Soundproofing Windows?

[Bear]

The new space that I am moving into has two large windows. I plan on covering these windows with room-darkening blinds with bamboo blinds over them. The building is over 100 years old - its a very cool space that used to be a car factory. 5 streets to the north is a large hosiptal and the building is very close to a major interstate. All of this adds up to a lot of noise. Often you will hear an ambulance or even a helicopter. Has anyone had experience adding some soundproofing to windows? I thought about just taping some foam insulation to the windows - perhaps using some spray foam to "wedge" the insulation into place. Whatever I use it needs to be temporary, or at least can be removed without causing any harm to the rental space. Currently the space is being remodeled before I can move in. Here is a picture of the windows -

 

[sheriff]

Soundproofing Windows?

Just *how* loud is the noise in the space? How loud will it be with the blinds over the windows (does block out some noise)? With the rest of your "stuff" in the room (less echoing)?

Our new place is a far sight better-insulated than our old space. We are right up next to the commuter train tracks, and a block away from the police station/two blocks from the fire station. Guess where they all pass whenever they have to go somewhere? Yup-- within a block of our place, if not right in front of it. And being where we are, there is always some idiot who forgets that "flashing lights on emergency vehicle going very fast means PULL OVER", so they end up blaring their horns RIGHT in front of our place. At least the train is relatively quiet-- they only have the sound of the wheels whooshing, and the little "ting, ting" of the bell as they pass-- unless someone is in the way at one of the two crossings on either side of us, in which case we get to hear the horn sounded.

But even though these sounds can be heard in the treatment room, it's not invasive. I don't know if it's because we and most of our clients live here so it's normal noise to all of us, or if it's just "once in the Zone, always in the Zone", or what, but... it really hasn't been a problem.

Now, when we were renting a room in a multi-service salon, now THAT was where there was unacceptable noise! Chitter-chatter, loud voices not respecting the "massage in session" signs on the door, etc.. I guess the sounds of "life happening, but outside of this sanctuary" is different from "life seeming like it's trying to invade the sanctuary".

I guess what I'm trying to say is, why not try the place out as is, without the sound-proofing, first? You may find that you don't need it after all. If what you want to do is temporary, it shouldn't be much trouble to add it after moving in instead of before. Might come out cheaper that way, too.

Of course, all my words are "moot" if the place is just. too. noisy. So, your mileage may vary, lol. Good luck with it! Congrats on the "way cool space"!

 

[I wanna know?]

Soundproofing Windows?

This may be useful, from a really old thread:

... I work in a busy salon & the laughter & such outside the door is hard to keep out. We have a sign, etc, but who wants to discourage people from being happy & chatty when it's their buck, and others are offering more upbeat, social services? I mask the sounds completely by having a velvet curtain covering my door, my sound machine, a fan (moves the air, moves my wind chimes & adds a small amount of white noise... it's actually quieter than I thought it'd be) and my music selections. Sounds like alot, but I have them all coming from different corners. The center of the room is a beautiful blend of soundscapes.


Jill/Sagetherapist

Jill/Sagetherapist

 

[Cienna]

Soundproofing Windows?

Thanks pueppi, I was thinking about that post too just hadn't had time to look it up for Matt.

Honestly I think the space is awesome Matt. And I think the windows are neat & I would hate to have them covered up all the time, since it really seems like it would be a well lit space in the day time, perfect if you needed some light for doing paperwork in the space. I would probably go with room darkening blinds & something like sagetherapist suggested... velvet or other heavy fabric draperies. I would further deaden noise in the space with upholstered furniture and some nice plush carpeting.

Think about the direction the noise usually comes from and try to surround the client with things that help mask any outside noise. Even a fan on low at floor level can keep air moving & provide a bit of white noise. And then there is that possible wall fountain you were considering... right?

Matt, please keep us posted on what you do and I would love to see photos when your space is done!

 

[Dan L]

Soundproofing Windows?

Hi Matt, I have good experience creating a room using sound dampening products. My office is in a building that has all hardwood flooring and you're right, it's through the windows where sound travels the most. My window is shared by the office next door and until I put up a sound dampening plug in the window, I could hear everything he said over the phone! Regular foam won't do as well, and room darkening blinds/curtains they carry in general stores don't really do a great job if you're trying to keep out traffic, ambulances & helicopters! Of all the soundproofing things I did, it wasn't until I added the acoustical foam & absorption sheets (which I did as a last resort b/c the other stuff wasn't helping much!) that sound coming in from outside was greatly reduced. As mentioned previously, it will also help to have soft furnishings and carpeting.

This website has a lot of great info about soundproofing a room is http://www.soundproofing.org they have a lot of helpful tips and such. The foam I bought for my window was acoustical foam and I glued it to a thin piece of plywood. I then drilled holes into the sides of the window (concrete) and put in eyebolts. I then inserted the window plug (after glue dried) and tied it in using rope bringing it through all the eyebolts. Over that I hung some nice curtains from bed bath & beyond. Not only did I have the window, but one half of one of my office walls is a glass sliding door (about 8' high & 30' long). So, for that I purchased 3 sheets of absorption sheets. They are made specifically for absorbing sound and I purchased three of them from the sale page -- hung them and then over those hung some curtains. You can check it out at this link- http://www.audimutesoundproofing.co...that-absorb-sound-soundproofing-blankets.aspx However, see if there's any on sale.

