Tool noise

[gwyneth]

Hi,

I'm looking for anecdotal evidence about how far tool noise travels--i.e., who can be disturbed by what how far away, and whether closed windows makes a big difference.

Thanks for any input.

[LCHIEN]

Hi,

I'm looking for anecdotal evidence about how far tool noise travels--i.e., who can be disturbed by what how far away, and whether closed windows makes a big difference.

Thanks for any input.

I'm very curious as to how loud my tools are but I don't have anyone who can operate them (e.g. the TS is loudest when cutting wood obviously) when I'm in the house to listen. I'm talking about how loud it sounds inside my next-door neighbor's house or inside my house (about the same distance). This being Houston, windows are rarely open.

I have on rare ocassion lost track of time and cut some stuff near midnight, and once in a while I have snuck out and made one or two quick crosscuts late. I asked the neighbor if he ever heard my tools and he said no. Otherwise I try not to work later than 10PM.

[drumpriest]

Honestly I often work late into the night. It's about the only time that I can get into the shop to work. I did some sound checks with my wife, and you can't really hear the tools out of the shop after about 10-15 feet. By the time you are into another house, it's not a problem, so my neighbor isn't troubled by my late night tendencies.

My shop is inside an insulated portion of the house, and I keep the doors and windows closed, that makes a HUGE difference.

A good DC setup is important since I am operating that way.

[Knottscott]

I live in a fairly quiet suburban neighborhood on a street with 29 houses that in a culdesac. The planer is the loudest tool I run, and I've never had a complaint in the 6 years I've been doing it. I never run the machines after 9pm or before 9am.

Fortunately the neighbor across from my garage had a father who was a woodworker and the noises bring back memories of her dad working away.

I hear occasional routers, sanders, and circ saws around the neighborhood but they're rarely very loud.

[eddy merckx]

I used to get complaints from my 7 yr old if I worked in the garage at night. She said she heard a ghost. Then I hit upon the idea of using an old white noise CD from when she was an infant. If I want to work early or late, I just crank up a rainfall CD. No complaints in at least a year.

I think if you keep the windows closed then most woodworking noises don't travel very far. Especially if they are masked by a dust collector.

Eddy

[vaking]

My shop lives in abasement of my house. According to my wife's testimony - router (M12V) is the biggest noise offender - worse than BT3100. I don't work after 10pm. However, again according to my wife, - fumes from finishing process are worse problem than noise. I guess this is specific to my basement location and to my wife's nose. When we lived in apartment building earlier she was able to tell when a neigbor in the apartment below lit up a cigarette.

[jackellis]

My shop is in the garage and although I rarely work past about 9 PM, no one has ever even mentioned the noise. Our next door neighbors allow their son's band to practice in the garage. We can hear the sound if we're outside but we cannot hear anything if we're in our house, especially with the windows closed.More sound might escape now that we've replaced our roof and installed a ridge vent, but it's still unlikely to be a nuisance.

In your case I doubt noise will be a problem unless you have the door open and your neighbors are really close.

[cwsmith]

My wife has exceptional hearing (I think that's a diplomatically safe way of stating it ), so I'm sure I will hear of any noise concerns long before the neighbors would ever complain.

At present, any cutting work that I need requires my saw to be hauled out to the deck. It takes me more time to setup and tear down than it does to do the work, thanks to a basement that I can barely stand up in.

We've been working on a new home for the past year and I had planned on putting the shop in the basement there. However, after this winter I have discovered that woodworking is a bit disturbing to the LOML wanting to watch American Idol. So, now the plan is to set everything up in the room off the side of the garage.... after it is well insulated!

CWS

[WayneJ]

My pancake compressor woke me up one night about 12.30. my garage is about 20 feet from the house. I'd forgoten to shut it off and it cycled on. I never had any complants from my neighbors about noise.
wayne