ᐅ Is it possible to have a quiet home despite an uncontrolled railroad crossing (train horns)?

The towns and municipalities would have to have only vacant lots in the town center, but there is the church, and its bell can be heard every 15 minutes. You get used to it after a week, or you keep looking.

JamaikaJoe schrieb:

in a new development area

I would be more concerned about completely different sources of noise 😀
Depending on the location, wind, and terrain, you can always hear something. There’s a reason why people responded with surprise to that question. If that is your only concern, I would consider you lucky.
If you focus on one noise or problem, it always seems bigger than it really is.
I lived in a standard Poroton house for 30 years with the commuter train on the other side of the hill. Depending on the wind, you could occasionally hear it or the nearby main road. But it was never really a disturbance... I would just build to a normal sound insulation standard and not take excessive measures, since it’s not like living next to an airport or a highway. In a few years, you’ll probably laugh about it and have completely forgotten.

Bookstar schrieb:

150m (490 ft) is really nothing; the house should practically be shaking from the traffic noise. We have a highway about 10km (6 miles) away, and depending on the wind, you can still hear it clearly, but only outside.

I also think that’s exaggerated.
We live 1-2km (0.6-1.2 miles) as the crow flies from the highway, and yes, you can hear it as a slight background noise when the wind is right and the surroundings are quiet.
But only outside, not inside behind 36cm (14 inches) aerated concrete blocks. Of course, it also depends on what’s between the house and the highway. An open field or valley is very different from forest or buildings.

I myself lived for several years between a stream and a small mountain road in a very remote location.
The stream was always making a noise, similar to the highway now. Eventually, you don’t notice it anymore. Only when the water level rose in spring was the noise significantly louder than the highway and could be heard inside as well. And when cars or motorcycles accelerated on the mountain road, that was much louder by far.

As a child, I also lived right next to a church. You eventually stop noticing the church bells ringing too.

Of course, some people are more bothered by such soundscapes than others.
In our neighborhood, our local police officer tried to get noise protection measures enforced through a signature campaign with the city. But nobody else was really bothered.
He actually ended up moving away because of the noise.

pagoni2020 schrieb:

I would be more concerned about completely different sources of noise 😀
Depending on the location, wind, and terrain, you will always hear something. There is a reason why people responded with surprise to that question. If that is your only concern, I would consider you lucky.
If you focus on one noise or problem, it always seems bigger than it really is.
I lived for 30 years in a standard Poroton house with the S-Bahn on the other side of the hill. Depending on the wind, you could occasionally hear it or the main road. But it was never a disturbance… I would just build with normal sound insulation standards and not overdo it, since this is not near an airport or right next to a highway. In a few years you will laugh about it and forget all about it.

Musketier schrieb:

I also think that's exaggerated.
We live 1–2 km (0.6–1.2 miles) air line away from the highway and yes, you can hear it as a slight background noise when the wind is right and the surroundings are quiet. But only outside and not inside behind 36 cm (14 inches) aerated concrete. Of course, it also depends on what’s between the house and the highway. Open fields or a valley is very different from forest or buildings.

I lived for several years in a very remote spot between a stream and a small mountain road.
There was always a constant sound of the stream, similar to the highway now. You eventually don’t notice it anymore. Only when the water level rose in spring was the noise noticeably louder than the highway and you heard it indoors too. And when cars or motorcycles accelerated uphill, it was much louder.

As a child, I lived right next to the church as well. Eventually, you didn’t notice the church bells ringing anymore either.

Of course, some people are more bothered by such soundscapes than others.
In our neighborhood, our police officer wanted to push for noise protection measures from the city through a petition. But nobody else was disturbed at all. He actually moved away because of the noise afterwards.

Okay, that was indeed exaggerated. I checked the map and we live about 3 km (1.9 miles) air line from the highway. There is a lot of forest in between. Still, depending on wind conditions, you can hear it loudly in the garden sometimes.

But as was said above, in a new residential area you often have many children. Nothing is more annoying than children, not even a high-speed train passing through your living room 😀. So I can only advise you that if you are sensitive to noise, build accordingly.

30-year-old houses had significantly better sound insulation than today’s energy-saving regulation “cardboard houses.” They are energetically excellent but absolutely weak in soundproofing.

A solid, heavy building envelope (calcium silicate bricks, filled Poroton) helps a lot, and windows/connections/roof etc. must also be designed accordingly. Overall, the sound insulation should meet at least 40 dB, ideally 50 dB.

Bookstar schrieb:

Overall, it should achieve at least 40 dB, preferably 50 dB or better.

By the way, 36.5 cm (14.4 inches) Ytong offers 47.3 dB, and the PP4 even reaches 51 dB. The "tent feeling" mentioned usually comes from the windows.

JamaikaJoe schrieb:

My wish is to have the house as a retreat, a place of peace away from everything outside, including honking.

If that’s your starting point, this definitely isn’t the right choice for you. Outside, there’s nothing you can do about honking except plant trees for 20 years that might absorb some of the noise. It also depends on where the honking happens. So where is the crossing and when does the train honk? The train doesn’t actually honk right at the crossing; by then, it’s already lost cause ;-)

In general, a new housing estate is not for you—too many children and years of construction noise. Some of the older residents here have already moved away after just 2-3 years. A new development is not a retirement community.

Besides choosing the right masonry and windows, you can especially plan the layout so that bedrooms are not facing the railway.

Bookstar schrieb:

150m (490 feet) is practically nothing; the house should actually be shaking from the traffic noise. We have a highway 10km (6.2 miles) away, and depending on the wind, it is still clearly audible, but only outside.

That’s exaggerated—I regularly stay overnight as a guest at a property at best 40m (130 feet) from the tracks with a bend and vegetation in between. There’s absolutely no shaking. The passing train is completely unnoticeable, especially since it doesn’t run at night (though of course, that could change). It’s also electrified, not diesel, and it neither brakes nor starts or accelerates there. It just rolls through. It really doesn’t matter and can’t be felt, even as a guest. The noise occurs only twice an hour and lasts about 2 seconds each time. This is nothing compared to continuous noise from a highway or a loud freight train miles away.