Soundproofing Exterior Windows (1 Viewer)

[Kelvin F]

Hey Guys,

My theater/den has two windows behind the tv and main speakers. When i play movies i can hear them from the outside of the house. I know this because i was curious about it the other day and i put a movie on and walked out to my front yard and was surprised at how loud it was. I`m surprised my neighbors have`nt called the cops yet. Is there a cheap and effective remedy for this problem? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.THANKS!

 

[John Giddens]

I've got the same problem and this is what I've thought of, although I haven't tried it yet. I think home improvement stores sell sheets of stiff Styrofoam that are about half of an inch in thickness and I believe they might be sold in 4 foot X 8 foot sheets, I'm not 100% sure what the common dimensions are though aside from the thickness. This product is commonly used during the installation of exterior vinyl siding, it goes underneath the siding. These sheets of Styrofoam have an r-value so they would also help a little with energy efficiency. I don't know if there might be some toxic anti-mildew treatment on them though, so you'll want to check first. I was considering cutting this stuff to the dimensions of my windows and putting it behind my blinds to keep it in place. The downside of course is you can't see through it, so if you wanted to look out your windows you would have to remove it. If you don't have blinds you could always wrap and glue your fabric of choice to it.

The more expensive option would be to replace your windows with new ones. There are some new windows out that use a laminated glass similar to windshield automotive glass. The glass is thicker than standard glass and withstands a beating from a baseball bat, it's for hurricane and tornado prone areas. A side effect from it's thickness is sound dampening.

 

[Dave Poehlman]

I just did a search and found this site and this site
The first sells "residential window inserts". I have no idea how much they cost but they seem to use laminated glass (a layer of plastic sandwiched between two sheets of glass) like the kind found in auto glass.
I don't know what kind of windows you have but, if it's not a big deal to replace the glass (ie: glazed panes), perhaps you could look into getting some of this stuff? Do you know someone who works for an auto glass shop?

 

[John Giddens]

Hey Dave,
$400.00 a window, now that's what I call an upgrade! While those solutions you mentioned will be significantly more appealing to the eye's, my wallet will likely beat me so bad, my eye's will be too swollen shut to see out of them. I'll admit my idea was cheap and ugly. The FAQ's on both pages do bring up a good point though, if you have a brick exterior to your home, they have to rip it out around your window frames to replace windows the typical way, versus the method of putting the laminated glass on the inside and saving you some significant construction cost. In the end though, for my solution I have a brick exterior, and I have 14 above average and odd shaped windows to sound proof. $5,600.00 or more is enough money for me to tell my neighbors to start a sound proof window money pool amongst themselves if it bothers them that bad. At which I haven't had a single complaint made to me concerning sound levels, I was just considering the idea. Now that I'm done ranting, thanks for the links, I like to be informed.

 

[Phil A]

Try www.acousticsfirst.com. They make a variety of products and have always been responsive to questions I have had.