Your home is where you can retreat from the hectic outside world, and the last thing you want when it’s time to relax is the addition of outdoor noise.
You can close your doors and dim the lights, but reducing unwanted noise isn’t always so simple. If you live in a busy city or next to heavy traffic flow or railway lines, noise pollution can be a constant irritation that can have an effect on your quality of life.
Much of the noise you hear inside your home comes in through your windows.
Replacing them with soundproof windows can help eliminate unwanted noise and get you back into a relaxed state.
How to Make Windows Soundproof
The glass panes in your windows are rigid structures ideal for conducting sound waves. A single pane of glass in your window will do very little to stop unwanted sounds from entering your home.
The ‘speed of sound’ is actually a pressure wave travelling at over 700 miles per hour and vibrates the windowpane and vibrates the air on the other side of your window; the sound goes straight to your ears without diluting much.
Enter double-glazed windows. Double-glazing disrupts soundwave vibrations passing through the glass. The two glass panes are not in direct contact, so the sound waves are dampened, resulting in less noise entering your home.
While it may not be possible to fully soundproof your home, adding double (or triple) glazing windows can significantly reduce outside noise pollution and give you a more comfortable environment. The most common gas between double panes is called Argon gas and is denser than the atmosphere. It has different soundwave properties to standard atmospheric air for extra noise-reducing properties.
Soundproofing Window Qualities
Simply replacing your windows with new ones isn’t going to soundproof your room unless you get ones with suitable properties.
Secondary glazing options, noise-reduction glass, and even noise-reduction windows (designed with noise reduction in mind) will help with soundproofing.
Choose windows with the following qualities to soundproof your home better:
Thicker glass: The thicker the glass, the less noise you will hear.
Laminated layers: PVB (polyvinyl butyral) can be added between the sheets of glass to reduce noise without affecting glass clarity.
Space between panes: The more significant the gap between the panes of glass, the better the protection. Add heavy gases, such as argon, to reduce noise even more.
Window coverings can also add that extra layer of protection. While none are entirely soundproof, window shutters, soundproof and insulating blinds can all do wonders to reduce noise.
Have more questions about how to make windows soundproof?
Schedule a consultation with one of our expert designers in your home or at our showroom at Fasada.
We can recommend the best replacement windows and discuss the many different styles and designs that will give your home the look you want and the quiet and relaxation by reducing the noise from the outside world.
