Soundproof Fence Cost: 2026 UK Price Guide

A soundproof fence is one of the more effective ways to reduce traffic, railway, or neighbour noise in a UK garden, but the phrase covers a wide range of products with very different price points. Purpose-made acoustic timber fencing costs roughly £104 to £160 per metre to buy before posts and fitting: Sound Shield Pro’s 45 mm commercial section, 2.4 m wide, is £384.99 including VAT and its 28 mm domestic pack £249.99.¹ Lining an ordinary close-board fence with mass-loaded vinyl adds comparatively little, because the vinyl itself is cheap. Whether any of those figures are worth spending depends on how much noise you are dealing with, what is causing it, and whether a fence alone will solve the problem.

It is worth being direct about what fencing can and cannot achieve. No fence will make a garden adjacent to a motorway or flight path silent. What an acoustic fence realistically delivers is a noticeable reduction, a well-installed absorptive timber panel can cut perceived noise roughly in half (a 10 dB drop is often described this way). That is meaningful for background road noise or a neighbour’s mechanical equipment, but it is not the same as soundproofing a room.

Fence Types, dB Ratings, and Costs

The table below compares the main options available in the UK market. The prices follow it, each from a page that states it.

A quantity surveyor’s cost plan published by North Hertfordshire District Council for a housing site in Baldock priced 1.8 m close-boarded fencing with timber posts and gravel boards at £93.46 per metre excluding VAT, at 2024 prices, which is about £112 with VAT.² Short domestic runs cost more. A West Cumbria fencing firm puts a 1.8 m closeboard fence with concrete posts and gravel boards at roughly £120 to £170 per metre supplied and fitted.³ A London fencer prices closeboard at £145 to £190 per metre on typical runs of 12 to 26 m.⁴

Acoustic panels cost much more to buy than close-board. A 1.8 m high, 1.8 m wide EchoGroove Lite reflective timber acoustic panel is £200.32 including VAT, about £111 per metre before posts.⁵ An absorptive EchoAbsorb kit 1.8 m high and 2.4 m wide, without posts or fixings, is £359.83 including VAT, about £150 per metre.⁶ Forest Garden’s 1.83 m wide Decibel Noise Reduction Fence Panel has a recommended retail price of £226.99, about £124 per metre.⁷ Sound Shield Pro’s 45 mm commercial acoustic section, 2.4 m wide, is £384.99 including VAT, about £160 per metre, and its 28 mm domestic pack £249.99, about £104 per metre.¹ Installed, acoustic timber also needs heavier posts, more concrete and more labour than close-board, because the panels are heavier. Jacksons sells a 2.9 m acoustic fence post, 105 by 125 mm, at £61.08 including VAT.⁸ No UK supplier we checked publishes a price for concrete acoustic panels, so this note does not price them. Mass-loaded vinyl itself is cheap: Noisestop sells 1.2 m by 1.2 m sheets of 5 kg/m² and 10 kg/m² vinyl at £10.05 and £19.85 before VAT, roughly £8–£17 per square metre with VAT.⁹ Lining a 1.8 m fence therefore adds about £15–£30 per metre in vinyl, plus battens and labour, on top of the close-board price.

Acoustic panels are rated by their Rw value (weighted sound reduction index). A standard close-board fence typically achieves Rw 15–18. Acoustic timber panels generally reach Rw 25–35. Motorway-grade concrete barriers can reach Rw 40–50. For domestic use, anything above Rw 30 is considered high performance, though real-world results depend heavily on installation quality, ground sealing, and whether flanking paths exist (gaps under gates, adjacent walls, or open-plan sides).

These ratings describe the panel, not what you will hear in the garden, because sound also bends over the top and round the ends of a fence. Effective noise barriers typically reduce noise levels by 5 to 10 dB, which can cut the loudness of traffic noise by as much as half.¹⁰

What Drives the Price

Fence Height

The single biggest cost variable. Taller fences need heavier posts (typically 100×100mm concrete or steel for acoustic panels), deeper post holes, and more material. The jump from 1.8m to 2.4m can increase cost per metre by 30–50%. Above 2 m, a fence needs planning permission on any boundary, and next to a highway used by vehicular traffic the limit without permission is 1 m.¹¹

Material Choice

Absorptive acoustic timber typically uses dense, layered softwood or hardwood construction with an internal mineral wool or recycled rubber core. This costs more to manufacture than standard fence boards and is heavier to handle, which adds to labour time. Concrete panels require specialist lifting equipment for longer runs, which adds machinery hire charged by the day (see Day Rates and Labour below).

Ground Conditions

Poor ground (soft clay, uneven terrain, sloping sites, or ground with tree roots) significantly increases labour time and post depth requirements. Add 15–30% to quoted prices for challenging ground conditions. A site survey is worth requesting before committing to any acoustic fence specification.

Access

Narrow side returns, walled gardens, or rear gardens accessible only through the house add to the total, because every panel, post and bag of concrete has to be carried in by hand. Tight access also limits the size of panels that can be brought in, sometimes ruling out concrete options entirely.

