Options to reduce noise from outside (traffic noise, vinyl, laminate, double pane windows)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Live on a pretty busy secondary road that connects people to major routes. Amount of noise is not awful but for me being a light sleep - it is when going to sleep - sleep through the night but getting there is a problem sometimes. I started looking at Cellular Shades as they are supposed to reduce noise and light that pass through. Anyone have experience with these types of shades?
Any other ideas would be appreciated. Heard about putting in a second window behind our existing window but that sounds like a big deal and might not be needed if these shades can cut down the noise a bit.
In very simple terms, noise leaks in just like air, it uses the same pathways. Whatever you can do to make that side of the house super air tight will have some effect. Therefore all air leaks around windows, walls, doors, etc just like you are trying to make it super energy efficient will have some benefit if you plug them up in some manner.
You also can insulate the walls to cut down the leakage paths if not all ready done. Also pay attention to air leaks coming from over top via the attic, that can be one pathway in. The best energy efficient windows / doors also help. Even things like electrical outlet boxes can be a source of noise entering the home. Adding very well fitting solid shutters to windows can help.
Can be a complicated subject but to be really effective once you have all the leakage pathways pretty well covered, then you attempt to add mass to the structure in some manner. There is a technique where you hang fire fired 5/8" sheets of drywall on a type of channel system, it all is isolated and hangs like a suspended weight and the noise has to move it / do work / cause it to vibrate to attempt to pass thru the structure. Pretty effective but sort of complicated, works on about all frequency's, gives a fair predictable DB reduction.
Planting trees / dense bushes or building a solid masonary type wall between you and the noise source outside can have a very good effect.
Beware of promised huge results with "Magic" methods. If it was simple / cheap I would be very, very rich.
At the basic level there are three primary issues to consider when dealing with unwanted "noise" – the frequency, the sound pressure level, and the duration.
Sound frequency and sound level are combined into what is called a "dBA" – or A-filtered decibel value – in order to quantify the sound in relation to the human perception or ability to hear it. In other words, we all “hear” (no pun intended – really!) about the specific dB level at a rock concert or at the airport, but we don’t hear “evenly” across the whole sound spectrum. For example, we may hear a sound at a relatively low decibel (or sound pressure) level at one specific frequency and yet be unable to hear an even louder sound at a different frequency - which is why frequency response is weighted.
Sound duration is added into the mix because even a relatively quiet sound can become annoying when it persists for a certain time. Using figures derived from these three descriptors, a sound professional can determine what is required to attenuate (opposite of amplify) the inappropriate sounds.
Sounds like a lot of trouble (again, no pun intended!), right? Well, it actually is and unless you live next to an airport or train crossing it is usually not worth the trouble to go there. But, I pointed it out to give you some idea of how in depth fighting unwanted sound can be.
As humans we are born with the ability to hear from approximately 20 to 20,000 hertz.
Hertz, or Hz, is how sound frequency is measured - like electricity is measured in volts. By the time we are teenagers we have generally lost the ability to hear above about 13,000 Hz. Since the human voice tends to fall between 500Hz and 5000Hz, the loss of higher frequency sounds is not usually a big deal.
Generally, low frequencies, such as traffic noise, are much harder to attenuate (opposite of amplify) or block than are higher frequencies - just think how often you hear the bass sounds from the neighborhood kid's car stereo and not the higher pitch tunes when he is coming down the street.
When considering glass sound performance, there are four primary considerations to take into account for maximum possible attenuation – or blocking.
First is laminated glass.
Second is a wider airspace between the lites.
Third is different thickness lites within the IGU or Insulating Glass Unit.
Fourth would be a combination of all three.
Airport windows, as an example, often will have laminated glass on both sides of an IGU in an aluminum frame and with a maximum airspace between the lites. In an airport the primary concern is sound attenuation and energy efficiency is secondary. I mention this because the width of the airspace and the choice of window framing material affects both sound and energy efficiency.
