How a Mass Loaded Vinyl Fence Works

Outdoor noise needs a different fix than indoor noise. Outside there is nothing for sound to bounce off – it travels straight from the source to you, and the only thing that helps is putting something heavy in the way. That is what a mass loaded vinyl fence does. Two things decide whether an MLV fence works:

• Mass. At 1 lb per square foot, Fence Blokker is heavy enough to stop sound passing through the fence. A slatted fence or privacy screen is not – if you can see daylight through it, sound is going through it too.
• Line of sight. Sound bends over the top edge of a barrier, so it only works if it breaks the straight line between the noise and you. Hang it below your sightline to the source and it will do very little, no matter how heavy it is.

That is why it performs best on fences 6′ to 12′ tall, and why a taller fence beats a heavier one almost every time.

Mass Loaded Vinyl for Outdoor Fence Noise

A fence you already own is the cheapest sound barrier you can build – the posts and height are there, and all it is missing is mass. A mass loaded vinyl outdoor fence barrier attaches to most types of fencing and turns it into a sound barrier for fence lines, with no concrete pour.

• Road and highway noise. Traffic noise is constant, and a barrier that breaks line of sight to the road takes the edge off it noticeably.
• Barking dogs and neighbors. Noise at fence height, close to the barrier – exactly where a fence-mounted barrier works best.
• Pool pumps, generators, heat pumps and AC units. Wrap the unit rather than the whole yard. A small barrier close to the noise beats a big one far away.
• Industrial and commercial sites. Substations, compressors, chillers and loading areas – anywhere noise has to stop at the property line.
• Construction screening. It is a hung barrier, so it comes down and moves to the next job.

Two honest limits: a barrier reduces noise, it does not silence it, and it does nothing about vibration coming through the ground.

Reinforced Mass Loaded Vinyl for Exterior Use

Standard indoor mass loaded vinyl will not survive on a fence. It is made to go inside a wall, where nothing pulls on it and the sun never reaches it. Hang it outside and it stretches under its own weight and goes brittle. Mass loaded vinyl outdoor use needs a tougher sheet, and Fence Blokker is that exterior mass loaded vinyl:

• Carbon-fiber reinforced so it carries its own weight hanging vertically, season after season, without stretching or tearing out at the fixings.
• UV protection extruded in, not sprayed on, so it does not wear off after a few summers.
• Same 1 lb/sf mass as our indoor barrier – the durability is added without giving up the weight that does the work.

For a dry, indoor job, standard mass loaded vinyl is the cheaper answer.

Mass Loaded Vinyl Fence Installation

• Measure first. Pick Custom Cut & Grommeted in the size menu and enter your fence length and height. We cut 4.5′ wide panels to any height, priced by the square foot. Remember the height rule: it has to sit above your line of sight to the noise.
• Order it Cut & Grommeted and it arrives as ready-to-hang sound barrier fence panels, cut to your fence height with grommets along the top. The calculator adds your height to the order notes for you.
• Or take the plain roll and cut it on site with a utility knife. Cheaper, and the right call if your fence bays are irregular.
• Hang the mass loaded vinyl on fence rails or posts through the grommets – zip ties, wire or hog rings on chain link; screws with fender washers on wood.
• Overlap the seams. A gap between panels leaks sound the same way a gap in a wall does.

Send us your fence height, run length and what is making the noise, and we will tell you whether a barrier will solve it before you buy.