SETfan Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 I have a glass window area (including sliding glass door) that opens onto my patio area. Presently I only have vertical drapes there, the glass panels are roughly 221cm high by 82cm width for each of the 3 panels, so approx 5 sq metres in total. When my stereo is playing, a lot of the sound escapes outside, so am looking to cut this down as much as I can. Double glazing will break the bank, but I am wondering if I got some heavy curtains whether this would "soundproof" my room a lot better than the vertical drapes do? Assuming that curtains are an effective move for me, is there any particular type of curtain that is well suited for my purposes, and any recommendation as to where to buy them from? Or is it simply a matter of going to Spotlight or similar, and getting a heavy material blockout curtain? Thanks for any comments or suggestions from anybody who has any experience of this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mondie Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 Mark, l think heavy curtains would make minimal difference. You will likely improve the acoustics of your room more than reduce sound leakage. Are the windows timber or aluminium, made of large panes or small? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peter the Greek Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 the only way to stop sound through windows is double or triple glazing......think fish tank and water the same as room and sound - is a curtain going to hold water? no, but a big heavy double glazed window will......soundproofing is so much more then that though.....really unless you are devoted to it some basic steps are a waste of time.....removal of flanking paths and isolation are key - refer: www.soundproofingcompany.com for lots of useful information, good articles etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SETfan Posted October 13, 2010 Author Share Posted October 13, 2010 Hmm, the windows are aluminum framed, 3 large panes (2.2metres high, 80cm width each), house is only a couple of years old,, so pretty standard modern issue these days. I would think it would cost a bomb to do double glazing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony M Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 (edited) Why not get a few quotes anyway? Double-glazed aluminium door panels are becoming more popular due to the energy savings and are no longer esoteric. As things become more mainstream, the price plummets to realistic levels. It's always worthwhile to pay a bit more for something that works instead of a bit less than something that doesn't. Heavy curtains can be pretty exxy, too. As others have suggested, it's worth looking at other avenues of sound leakage as well. No point making the doors/windows more acoustically opaque than the walls , though I guess this is unlikely. Anyway, the surest way to find out what might be achievable with curtains etc is to cover the windows/doors with some sort of sound retardant material (even a heavy blanket) as an experiment and see if the outcome makes the whole project worth pursuing. Good luck with it, Mark. Cheers Tony PS, I think Stegbar have PDF brochures on their site that compare the cost and sound attenuation properties of various typed of glazing - including double glazing. Edited October 13, 2010 by Tony M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peter the Greek Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 I have an 18month old house......I regret not getting better glazing, the builder didn't mention it either and I have similar sized areas.....rather annoying, but hey the rest of its perfect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shogun2 Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 PS, I think Stegbar have PDF brochures on their site that compare the cost and sound attenuation properties of various typed of glazing - including double glazing. You could also have a look at Viridian Glass for more information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SETfan Posted October 14, 2010 Author Share Posted October 14, 2010 (edited) Thanks guys, helpful suggestions and advice! I shot off a quick enquiry to a mob called Magnetite - they do a double glazing job using 8mm acrylic plus magnetic sealing strips similar to that used on fridges. For my two patio glass panes and glass sliding door it would be around $3k. A heavy curtain and pelmet would be well less than half that. Then I have two other narrow windows (with venetian blinds) adjacent to the main 3 panes...hmm, it could end up being pretty costly, and as suggested, I am not guaranteed that it will achieve what I am after (ie. if the gyprock walls, roof, etc. are contributors also). It wouldnt help having large ceramic floor tiles either, a long way from an ideal room! I have countered that to a degree with a large wool rug and furnishings, but the acoustics are always going to be a challenge! However, my main concern is the sound leaking outside, I had a listen to it tonight, and with the glass doors closed and vertical drapes closed, its only mildly quieter on the outside than with the door open! I will try Tony's idea of the blankets for starters, and see if much difference. Difficult choices to make here...