Length and Run Configuration

Short runs carry a higher cost per metre because mobilisation and setup costs are spread over fewer panels. One London fencer’s published closeboard rates show it: £160 to £260 per metre for a short run, £145 to £190 for a typical run of 12 to 26 m, and £140 to £165 over 26 m.⁴

Day Rates and Labour

Most fencing contractors quote per linear metre rather than by the day, and we found none that publishes a day rate for acoustic fencing. Plant hire is priced by the day: Total Hire’s 2026 price guide lists a 1.5 tonne mini digger at £185.06 a day before VAT.¹²

A crew of two can typically install 8–12 metres of acoustic timber fence per day on good ground. Concrete panel installation is slower, expect 4–8 metres per day depending on panel weight and access.

Worked Example: 15m Acoustic Timber Fence for a Garden Backing onto a Busy Road

A homeowner in a semi-detached property in the Midlands wants to reduce road noise from an A-road immediately behind their rear garden. The boundary is 15 metres wide. They opt for 1.8m absorptive acoustic timber panels.

Five of First Fence’s 1.8 m high, 3.0 m wide EchoAbsorb kits cover the run at £360.02 each before VAT, which is £1,800.10, or £2,160.12 with VAT, before posts.¹³

Taking out the old fence is a separate cost: one fencing firm puts removing and disposing of an old fence at often £10 to £20 per metre, so £150 to £300 here.³

Labour is the part nobody publishes for acoustic fencing. For scale, a London fencer charges £145 to £190 a metre to supply and fit closeboard on a run of this length, and acoustic panels take longer to hang because they are heavier.⁴ At 1.8m height with panels rated around Rw 28–32, the panels themselves will not be the weak link, and the occupants could expect a reduction in the garden of roughly 5–10 dB, enough to make sitting in the garden noticeably more comfortable.

Note that the gate is the weak point: a standard timber gate with gaps at the frame will undermine the fence’s acoustic performance substantially. Purpose-built acoustic gates are available: a 1.0 m wide EchoReflect acoustic timber gate is £294.84 including VAT before posts and fitting.¹⁴ Posts and fitting come on top, and are worth paying for if acoustic performance is the primary goal.

Planning and Permitted Development Rules

Under permitted development rights, you can erect a fence, wall, or gate up to 2 metres high on any boundary that is not next to a highway used by vehicular traffic.¹¹ Next to such a highway, the limit is 1 metre without planning permission.¹¹

These rights do not apply within the curtilage of a listed building, and conservation area status on its own does not change the fence height limits.¹¹ An Article 4 direction can remove the rights in a particular area, so check with your local planning authority before proceeding.¹⁵

Noise barriers alongside motorways, trunk roads and railways are normally built by the highway or rail authority on its own land rather than by householders. Highway authorities, including National Highways for motorways and trunk roads, have a power under section 282 of the Highways Act 1980 to carry out works that mitigate the adverse effect of a highway on its surroundings.¹⁶ If your home is seriously affected by trunk-road noise, it is worth contacting them.

Some acoustic fence products are described as meeting BS EN 1794-1, which covers the mechanical performance and stability of road traffic noise reducing devices rather than their acoustic performance.¹⁷ Acoustic performance is tested separately under the BS EN 1793 series, for example BS EN 1793-2 for airborne sound insulation.¹⁸ These standards are most relevant for commercial or near-highway installations rather than domestic garden fences, but test results to them are a useful quality marker when comparing products.

When Soundproof Fencing Works Well: and When It Doesn’t

A fence performs best when the noise source is at roughly the same level as or lower than the top of the fence, and when the fence can form a complete barrier with no gaps. It is most effective for:

• Traffic noise from roads at or below garden level
• Low-level mechanical noise from neighbouring plant or equipment
• General ambient urban noise where even a partial reduction improves comfort

It is less effective, or may deliver poor value, in these situations:

• Noise from an elevated source (raised roads, embankments, upper floors of adjacent buildings): the fence cannot block sound arriving from above
• Aircraft noise: sound arrives from directly overhead; no fence addresses this
• Very long boundaries: flanking paths around the ends of the fence undermine acoustic performance significantly
• Structural or impact noise transmitted through the ground (less relevant for outdoor use but worth noting)

In cases where a fence will only partially help, it may be worth combining it with dense planting. A mature laurel or leylandii hedge adds some absorption (though much less than acoustic panels) and softens the visual impact of a solid fence structure. Some homeowners also find that a well-planted screen creates a psychological sense of separation from noise even where the measured reduction is modest.

Getting Quotes

For acoustic fence projects, get at least three quotes from contractors who have specific experience with acoustic or noise-barrier installations rather than general fencing contractors. Ask for:

• The Rw rating of the panels being specified
• Post specification and depth
• How ground seal at the base will be handled (even a small gap under the fence lets a disproportionate amount of sound through)
• Whether the gate design is acoustic or standard

Material-only costs are available from specialist acoustic fencing suppliers if you plan to manage installation yourself, but acoustic panel installation is more demanding than standard fencing due to weight and the need for precise fitting, this is generally not a DIY project for panels above 1.8m.

The rules in this note are those that apply in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own building standards and permitted development rights.