Are SoundProof Windows Really Helps?

Yes, it helps and it is always recommended to everyone approach the windows and door first if they really looking for soundproofing their house.

The reason is a window is the only thin layer in the house that allows passing the soundwaves easily, here the problem is you can not block the window permanently as it is also the source of the light.

Soundwaves travel very fast in the air and if there is any traffic noise coming from the outside world strike your window first and will pass through that they will create noise in the house.

Hence using soundproofing a window, we make sure that the maximum of the incoming soundwaves should reflect back from outside only but how and what about stopping the soundwaves in the room itself?

These all we will learn in these 9 Step by step guide on how to soundproof windows using affordable solutions.

9 Ways On How To SoundProof Windows

I have been doing a long research on the internet and went through various guides and suggestions, have reviewed some products as well on what works best and what works not and came to the conclusions.

That all information I tried to bind in this guide so at least you will get a good idea before deciding on what required changes and in what cases you can go for the same.

Soundproofing a house is all about working on minimizing the noise or echo of the soundwaves so make sure you aware of both.

Step 1: Fill The Gaps Or Cracks Around The Window

As I said earlier that a small gap around the window if that can pass light waves to coming in then it is obvious that soundwaves can easily pass through that.

These gaps or cracks are due to the breakage around the window or due to the wrong fixing of the windows.

Hence your first focus is to find out the cracks this can easily be done by darkening the room and check if the light coming in from any point around the window.

Now using the insulated sealant make sure to seal the cracks or gaps around the window and you are done.

There are a number of soundproof sealants available to buy checkout from Amazon.

Step 2: Install The Curtains Around The Window

Curtains are the main source if you really think of minimizing the noise and these are the main source of soundwaves absorption.

If you know about echos, which are due to the reflection of the soundwaves. Where soundwaves originated from any source let say outside the room will come to windows and pass through that very easily, if you do not have the source to absorb will create more noise in the house.

Hence the SoundProof curtains are usually like black heavy curtains and if you can set some multilayer curtains which are fine for soundproofing the windows.

These curtains are mainly focused to absorb the soundwaves passing through or going to windows and make sure less reflection or pass through them.

This means you minimized the soundwaves and controlled the echoes in the house. I advise covering the complete window from left to right and top to bottom which assures no escape for noise.

The curtains can be of different types one which is open and closes horizontally and one which can easy to fold top to bottom.

The one which closes or opens by folding up and down is more effective but those are a bit expensive.

I advise checking the best SoundProof curtains which are really effective in soundproofing windows in our ultimate guide.

Step 3: Block The Windows

Here blocking means not to remove the windows with any concrete material it is all about putting something before or after the windows.

Many times we have seen that few windows are not in permanent use and just for the sake of need in case required so you can block them using the bookshelves or any soft materials.

As bookshelves are also one major source of sound absorption and it is recommended to cover the windows which are close to the street from the actual noise is coming in.

You can also use some acoustic foams or sound-absorbing sources to cover the windows from the inside or outside of the room

Well, it looks very bad if you do this from outside so it is suggested to try from the inside of the room

You can temporarily block this using the hanging soundproof blanket which is bigger in size and quite effective in blocking the windows.

Curtains are a bit soft and light in weight but the blanket is specially treated to stop the noise pass through because of its ability to absorb the noise.

It also blacks out which causes pleasant sleep even daytime as it won’t allow passing light through.

The quality of SoundProof blankets varies with the money or seller you chose, so make sure to check on the soundproof blanket and it uses from our ultimate guide.

Step 4: DIY Acoustic Foam Installation

This is the best temporary solution you can set which will be quite easy to set up and you can replace it anytime you want.

Let say you have set up some music band or using louder air compressor in the garage where you need a temporary solution to prevent the noise pass through windows or maybe the reverse case outside noise coming through the window.

In all the cases you can get the size of the existing window and create a wooden or any plastic frame of the exact size which can fit in the existing window frame.

Now get the Acoustic SoundProof foams which are a great source of absorbing soundwaves, I recommend having Pyramid Acoustic foams.

