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Home Depot Window Soundproofing Alternatives
Author: Sturgeon Christie
Last Updated: February 9, 2024
Read Time: 8 Minutes
Home Depot Window Soundproofing Alternatives
Author:
Sturgeon Christie
Last Updated:
February 9, 2024
Read Time:
8 Minutes
Author: Sturgeon Christie
Updated: Feb. 9, 2024
Read Time: 8 Minutes
Are you thinking of soundproofing your windows to escape from noisy neighbors or traffic sounds? Or perhaps you're tired of being disturbed by the rumbling of your air conditioning unit outside your window. Whatever outside noise you’re looking to stop with soundproof windows, the Fantastic Frame Window Insert is going to be the best possible option to reduce the most noise. There are other options to consider as well, and we’ll go into the details on those and how well they work below.
Home Depot is an excellent place to purchase materials, but they have limited expertise in a specialty niche like soundproofing. We cringe at a good bit of the advice we read in their online articles. Fortunately for you, you get to pick a true soundproofing expert’s brain before you start buying stuff at Home Depot.
In this article, we will analyze some of Home Depot’s top window soundproofing recommendations and discuss how well each one works. We will also go over our top tips for soundproofing a window. Let’s dive in!
Are you thinking of soundproofing your windows to escape from noisy neighbors or traffic sounds? Or perhaps you're tired of being disturbed by the rumbling of your air conditioning unit outside your window. Whatever outside noise you’re looking to stop with soundproof windows, the Fantastic Frame Window Insert is going to be the best possible option to reduce the most noise. There are other options to consider as well, and we’ll go into the details on those and how well they work below.
Home Depot is an excellent place to purchase materials, but they have limited expertise in a specialty niche like soundproofing. We cringe at a good bit of the advice we read in their online articles. Fortunately for you, you get to pick a true soundproofing expert’s brain before you start buying stuff at Home Depot.
In this article, we will analyze some of Home Depot’s top window soundproofing recommendations and discuss how well each one works. We will also go over our top tips for soundproofing a window. Let’s dive in!
Why Soundproof a Window?
If outside noise is getting into a home, we need to start with soundproofing the windows. Whether it’s your neighbors, dogs barking, traffic, an AC unit, or a pool pump – the window is the weak point letting all that unwanted noise into your home. The closer you can get your window soundproofing performance to the wall around it, the quieter and more comfortable your home will be.
Soundproofing your window also has a side benefit of reducing drafts and heat loss. When customers soundproof all the windows in their home with our Fantastic Frame Window Inserts, they will typically save 40-50% on their energy bill. Quieter, more comfortable, and saving money?! If you want to skip to the last section to learn more, we don’t blame you!
Difference Between Soundproofing and Acoustics
Before we dive into some of Home Depot’s top window soundproofing recommendations, it is important to understand the difference between soundproofing and acoustics. Many of Home Depot’s recommended materials are better used as acoustical materials (to improve sound quality) rather than for soundproofing.
Soundproofing: Block sound transfer into a Home
When soundproofing, you are blocking sound from traveling from one space to another. If you have a loud next-door neighbor or live near a busy street with cars whizzing down the road late at night, soundproofing will keep the noise out of your home. Soundproofing materials need to be dense enough to block sound, and there must be an airtight seal around soundproof barriers to prevent noise from traveling through any gaps. Have you ever been in a building with super heavy doors that look like they have seals around the edges? This is because the doors are built to be extra dense and airtight to block sound.
Acoustics: Improve Sound quality
Acoustics improve the sound quality of a space and absorb sound. So, instead of preventing sound from entering a room, you improve speech intelligibility and modestly decrease the amount of sound bouncing around inside of it. A room with poor acoustics will have a lot of echo or reverb because the sound waves will bounce back and forth between the hard surfaces. Acoustical panels, foam, or even carpeting can be used to increase the amount of sound absorption in a room and reduce echo and reverb.
