Topic:
SoundproofingQuestion:
I live on a bus route arterial in a residential area of Seattle (Magnolia). The traffic noise is a nuisance to me and I am contemplating either replacing at least the street facing double paned windows of my house with triple paned windows or adding soundproofing windows to the existing. Do you have an opinion about whether triple paned windows will provide significant noise reduction compared to the existing and if so which particular triple pane product would work best?
- Laura from Seattle, WA
Answer:
Triple paned windows are not the best answer to your problem. They are expensive and not much better than regular insulated glass when it comes to sound mittigation. What you need is a house and wall assembly that has good sound mitigation properties. Since you are unlikely to change all of the walls and house structure, here are some tips about windows:
Aluminum window frames have poor sound rating and regular insulated glass is not much better. So, you might want to look for new vinyl or wood windows with glass with an STC rating of 40 or higher.
The new windows should be carefully installed and the spaces around the window frame insulated and caulked. Rock wool insulation has a better sound mitigation value than does fiberglass.
In addition to the windows, try to look around for other sound entry avenues: doors, vents, and fans.
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