I have some street traffic noise that I want to reduce, for my home. I am thinking about installing soundproof windows.
- Have you done the same project, and could you share your experience, including results you have seen?
- This site http://www.soundproofwindows.com/ claims that 90% of the sound
comes through doors and windows and not the walls. Is that true?
- Have you actually had experience hiring the company at the website noted
in question 2? If so, what was your experience?
- Are there cheaper alternatives to soundproof windows? Someone told me plexiglass works almost as well but is much cheaper. However, the negative part is that it does not look at good and blurs the outside view more than regular soundproof glass.
Thank you.
“2. This site http://www.soundproofwindows.com/ claims that 90% of the sound
comes through doors and windows and not the walls. Is that true?”
Depends on the wall and the windows. Replacing old, single panes, or double sliding pane windows with modern, sealed, double or triple pane windows will make a big difference.
Noise still travels through walls - ask anyone with a wooden party wall between them and the neighbours. The major factors in noise isolation seem to be disconnection and mass. This is one reason why some buildings will have concrete party walls - the shear mass insulates against noise. Good sound proofing windows have airspace and insulation between several panes of heavy glass.
How are these windows special? I bet it is simple triple panes of heavier gauge glass. I would ask a couple local window suppliers what they can offer. It may not be much different. There is a reason windows are often manufactured locally. Glass is heavy.
These windows work by employing a couple of important points that they do say, but gloss over very quickly.
They have a large air gap between their window and the existing window. Double glazing works when the air gap is small - small enough that the air can’t set up a circulating cell. However a small gap results in high acoustic coupling between panes. So normal IGU spacing for thermal performance makes for poor acoustic performance, and vice versa.
They use a laminated glass sheet. This is critical. The PVC layer in the middle of pane creates a constrained layer damping system. This results in a pane that absorbs vibrational energy - and as it turns out - absorbs energy in the frequencies you want to stop quite well. As a rule of thumb a 10mm total thickness pane works best. They don’t say what they use.
I have reglazed my whole house during renovations with 8mm laminated glass, and it does make a huge difference. I couldn’t afford to go with two layers, but wished I could.
Don’t expect a soundproof solution. Our ears are logarithmic in their sensitivity. You might get a 10 times reduction in acoustic energy transmission, but that is still only 20dB SPL. It can make the difference between annoying and not, but not the difference between audible and not. Further, the attenuation varies with frequency quite a bit. The success you get depends upon the kind of noise you have. Traffic is not too bad to deal with.
Finally, noise gets in anywhere. You will be surprised how even one small opening to the outside can undo all the effort spent.
I installed double pane windows in 2 apartments that I have lived in. They really quieted the outside sounds of cars and other noises. I highly recommend them. I cannot tell you where to buy them because I live in Colombia. But do a google search on them. Perhaps you can find something there.