I’ve been in this house since the late 90s, and honestly, I’ve seen more window “upgrades” go sideways because of bad installs than anything else. I remember paying extra for triple-pane in the front rooms, thinking that’d solve my noise problem. Well, the first winter, I still felt drafts—turns out the installer skipped sealing a section behind the trim. Had to tear it apart and redo it myself. Fancy windows are pointless if the basics get ignored. Sometimes I wonder if the industry oversells the glass and undersells the craftsmanship.
- Nailed it about the install being just as important as the glass. I’ve swapped out windows in two houses now, and every time, the biggest headaches came from lazy sealing or rushed trim work.
- Triple-pane is great for noise, but only if everything’s airtight. Even a tiny gap can ruin the effect. I found that out the hard way when I did my back bedroom—thought I’d done everything right, but missed a spot under the sill. Ended up with a drafty room and a lot of cursing.
- Here’s what worked for me:
- Always pull off the interior trim after install to check the gaps around the frame. Don’t trust anyone else to have filled them properly.
- Use low-expansion foam (the stuff made for windows/doors). Regular spray foam can warp the frame if you’re not careful.
- Caulk both inside and outside edges, even if it seems overkill. Water and air find a way otherwise.
- Not sure if you noticed this, but sometimes installers skip flashing or do a sloppy job with it. That’s a recipe for leaks down the line, especially in older homes where things aren’t perfectly square.
- The window industry does hype up glass specs—low-e coatings, gas fills, all that—but skips over the boring (but crucial) stuff like shims and insulation. It’s not flashy, but it matters more day-to-day.
- Honestly, after watching how some “pros” work, I’d rather DIY at my own pace. At least then I know what corners got cut (or didn’t).
- One thing I’d add: city noise can also sneak in through walls or even electrical outlets. I found plugging up little gaps around outlets on exterior walls helped a bit too.
Not saying everyone should rip out their own windows, but double-checking the details makes all the difference.
Not saying everyone should rip out their own windows, but double-checking the details makes all the difference.
That’s what I keep wondering about—how much you really need to DIY to get it right. I’m on my first house and just got quotes for windows, but the idea of pulling off trim and checking gaps myself kind of stresses me out. Is it actually doable for someone who’s never done more than basic caulking? Also, about the outlet gaps—did you use those foam gaskets behind the plates, or something else? I keep hearing mixed things about whether they help with noise or just drafts.
I totally get the hesitation with pulling off trim—it sounds intimidating, but it’s not as bad as it looks if you go slow and have a pry bar. I was in the same boat on my first place and just watched a couple YouTube videos before trying. As for those foam gaskets, they’re decent for stopping drafts but honestly didn’t make much difference for noise in my old house. I ended up using a little low-expansion spray foam around the outlets, which helped more for both air and sound. Just gotta be careful not to overdo it or you’ll have trouble getting the plate back on.
Ha, yeah, those foam gaskets are a bit of a letdown for noise—great for drafts, but city sounds just laugh at 'em. I tried the spray foam trick too and totally spaced out how much it expands... ended up with a lumpy mess behind one plate. Had to trim it back with a steak knife. If you really wanna kill noise, heavier curtains helped me more than anything else. Not perfect, but at least my sleep isn’t wrecked by garbage trucks now.
Spray foam can definitely get out of hand—seen my share of warped trim and outlets buried under the stuff. For noise, I’ve found double-pane windows do more than any gasket or curtain, but they’re a bigger investment. Heavy curtains help, but they’re only part of the solution. Sometimes it’s just about layering fixes, even if none are perfect.
Interesting point about layering fixes—I’ve always wondered about the diminishing returns, though. After putting in double-pane windows, I did notice a big drop in street noise, but traffic rumble still sneaks through, especially low frequencies. Has anyone tried those acoustic window inserts or secondary glazing? I’m curious if they actually make a noticeable difference, or if it’s just another incremental upgrade. Sometimes I question if there’s a practical limit to how quiet you can get an older house without major structural changes...
Funny, I went down this exact rabbit hole a couple years back when the city decided to re-pave my street with what I can only assume is some kind of experimental “amplified rumble” asphalt. After putting in double-pane windows (not cheap, and not quick), I noticed a pretty big drop in the sharp noises—car horns, people yelling, that sort of thing. But the low-frequency stuff, like trucks idling or that weird sub-bass from buses, still came right through. It’s like the house was wearing earmuffs but forgot earplugs.
I did try secondary glazing panels—the magnetic acrylic ones you can pop in and out. They helped a bit more with the mid-frequency sounds, but I have to be honest: if you’re expecting total silence, it’s probably not gonna happen unless you start rebuilding walls or floating your floors. The main issue is those low frequencies travel through the structure itself, not just the air gaps. Windows are definitely the weak point, but they’re not the only path.
One thing I learned (the hard way) is that even small air leaks make a big difference. I ended up using acoustic caulk around every window frame, which actually gave me more improvement than the inserts did. If you haven’t already tried that, it’s worth a shot—messy, but satisfying.
At a certain point, though, yeah, diminishing returns kick in fast. You can get a lot of improvement, but there’s always going to be some noise unless you go full recording-studio mode… and then you’re basically living in a padded cell. Not sure my spouse would go for that look.
Anyway, I’d say inserts are decent for an extra layer if you’re already most of the way there and just want to take the edge off. But for the deep rumbles? That’s just city living, I guess.
That low-frequency rumble is the bane of my existence—had a client once who lived near a train line, and even after triple-glazing, the floor would vibrate at 3am. We ended up isolating the joists with rubber pads, which helped a bit, but honestly, you’re right: unless you’re gutting the place, some of that sound just gets through. Acoustic caulk is underrated, though—messy, but it seals up those sneaky gaps way better than people expect.
That rumble is relentless, isn’t it? I lived in a 60s-era townhouse for a while, right next to a main road—trucks would hit this dip at night and the whole place would buzz. We tried heavy curtains and those foam weatherstrips, but honestly, the biggest difference came from sealing up the weird little gaps around the window frames with acoustic caulk. Like you said, it’s messy work (and my hands were sticky for days), but it really did cut down on that sneaky air-leak noise.
Funny thing—people always jump straight to new windows or fancy panels, but sometimes it’s those overlooked details that help the most. That said, low-frequency stuff is just stubborn. I’ve heard of folks floating entire floors on rubber pads, but unless you’re renovating from scratch, that’s a huge job.
I do wish there was a magic fix for structure-borne noise… until then, it’s all about stacking up little improvements and hoping for quieter nights.