Construction hours in Howard County, MD — sometimes called construction noise rules or contractor work-hour ordinances — set when contractors can run power tools, hammers, and heavy equipment.
Construction and demolition noise in Howard County is governed by the state standard the County Code adopts. COMAR 26.02.03.02 lets construction sites reach 90 dBA during daytime hours (7 a.m.–10 p.m.) but requires them to meet the ordinary residential limits (55 dBA) at night.
Howard County's Section 8.900 ties residential noise to Maryland's COMAR 26.02.03 environmental-noise standards, and construction gets its own allowance in COMAR 26.02.03.02C. During daytime hours a construction or demolition site may emit up to 90 dBA; during nighttime hours (10:00 p.m.–7:00 a.m.) it must fall back to the general Table 1 limits, meaning 55 dBA at a residential receiving property. Blasting for demolition, construction, mining or quarrying and pile-driving are separately confined to 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. under the ordinance's exemption schedule. There is no countywide flat 'no work before 7 a.m.' rule beyond these dBA-and-hour limits, but off-hours construction that exceeds 55 dBA at a home is a violation.
Construction noise over the limits is enforced under Section 8.900 as a Class E civil offense (first violation) or Class D (subsequent), with civil penalties under Title 24. The health department may also act when the source is commercial or
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