noise levels within homes of conventional design can be excessively high. The Quiet House illustrates that it is possible to build dwellings next to major roads and still retain an acceptable living environment. As a part of the NSW State Pollution Control Commission's traffic noise control program, the Quiet House project was designed to inform all sections of the community about the viability of good housing design for traffic noise control (A). (Interior Noise Climates; Conference Proceedings)