Ben And Erin Napier's Calming Outdoor Wind Chime Hack That Won't Annoy Your Neighbors
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While wind chimes can be beautiful, they can also be quite loud, especially if the wind starts blowing hard. Those who hang these pieces from their porch may be met with noise complaints from their neighbors. Luckily, there is a way to make these pieces quieter, and it all depends on the material they're made from. While metal options will create a loud, piercing noise, wooden wind chimes will produce a faint sound.
"The sound that wood wind chimes make is very different from the sound of a tinkly, metallic sound. I don't want that," HGTV's Erin Napier explained, per Realtor.com. "This is like a softer sound." Along with not bothering your neighbors, another benefit of a wooden wind chime is that it will allow you to create a more peaceful atmosphere outdoors. "It's not a loud sound — it's almost unnoticeable," Ben Napier said. "And that's nice, because if you're out there and you'd like to have a moment of quiet, you don't want something really loud distracting you."
How to build a wooden wind chime like Ben Napier
In Season 2, Episode 3 of "Home Town Takeover," Ben Napier builds a wooden wind chime for a prairie maze in Fort Morgan, Colorado. This piece acts as a source of soothing noise and as an outdoor decoration in the middle of the space. Before building it, Ben says, "This is going to be a quiet wind chime," per Realtor.com.
He creates the wind chime out of "great pieces of wood from all over the world" of all different stains and appearances. To add interest to the chime, he cuts the wood into different sizes and shapes. Then, he puts them all together. "We'll drill holes in them and attach the cables to them," he said. The result is a large collection of hanging pieces of wood that gives the space an eclectic style. "As the wind blows, they make contact with each other, and they form a community of sound."
How Ben's piece differs from the typical wind chime
While most wind chimes are made out of metal, wooden chimes are also available for purchase at various retailers, such as Amazon. These are usually shaped like their metal counterparts, with long cylinders and a central string with a hanging wind catcher. This type of wind chime generates the most noise because the cylinders hit against each other and create vibrations at different pitches.
However, Ben Napier's wind chime is different from this type, as it has no cylinders or hollow spaces. Instead, it's simply made out of various hanging pieces of wood that lightly tap each other when the wind blows, producing a very subtle sound. There really isn't anything like Ben's creation on the market, so if you want one of these decorative items for your backyard, you'll probably need to build it yourself. The great thing about this model is that it's extremely easy to replicate, and using different sizes, colors, and wood shapes will personalize the piece to your tastes.