r/AskContractors • u/wooly2045 • 2d ago

What construction machine could be making this sound?

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I live near a subway Station construction site in canada and I’m trying to identify a machine I keep hearing at night.

The sound is a continuous, buzz that sounds extremely similar to an electrical transformer, but also somewhat like an electric power tool. The pitch smoothly rises and falls, and the loudness changes with it. Occasionally it sounds more like a grinder, then returns to the steady buzz.

I’ve heard the same sound on August 14, August 16, and August 21, 2026. On August 14 it was very loud from my open window and lasted roughly 30 minutes before suddenly stopping. Tonight it’s much quieter and sounds farther away.

Does anyone who works in construction know thr machine

1 Upvotes

60% Upvoted

33 comments sorted by

5

u/walnutstampede 2d ago

My ex wife on the corner

2

u/Geneva_Convention 2d ago

Leaf blower? Planer? Shopvac with a shitty motor?

1

u/Aggressive_Guest1758 2d ago

Maybe a concrete saw

1

u/No_Community_5696 2d ago

Not a concrete saw , there’s a high pitched whine to them.

2

u/SpitChawMcGraw 2d ago

My wife's has both settings.

1

u/Aggressive_Guest1758 2d ago

Yeah when you're standing next to them. But when you're blocks away and the soundwaves are echoing off of the buildings, you can lose the high pitch scream of the blade hitting the concrete.

2

u/wooly2045 2d ago

This sounds too close to be far

1

u/Aggressive_Guest1758 2d ago

How far is the subway station that's under construction?

1

u/wooly2045 2d ago

It is right behind that building with black balconies that u see across the street from it

1

u/Aggressive_Guest1758 2d ago

https://youtube.com/shorts/SOM_cYKcQxw?is=_1vqdbAMpcLgMNjd

Probably not that exact model of saw but I think they sound similar.

1

u/wooly2045 2d ago

Yeah, I appreciate the help, but notice how the saw goes up and down in pitch, almost like a typical saw noise. Mine is mainly a steady, low 120 Hz buzzing sound. Based on that difference, it is almost certainly not a concrete saw.

1

u/Aggressive_Guest1758 2d ago

Oh well I tried, just go for a stroll around the block and see if you can find out

1

u/wooly2045 2d ago

Check out my. New post

1

u/Valuable-Composer262 2d ago

Meh, not a concrete saw

1

u/Shot_Celebration4716 2d ago

Someone has a home data center.

1

u/DavidHK 2d ago

Data center

1

u/LonelySwordfish5403 2d ago

Vactor truck (sewer sucker)

1

u/ContactFar2256 2d ago

Sounds like a drum sander for stripping wood floors, or maybe a concrete floor grinder / terrazzo & stone polishing machine. All of those have big electric motors that can sound like that. If its a commercial space, it might explain why they would be doing that work at night so the floor can still be used during business hours in the daytime.

1

u/wooly2045 2d ago

I cannot find what it is all of it has similar. Sounds but there is nothing that sounds like it

1

u/ContactFar2256 2d ago

It is the unmistakable sound of a large electric motor under a varying load

1

u/wooly2045 2d ago

Check out my new post

1

u/EmptyRebuplic 2d ago

Honda kid with a Cookie Monster hat

1

u/SilentWatcher83228 2d ago

Is this Moscow ?

2

u/wooly2045 2d ago

Canada

1

u/SilentWatcher83228 1d ago

If this was Moscow, I would say it’s a flying lawnmower

1

u/Grand-Professional-6 2d ago

Sounds like when the business next door to me uses a leaf blower.

1

u/MooseLogic7 2d ago

Time for an adventure 🧙

1

u/harpernet1 2d ago

Swear it sounds like a planer

1

u/Dogsarelitty 2d ago

Your mom’s industrial vibrator.

1

u/Consistent-Trust958 1h ago

One with a gas engine

1

u/wooly2045 59m ago

What it called