$3k can buy some very nice hifi upgrades, or that long overdue o/s holiday....or.....!!!!! Edited October 14, 2010 by SETfan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheekyboy Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 Are you getting complaints from your neighbours Mark? I'm surprised you'd have problems in that regard, given the SPLs I would have thought you'd listen at most of the time and the location of the speakers in that room...........unless you've moved it around since I was there. I always thought the SQ was pretty good in that room too and I wouldn't have thought that glass doorway to have much influence really, but there you have it. Soundproofing sounds like an expensive exersize, especially if you can't guarantee the end result! Good luck with mate. Cheers, Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mondie Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 Mark, DG will help but perhaps not as much as you might think. My old room was built with DG, it was approx 4.8 x 5.5m and had 5 alu 900 x 1800mm windows, l could still clearly hear the music outside. It will reduce the sound of course but l dont know what SPL's you play at and just how much attenuation you are seeking? Air tightness is very important too in an application like this. Its really difficult to predict just how successful this will be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SETfan Posted October 15, 2010 Author Share Posted October 15, 2010 Howdy Keith, no complaints from neighbours, its just when I have been out on the patio (with the occasional warmer weather!) it just struck me how loud it sounds outside even at my generally moderate listening levels. Yes, the room acoustics are ok really, it is more my preference to not have to be mindful of the neighbours, moreso when I decide to crank things up occasionally! My patio where the sliding doors are, opens directly into their yard/patio area (sub divided backyard block).... Gee, unless I can get a pretty solid guarantee about the double glazing I think I will give it a miss! I will do some more homework and try the blanket attempt. PS: Simon, as a fellow Joy Division fan...did you go to see Peter Hook do the Unknown Pleasures show? I did, I was blown away hearing those classic songs live for the first time!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Spencer Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 Try this easy experiment. Throw a rug over your speakers while playing. Listen to the bass. Exactly the same, just muffled treble. Double glazing will do it for a price, and it sounds like the problem isn't big enough to justify it. Another option is to make up some shutters with curtains over them. Not too expensive but probably not very practical either in anything but a dedicated room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almikel Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 (edited) Another thing to consider is that most sound proofing treatments reflect the sound back inside, which could degrade the acoustics in the room (I'm not sure of the effects of double glazing but I'd assume some of the sound is reflected back inside). A better approach may be to talk to your neighbours - tell them you like your music but if it's ever too loud to let you know - it may be a non-issue. cheers Mike Edited October 15, 2010 by almikel typo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KELECK PAULIN MARTIAL GAEL Posted April 6, 2018 Share Posted April 6, 2018 when you live in a noisy neighborhood and you want to get rid of noises, The answer is here noise barrier walls residential Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almikel Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 On 4/6/2018 at 2:10 PM, KELECK PAULIN MARTIAL GAEL said: when you live in a noisy neighborhood and you want to get rid of noises, The answer is here noise barrier walls residential but remember good sound isolation/sound proofing requires no air leaks - any air path around any sound proofing product introduces "flanking noise", which can easily negate any benefit from "sound proofing" products. Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill125812 Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 What about these https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com.au%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F371474588066 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunk Lance Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 Use Acoustic Curtains SETfan, I have used it to cover my windows, in order to record videos for Youtube(for my guitar tutorial videos) and it works gloriously well and it is reflected in my music. I bought it from a site which I found from a thread in AV forums, and I'll leave the links below for you if you want to check that out. Try to cover the entire room with sound blankets after that, just my opinion, to get more rich sound. Have a great day! Link to the site where I bought - Sound Blanket Curtains Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewmission Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 Someone had suggested to use renovalist blankets on the outer side and some nicer looking ones on the inside. What do you guys think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThirdDrawerDown Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 How loud does it sound from the property boundaries? This is where city council interest might start, but for all practical purposes your neigbours' would probably be involved only if they could hear your music inside their house. Otherwise it's just passers-by hearing Love will Tear Us Apart and saying "That doesn't sound like Paul Young." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewmission Posted July 14, 2018 Share Posted July 14, 2018 Its an industrial area so its more to keep the outside noise from impacting on my recordings. Trucks reversing, drills, saws. All of these things Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewmission Posted April 20, 2019 Share Posted April 20, 2019 Producers choice soumd blankets seem to be really popular Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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