For a glass-walled office or meeting room, your primary room soundproofing adversary is airborne noise. Airborne sound travels through the air, and includes sounds like people talking, blaring music, or that dog that won’t stop barking from behind the building across the street. Imagine your glass room is a fish tank and the sound waves are water – any gaps in your tank is going to let the water (or sound) leak out into the surrounding space.
 
The key to stopping airborne sound is a barrier with a proper STC rating (how much airborne sound is blocked) that is installed without air gaps that will allow sound to go around it.

When it comes to soundproofing a glass wall in an office environment, there are two problems that are more common than the glass itself. The first is the door into the glass room (often also glass). For effective soundproofing, this door must be well sealed when closed. The second issue is the dropped ceiling that typically accompanies glass walls. The typical ceiling tile blocks sound about as well as a piece of cardboard. So, sound tends to travel over the glass wall and out of the room. The best fix for soundproofing a dropped ceiling is our CelluZorbe HD Backer Board installed on top of the existing ceiling tiles.

The glass wall itself is usually only a problem when dealing with excessive noise or with an exterior wall. For a glass-walled room in your typical, relatively quiet office – the glass is soundproof enough. When designing a new glass structure though, it’s important to consider the STC rating of the glass relative to your desired Sound Transmission Class (STC) requirements. As a point of reference, the typical well-sealed wall with 5/8" drywall and batt insulation achieves about an STC 38. Glass can achieve that same STC rating (or higher!), depending on the thickness, whether it’s laminated, and the other factors such as the number of panes and airspace between those panes. As a quick reference, here’s the STC rating of several common glass thicknesses.

The Fantastic Frame Window Insert is a cost-effective, discrete, and high performing solution to soundproofing an existing glass wall or glass curtainwall. Custom-built to fit seamlessly with the existing structure, these inserts can significantly decrease noise transmission through your glass wall by up to 80%. We commonly install the Fantastic Frame with commercial curtain walls, because they do more than soundproof! When installed in an entire building, we see reductions in energy bills up to 40%! The breakeven on the project is typically under two years.
 
There’s one other unique use-case for the Fantastic Frame I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention. A glass walled room often has acoustical issues. When installing these window inserts with a 4.5” air gap, they also act as a bass trap – “absorbing” sound within the room due to the way the frame “bellows”. This frame design is what gives our product such high performance, and makes it an extremely useful acoustical tool in some glass walls.
 
The Fantastic Frame window insert is custom built and works with any size or shape of glass wall. You won’t even notice that they’re there. We make these inserts in the USA, and they’re eligible for up to $1200 in tax credits under the IRA! What in the world are you waiting for? Your glass walls are practically begging you for the Fantastic Frame!

Alright, folks! Let’s get into some of the nuts and bolts. Building a glass wall that’s soundproof isn’t complicated! But you do need to avoid an “own goal” by selecting glass with too low of an STC rating or installing the glass walls and door with air gaps. And if you did make that mistake – the good news is we can help you fix it. Here’s how:

1. Assess the Situation: Start by identifying the primary sources of noise and the weak points in your glass wall. Do you have obvious gaps or a dropped ceiling? If so, we know where to start.
   
2. Seal those Gaps: Ensure the door is well sealed and the drop ceiling isn't allowing sound to go over the glass. If you poke your head up there, chances are the “wall” stops where the ceiling tiles start.
   
3. Install the Fantastic Frame Window Insert: If the glass itself is the weak point, the Fantastic Frame window insert will substantially increase the amount of sound blocked. It’s the most cost-effective fix, and can help with both soundproofing and acoustical issues.
   

These steps look simple on paper (or screen), but they are easy to mess up if you don’t know them! If you need help or just want to talk to an expert, reach out to a soundproofing expert at Second Skin. We're here to help turn down the volume on your noise problems!

So there you have it! Whether you're trying to block out the hustle and bustle of the city or just the enthusiastic chatter from the next office over, you now know the basics of how to soundproof a glass wall. And if these are exterior walls, the energy savings from installing the Fantastic Frame Window Inserts means they will pay for themselves… and the office party each year afterwards! For more office noise solutions, reach out to one of our Second Skin soundproofing experts today - we're here and ready to help you give noise the “silent” treatment it deserves.