Now cut the exact size of the foam and fit into the wooden or any type of frame you have created and now stick this whole new frame to the existing windows frame.

This works great for every soundwave striking the windows, let say coming from outside pass through the windows will immediately be absorbed by the DIY solution you have created.

If generated from inside the room will be absorbed more at the DIY solution and very minor noise will pass through which really gives pleasant sleep to your neighborhood.

Get the ultimate guide on best SoundProof Acoustic Foams and their different types which are really effective in types of soundwaves generated in your room.

Step 5: Airtight Using The Weatherstripping

Most of the time we have seen that due to the poor fixing of the windows there are some small gaps left in between the window frames and actual slider window glass.

Which you can experience it by putting fans on the other side and check if the air coming through any weak fixing of the window.

If air can come through it is obvious that soundwaves can also and this requires immediate fixes and I suggest the best solution is using weatherstripping.

Make sure your weatherstripping is strong adhesive and sticky around the corner of the windows and must be strong resilience for the sound.

These strips can be installed in or outside of the windows and they can be of different varieties of colors that decorate your window as well in case you want.

Make sure to buy weatherstripping which is good for anti-collision, dustproof, and weatherproof, here are our best recommendation (Amazon) in case you want to buy.

I advise to have this all side of the windows and fit them strongly by pressing every corner and joints of the window and the results will be amazing.

Step 6: Adding Additional Set On Window

Well if you are struggling with the existing windows and tried multiple ways to overcome noise but due to the bad quality of window not getting success then the next best solution is adding an extra layer.

Yes, this solution can be the best instead of replacing the existing windows where you can set another independent window inside of the existing windows.

This will add a double layer to existing windows and this is obvious that now sound waves to pass through will need more energy.

This solution will allow passing through the light waves easily but will stop the soundwaves from coming in and out very difficult.

Your room decoration will look the same and it is quite effective in heat insulation which will make your room cooler in summer and warmer in winter and will help to minimize electricity bills.

The inside window will have its separate handle and frames which is easy to open and close and will make your primary window covered with the best secondary layer at affordable prices.

Step 7: Add An Additional Layer Of Acrylic Panel

It is another best solution you can have as part of a DIY solution, where you can buy the best acrylic material or glass and create the frame as we did with the foam.

Acrylic glass windows are quite effective or efficient enough to reduce the noise level by up to 50%.

Hence create a frame as you did by using the wooden material of the same size of the existing window and fit that acrylic glass inside the frame.

Stick this all set of solutions to the existing window frame and you are done, whenever you want for cleaning purpose you can remove that and stick it back.

In the case of Setting up the foam will stoplight to pass through but here you will have outstanding look and the light will not be stopped and you will get double-layer glazing of the window.

Make sure you tight closely which helps existing windows to glazing more and will become more effective.

Here are a few suggested soundproof Kit, which has every accessory required to create this extra layer but this does do not include the Acrylic glass.

Step 8: Double The Existing Window Panel

In case you don’t want to add the acrylic layer on top of the existing window then the other best alternative is to replace the existing single-pane window with a double or triple layer.

Which is obviously a bit expensive as you are replacing the existing one with the new one which has more than two or maybe more panel.

This greatly helps if you are in a high traffic zone or near to the street area and a quite effective solution for noise blocking.

Make sure your new fixes are done in a professional way as if smaller gaps or cracks can cause still you need to go with other alternatives.

This is recommended only if you are in real noisy areas as it is quite expensive and not easy to fix on my own.

Step 9: Adding Additional Glazing On Window

This solution will be the most affordable solution and effective one where you will replace the existing window primary layer with two different thickness glass windows.

Where one may have a thickness of 6 mm then the other is like 4mm, this two barrier glass with different thickness helps to change in soundwaves as it travels.

Make sure to create a space in between both glazing and the best recommendation is around 100-150mm.

For best results try to create at least a difference of 33% in between the first and second glazing glass thickness.

It is also suggested a solution to laminate the one pane of the glass will help better in noise reduction.