ᐅ Is it possible to have a quiet home despite an uncontrolled railroad crossing (train horns)?
Created on: 24 Feb 2021 21:22
J
JamaikaJoe
Hello,
as a backup option, we were able to reserve a plot of land in a new development area within the Nuremberg metropolitan region.
Everything fits well there except for one issue that concerns me: next to the development area (about 150m (490 feet) from our potential plot), a regional train passes over ungated level crossings and sounds its horn before each one. I am worried that the horn will be audible inside the house and disturb sleep.
The neighbors we spoke to, who have lived there for a long time, said they don’t notice the horn at all. They looked at us incredulously when we asked about it :-) The noise assessment assumes there is no significant noise emission from the railway line. However, I think this refers to the train noise itself, which is actually almost imperceptible, and not the horn.
During the day, I don’t find the horn disturbing. It fits the rural setting. But my wish is to have the house as a retreat, completely quiet from outside noises, including the horn.
Do you have experience whether such train horns can be “blocked out” by appropriate wall construction, a centralized mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery, and soundproof windows? Or is the horn too loud for these measures to effectively reduce the noise?
Thank you very much for your opinions
Jo
as a backup option, we were able to reserve a plot of land in a new development area within the Nuremberg metropolitan region.
Everything fits well there except for one issue that concerns me: next to the development area (about 150m (490 feet) from our potential plot), a regional train passes over ungated level crossings and sounds its horn before each one. I am worried that the horn will be audible inside the house and disturb sleep.
The neighbors we spoke to, who have lived there for a long time, said they don’t notice the horn at all. They looked at us incredulously when we asked about it :-) The noise assessment assumes there is no significant noise emission from the railway line. However, I think this refers to the train noise itself, which is actually almost imperceptible, and not the horn.
During the day, I don’t find the horn disturbing. It fits the rural setting. But my wish is to have the house as a retreat, completely quiet from outside noises, including the horn.
Do you have experience whether such train horns can be “blocked out” by appropriate wall construction, a centralized mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery, and soundproof windows? Or is the horn too loud for these measures to effectively reduce the noise?
Thank you very much for your opinions
Jo
icandoit schrieb:
Recommendation: Place the bedroom on the side away from noise. Yes. This has probably been mentioned already, but it’s something worth repeating... again and again 😉
H
hampshire27 Feb 2021 09:43In our previous house, there was a regional train that regularly sounded its horn at 5:30 a.m. when it moved from the siding onto an unprotected crossing for its first trip of the day. The distance was about 300m (330 yards). For three years, our younger son used this as a wake-up signal; only when he started school did he stop getting up at that time. You will be able to hear the horn inside the house. Whether it still catches your attention or even bothers you after getting used to it is something nobody can predict. My wife was repeatedly disturbed by it, while I completely stopped noticing it after a short adjustment period.
hampshire schrieb:
My wife kept being bothered by it, but after a short adjustment period, I didn’t notice it at all anymore. Women tend to have a different perception than men. But what I’d really like to know: Did your wife also get bothered by it while she was in the middle of her daily activities or while on the phone? Or did she only notice it when there was a break?
H
hampshire27 Feb 2021 10:02She heard every honk and responded to about every third one. We only had two honks a day. The morning one briefly woke her or fully woke her up, while the nighttime one disturbed her sleep, sometimes for a short time, sometimes longer. It’s not like we lived badly because of it, but I imagine it as a kind of “background noise.” I can take a nap during lunch break at the ski slope, standing at the bar table among cheering people, so I handle it better than my wife.
ypg schrieb:
Yes. That has probably been mentioned already, but it never hurts to repeat ... again and again 😉What a mess, should have probably read everything after all?icandoit schrieb:
What a mess, I guess I should have read everything after all?No, I really mean it that way 🙂