These are typically made of foam and fit tightly into
your window opening to seal the space and block out
all the light, and can actually work okay and be
useful in some cases. If
you are in an apartment or rented space, it can be done without
window replacement, etc. It is less costly than some of the
other options. No
one selling them gives you STC values because they are
not that good.
Window plugs
can stop a lot of noise in some cases and it may be your
only alternative. Prepare to be disappointed and expect to lose
your money. With
that in mind, they might just work well enough to reduce
your noise problem enough to get the sleep you want. At least the
darker room will let you sleep later if the noise is reduced
enough.
Anyway,
proceed with this solution with caution and hope for the
best. Note: the
more often the window plugs are removed to
let in the light, the worse they get at stopping the noise
because the seals deteriorate.
Soundproofing curtains are not what
you think they are: you probably think they help block
out the noise, but they do not. What they do is stop
noise reflection, which is to basically stop
the noise that has gotten into the room from bouncing around. They
are noise absorbers rather than reducers. They will change the
way noise sounds in the room, and will reduce the noise levels
a little bit.
The reason they will not do a whole lot is back to
the basics: Not
a complete seal, not very much mass, and no sealed air space. They
do have their place and work well for what they are intended
for. Just
be aware that they do not block noise.
Sometimes taking action to reduce window noise is
not enough. Replacing
or adding better noise stopping windows is not always a guaranteed
complete solution. Doors and walls can also be the problem. Maybe,
after fixing the windows, you find that you need
to fix the doors. After the doors, you might need to fix the walls.
While
this could be true, it is also true that with each step it
is getting noticeably quieter. Without extensive and expensive
testing there is no way to know for sure.
Doors and walls are also
discussed and can be resolved with the courses offered. Do not
let this scare you away from doing something. Each step does make
it noticeably quieter and it always starts with the windows. In
most cases, the windows are all that is needed. If you want the
quiet of a sound recording studio, you may expect to take
several steps to achieve that level of quiet (but maybe not!).
We have covered most
of the areas concerning noise and the window factor. As
the weakest noise link in virtually any scenario, there
is a lot needed here. We did additional research for this course
and will likely put up an even more advanced
course covering the same information, but in more technical
detail. The
course will be called Soundproofing
301 – Advanced Window Soundproofing.
Thank you for studying "Window Soundproofing -
Course 201" with
us. Your
comments are welcome and we hope you give us a good grade!
For more resources click on soundproofing
resources.
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