So, if the acoustical foam is too expensive for your budget, go with the absorption sheets. I paid $350 for a piece of 6x8 of the acoustical foam. The absorption sheets were only $50 apiece. I also found helpful to have a water fountain and a thick cotton cloth that covers the ceiling as the ceiling in my office is high with a skylight. If you want to see photos, I'll take some for you and email them to you as I'm not sure how to download photos here.

I also just wanted to add that spray foam is a really bad idea. Have you ever used it before? It's very difficult to clean off once it hardens!!

 

[WOOT65]

Soundproofing Windows?

Thank you all for the great feedback. My current space is already in this same building - just a different office. My new office is right down the hall from the space I currently sublease. I think that I have been so worried about creating the "perfect" space that I may be over thinking some things. Last night I had a client and I heard an ambulance go by. I apologized after the massage and the client said that he did not notice anything.
Thankfully I do not have to worry about any noise from either side and directly above me is an artist (painter).
I think that I will try things out and see if I need to take any further steps to soundproof. I will post some more pictures as soon as the space is completed. Thanks again!

 

[xxcutekittyxx]

Soundproofing Windows?

I just thought of something else. And, it probably has this info in kathryn's soundproofing link... but, to my knowledge when soundproofing a room in general, you use thick plastic sheeting between two layers of sheetrock. So, this may be something to look into if you decide to put up something across the windows.

As for the ambulance, I am in the middle of a large city. A fire station is 1½ blocks from my office and the freeway is another block over on the other side. I am on the street between the fire station and the freeway, so I get to hear about 3 firetrucks and 2 ambulances each day (sometimes less, sometimes more). It's never been a problem. It's part of being in the city and we're all pretty used to it. As a rule, your music, talking or clients ability to veg out - will zone most of those passing sounds out.

I'd be more stressed about someone who sits in the parking lot with their bass cranked up to the max (I have had it happen :irked: ) or the occasional people who have a loud conversation outside your windows (I haven't had that, as my massage room is internal within my office space).

09/09/11 - corrected for a typo

 

[Eat shyt and die]

Soundproofing Windows?

We are on a busy street, the main street of the city, with the firehouse a block away, the police department a block in the other direction and the only hospital 2 blocks away! Every day - EVERY day - we hear sirens, the firehouse alarm, car horns, even the occasional tractor trailer blast. (Not sure why tractor trailers are going down this street, but anyway...) It's not as noticeable as you'd think. I mean, we can hear them but it just doesn't seem to be an issue for clients. Generally it's not on ongoing, long sound. And this summer I finally got around to putting a small fan under my table at the foot. In addition to keeping me cooler when I'm sitting at the head of the table, it's surprisingly VERY effective at blocking out a lot (in addition to our music). And, as someone mentioned, ongoing chatter is much more annoying to me than the sirens.

We don't have any street facing windows in our rooms, but one room did at our old location. He just did room darkening shades and drapes, carpet, the music and a fan. We were only a block away from where we are now so we still had the same variety of sounds but I never really noticed them when I was getting a massage from him. I noticed them way more when I was working in his room, I think we tend to focus on that stuff more than clients do.

 

[happygirl]

Soundproofing Windows?

I guess my situation was much more extreme- my office building is very nice looking but is a warehouse with six offices built upstairs; in the warehouse downstairs they hand make frames, so lot's of banging; all hardwood flooring- no carpeting anywhere in the building; the large window in my office is facing a street & shared by the office next door; one half of one of another of my walls is all glass; and I have another thin-long window that faces the hallway. Very very noisy!...Although, not anymore

 

[Thang Nguyen]

Soundproofing Windows?

I have been in my office a little over a week now and so far the noise has not been an issue. I had some professional pictures taken but I have yet to get those back. In the mean time I have uploaded some snapshots I took on my website:
http://www.matt.massagetherapy.com/gallery

Overall I am very pleased with how things turned out - beyond my expectations really. My clients seem to like the space so far too.

 

[anna b]

Soundproofing Windows?

Love... LOVE... the lamp above the waiting room chairs.

Place looks really nice. Congratulations!

How many square foot is it? Or, did you already tell us? You can PM me if you prefer.

 

[frend]

Soundproofing Windows?

Love your new place Matt... if I ever get to Indy again, I will definitely be calling for an appointment. I am pretty sure I'd find it very relaxing and comfortable there!

 

[KendrickWarren]

Soundproofing Windows?

Matt, your pics and site look wonderful. Tell me-- are the walls truly "hot cocoa brown", or is that just my monitor?

 

[Courtney L]

Soundproofing Windows?

The wall color is a deep brown. I picked up a color sample from Lowe's and they matched it for me. The actual color was called "petrified wood." I love browns and earth-toned colors.

 

[prtygirl17]

Soundproofing Windows?

Yeah, we're more earth tones/woodsy colors here too. As soon as the developer lets go of our new site, I'll pm you a link. Everyone who's seen it so far *loves* it. It *is* different, I'll admit to that!

 

[erika dion]

Soundproofing Windows?

Looks great Matt!