So I bought this new house and while most of it is great, it came with one big problem we didn't know anout when we bought it.
The train whistle. Every night these trains run every 30 minutes or so down the road about 1/2 mile away. This is in a mixed residential/commercial district within a city. We can't hear the trains themselves, but rather the whistle they blow, I'm assuming over various train crossings. It's gotten to the point where it wakes us up every night and has gotten really annoying.
Some ideas we've had to try to mitigate it.
1. Go to the next city council meeting and try to get them to either install double crossing guards (we read that there is an ordinance that allows the train to not blpw their whistle if these are installed), or just ask thrm to ask the train companies not to do it. This seems like a huge fight and could take a lot of time.
2. Soundproof our bedroom. So far my ideas are to install another window behind the original window, double pane the existing window, or replace entirely the windows.
Anyone had experience with loud noises and soundproofing? From what I've read you need to cut down on window vinration and make sure the window is airtight.
We tried white noise, and while partially successful the noise still cuts through it.
Thoughts? Anecdotes? Research I'm missing?
Heavy, massive drapes over the window. New double pane sound rated windows might help.
Having once spent the night in a campground in the Columbia River Gorge jusr east of Portland where the damn trains seemed to run all night long I really don't know if anything could completely silence them.
Just seeing the title and ElGuapo's name made me think this post was going in a much more interesting direction.
I actually saw the thread title and thought "Bet that's a Guapo post". I wasn't disappointed, except for the content.
It will be.Originally Posted by Mightynute
It will be.
Obligatory nuke it from orbit comment.
Just kidding. I grew up next to the railway and you will get used to it if you have the patience for it. I ended up waking up if the train dis not blow the whistle as usual.
How long've you lived there? It's pretty amazing what you can get used to sleeping through.
Holy cow. You're not making the case very well for doing real estate without an agent.
I used to live three doors down from a railroad crossing; I not only got used to it, in the summer when it was hot and muggy I sometimes couldn't fall asleep until the 1am freight train rolled through and (deafeningly) lulled me to sleep.
We have train noises every night. No double-paned glass, no curtains. You do get used to it.
The real question: can the trains hear you? Then sound isolation may be an agenda item.
I doubt this would work - I have to imagine it falls under the category where if it were that easy to do, someone would have done it. Instead, you will likely look like the neophyte who has been in the neighborhood for two months who is showing up at city counsel meetings all crazy because of some local environmental issue that everyone else has lived with for 50 years.
Oh shit, it's a Guapo thread and just leaving the picture there could be misinterpreted.
They're ear plugs.
Yeah, I have a more immediate problem than train whistles. My wife snores like a chainsaw on bad gas. The earplugs pictured above are a godsend. And they are very comfortable. I got used to them right away. A lot cheaper than soundproofing a room, as well.
... How much are you looking to spend Guap? You can rip out the walls and install special foam/insulation for that but it'll be ripping you walls out, maybe your ceiling and and if you go extreme your floor. Also as you know your windows. And in the end it might not be as effective as ear plugs.
Even if they do put in the crossing, don't expect them to stop whistling. Just because they can doesn't mean they will. You might have to fight their company safety rules on that even if local ordinances allow it.
You'll get used to it, and eventually miss it when it isn't there anymore after you move.
Also, depending on the type of traffic the crossings get (primarily residential vs fuel trucks or something), the whistles might be allowed to stay no matter how many crossing guards are added.
As for the actual answer to your question, I have no idea. I've used ear plugs in the past, when living next to noisy kids that conflicted with my work shifts or something.
If the DA gives you a chance to get out of town and stay in his cabin in the woods, I warn you: There are Owls out there, and you may get your car stuck in the mud.
I'll never see that gal of mine
I'm in Georgia doin' time
I heard that lo-oh-oh-wone-some whistle blow-ow
Isn't there a protip about not moving next to railroad tracks and airports?
Try earplugs first, for sure. Soundproofing strong enough to do what you're asking is likely in the thousands of dollars.
I find the silicon gel ones are best for sleeping.
You'll get used to it.
I hear the train a comin'
It's rollin' 'round the bend,
And I ain't seen the sunshine,
Since, I don't know when,
I'm stuck in Folsom Prison,
And time keeps draggin' on,
But that train keeps a-rollin',
On down to San Antone.
Unfortunately, there's not much you can do. I'm a little rusty on my sound transmission, but I can tell you that you get the biggest noise reduction by absorbing sound in the transmitting space (in this case, outside), and not a lot by insulating the receiving space (your bedroom). You can try a few things if you're willing to spend a lot of money. Better windows is one of them. You can rip out all of your framing, stagger the studs in your wall to reduce vibration, and pour in sound-reducing insulation, but that's crazy expensive. The problem is, if you just upgrade the windows you're not going to get that much of a change. The STC (sound transmission class) of the whole room assembly is what's important. You might spend a few thousand on new windows, and in the end the sound gets in somewhere else because your house is not airtight, and all that money maybe got you a half-decibel reduction.
You could cover the entire outside surface of your house in sound-absorbing/reflecting baffles, but you're going to have to do the windows too.
You don't want to hear this, but the "you'll get used to it" crowd is right. You could spend a ton of money here and never do any good.
White noise helps me a lot with sounds from the street. I have a white noise machine (electronic, not the kind that blows air) but there's also this if you have an always-on PC:
http://simplynoise.com/
What about sleeping in another room?
Where I live it's mostly trucks and only the occasional train whistle, but it definitely makes a big difference if you're on the back side of the house.
Yeah, you get used to it. I spent an year about 20 yards from a train track and a regular late night whistle. Hardly noticed it after a few days.
Assuming a train is really what this is about. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the new neighbors, tightly packed houses, and EG's board reputation.
;-)
ElGuapo -- buy one of these. Seriously, they're great. We own two -- one for our bedroom, one for our daughter's room.
Off topic question: I've never understood the white noise thing, how can that help?
Is that really better than a white noise mp3? The price tag makes me reluctant...
Great reviews:Perhaps.I don't know why I didn't buy this sooner. Shooting my neighbors is the only thing that would help me sleep better, but this is legal so perhaps a better choice.
Careful, everyone. Everything posted in this thread is fair game for Guapo's stoner novel.
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