Two Free Construction Sound Effects

I used to become annoyed by intrusive sounds.

Living downtown I hear sirens wailing, the drone of helicopters hovering endlessly, garbage trucks bellowing, and so on.

So, when heavy construction nearby interrupted my sound editing last week, I used my philosophy for dealing with troublesome sounds: “when a sound annoys you, record it.”

I recorded a number of sounds which will be included in a sound effects bundle I’ll be releasing soon.

I’ll share a few free sound clips from that field recording session with you today.

Construction workers were replacing balconies on a building nearby. The old balconies have a facade of concrete brick, supported by a metal railing.

First they battered the concrete walls with sledgehammers. Then they shovelled the debris away. Finally, they cut apart the metal railing with power tools.

It was incredibly loud. Of course, this means I can’t cut sound effects. It killed any possible sound work during the day. That’s common in cities, and it’s easy to become irritated at the disruption. However, I’ve developed a policy that, instead of becoming upset, I spend my time capturing the sounds instead.

Construction Sound Effects

I was lucky to be able to record all of these construction sound effects closely, and clearly. They’ll be included in a new sound clip bundle I’ll be releasing soon. If you’re interested, you can join the free newsletter to learn more. I’ll include an exclusive discount code there for a brief period when the pack is launched.

In the meantime, here’s a free sound effect from those recordings. It’s what is known as a cutting wheel. It’s the gas powered Stihl TS 420. It was used to slice through the metal railing. It has a cool, intense grinding effect.

Download the sound effect via the “Download” button on the players below. There are also links that will take you to the SoundCloud page as well. They’re 96 kHz, 24-bit stereo WAV files.