While some folks will suggest triple pane glass for its sound deadening ability, and while triple pane may be a slight improvement over standard double pane at certain frequencies due to the additional density of the extra lite, overall there is no major difference in STC rating between triple and double pane provided that the overall airspace between the panes is constant between the two constructions.
In other words, a triple pane with two 1/4" airspaces and a dual pane with a 1/2" airspace – both using 1/8" glass – will have the same overall STC assuming that windows are otherwise the same.
Using one thicker and one thinner - different thickness - lites in an IG construction may also help deaden sound because each lite is transparent to a different frequency and each lite will then attenuate the frequency that passed thru the other lite.
As a very general rule, different thickness lites in an IG configuration (for example 1/8” and 3/16”) contributes more to lower frequency noise attenuation than it does to higher frequency attenuation, yet oddly, using different thickness lites does not contribute significantly to overall STC performance as well as the other options – such as using a wider airspace or laminated glass in the IG unit - and the wider the airspace between the lites, the more potential for limiting unwanted sound thru that space.
Unfortunately, for significant sound attenuation, it may be necessary to have an air space approaching two inches or more – although lesser width airspace can make a difference as well – possibly depending on the frequency and amplitude of the unwanted sounds.
Minimizing unwanted sound thru any material is determined by three things – mass, stiffness, and damping of the material. Increasing the mass of a window by using thicker glass will increase sound attenuation and the change from a single pane window to dual pane or triple pane IGU to a window will add glazing mass and thus improve sound performance thru the window; but often not as much as might seem obvious based on the given criteria.
While mass is a given based on your existing windows and increasing the stiffness of glass isn't really practical, what about damping?
Inherently, glass has very little damping ability, but when putting a layer of a more viscous material between two of lites of glass we substantially increase the unit’s ability to dampen sound – thus the advantage of laminated glass which just so happens to be a product that has a layer of more viscous material between two lites of glass – cool how that works right into the explanation!
A single pane of 1/4" laminated glass consisting of two 1/8" lites with the plastic interlayer actually has just about as much sound blocking ability as a 1/2" lite of monolithic glass. The monolithic glass tends to do better at mid to higher frequencies while at the lower frequencies the performance of ¼” laminated and 1/2” monolithic tend to be about the same /as well as the overall STC rating.
So, often folks who install “soundproof” windows do so by installing a secondary lite inside the existing window – basically an interior storm window. Often this extra lite is laminated glass for the reasons previously mentioned – basically a fixed lite added to an operating window is going to give you much better sound attenuation than you had previously.
However, having a house-full of windows that can't be opened is not very appealing to most people, so again we come back to the earlier comment that no matter what you do you must ensure that any window MUST be tight when closed to achieve both maximum energy performance as well as for deadening sound.
We live next to a major interstate mix master that wasn't too bad when we moved in - 22 years ago. Now it's non-stop noise.
We are using a sound machine to create white noise and it really does help. We also have good insulation and windows, and shade and evergreen trees to block some of it.
I am considering adding an interior additional pane to my dual pane windows. The 3rd pane is going to be 1/4 inch tempered glass. The current panes are 3/16. The spacing between the dual panes and the additional 3rd pane is 5/8th. The 3rd pane will be silicone sealed to the original vinyl frame. This will be done intending on deading noise from traffic facing this side of the house. The wall was already built heavy for noise reduction. Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks
I am considering adding an interior additional pane to my dual pane windows. The 3rd pane is going to be 1/4 inch tempered glass. The current panes are 3/16. The spacing between the dual panes and the additional 3rd pane is 5/8th. The 3rd pane will be silicone sealed to the original vinyl frame. This will be done intending on deading noise from traffic facing this side of the house. The wall was already built heavy for noise reduction. Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks
You will get better performance if the additional pane is 1/4" laminated rather than 1/4" tempered. Tempering glass does nothing to improve sound performance, laminating does.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Get rid of all air leaks......