Home Depot Soundproof Window Options
There’s a lot of misinformation out there about soundproofing, and the internet has done the world no favors. It’s not just hardware stores like Home Depot or Lowe’s that give bad advice, as most of folks out there just have a general misunderstanding of how sound works. We want to make sure you know what results to expect out of your efforts.
Here are some of the main window soundproofing tips Home Depot recommends and how much sound reduction you can expect from following the advice on their website.
Curtains: Not for Soundproofing
One of the main things Home Depot recommends for soundproofing windows is hanging thick curtains. We don’t recommend using curtains for soundproofing as they are simply not dense enough to block much sound and they are not airtight. If there is outside noise traveling through your window, placing a thick curtain over will reduce the noise through your window by 3-5 decibels. That’s 20-30% perceived noise reduction.
They do get one thing right, which is that if you’re going to try and use curtains – they MUST be thick and heavy. Thin curtains will reduce noise by 0-2 decibels. Anything under 3 decibels is too little for the human ear to notice, so the only benefit you’ll get is a nicer looking window if you picked some curtains you love.
Foam: Good for Acoustics, Bad For Soundproofing
Home Depot also recommends using foam as a window soundproofing solution. This is absolutely terrible advice. While foam is a useful sound absorption tool that we commonly recommend for acoustics, it is not an effective soundproofing material. Do NOT waste your money with foam over your windows! The expected noise reduction is 1-2 decibels, an amount you won’t be able to notice.
Foam lacks density and will not block any sound from coming through. By adding foam to a room, the only benefit is absorbing sound quicker once it’s already inside the room (less reverb). The basic formula is to that to reduce the noise level in a room by 3 decibels with acoustical materials, you have to double the amount of absorption in a room. For your typical home office or bedroom, you’ll need 50-100 sq ft of material to get those 3 decibels (20% perceived noise reduction).
Double Paned Window: Slight Improvement
Home Depot may also recommend replacing your single pane window with a double pane window. There is truth to this, as two panes of glass block more noise than one. Unfortunately, the typical double pane window is only slightly better than a single pane window due to the small size of the air gap and how the two panes of glass are coupled together (so they will resonate together). The typical single pane window has an STC rating around 20, while a basic double pane window will be around an STC 24.
Switching out your single pane windows for double pane is a lot of money to spend only to realize that you’re getting a 4 decibel noise reduction! (25% less perceived noise vs 50-80% with our Fantastic Frame window inserts)
Our Soundproof Window Recommendation
Here are our recommendations for soundproofing your windows and getting the best results possible.
Best Option: Fantastic Frame Soundproof Window Inserts
Your best bet for soundproofing any external-facing window is to use soundproof window inserts. Our Fantastic Frame Soundproof Window Inserts are a super effective way to block up to 80% of the noise passing through your window.
A standard double pane window has an STC rating (sound transmission class) of 24. This is not very high relative to the wall around it. With the Fantastic Frame Window Insert installed with the minimal air gap, a basic double hung window’s STC rating improves to 37 (lab tested, ASTM E90), which is well over a 50% perceived noise reduction - and that's assuming you don't have space to create a larger air gap to get closer to that 80% reduction.
The frame of these window inserts is engineered for maximum soundproofing at all frequencies (low/medium/high) while also maintaining a lightweight structure. So, don’t worry if the club across the street from you is hosting a dubstep night. Even the bass notes will be no match for your newly soundproofed windows.
Acoustical Sealant for Sealing and Soundproofing a Window
The window insert also seals the window unit, which prevents sound from flowing through the gaps in the window. But there also can be gaps around the window frame that let sound through. If you have obvious gaps or old sealant that is beginning to peal off, use acoustical sealant to seal around the perimeter of the window to ensure no sound passes through the gaps. Specifically if you have a skylight window you want to soundproof or seal, this is very important. If fixing seals is needed, this should be done in combination with the Fantastic Frame Window Inserts as it prevents sound from traveling around your newly soundproofed window.