street noise driving me nuts - storm windows or acoustic glass?

Had storm windows at my old place - helped a bit, but honestly, acoustic glass was a game changer when I finally upgraded. Pricier, yeah, but worth it if you value your sleep...

"Pricier, yeah, but worth it if you value your sleep..."

True, acoustic glass can be a lifesaver, but honestly, I've seen plenty of cases where properly installed storm windows did the trick just fine. A lot depends on the quality of installation and sealing - if that's off, even acoustic glass won't fully solve your noise issues. Had a client once who upgraded to acoustic glass but still had gaps around the frames... total waste until we fixed that. Just something to keep in mind before dropping serious cash.

Gotta second the sealing comment. A few years back, street noise was driving me up the wall - garbage trucks at 5 AM, motorcycles revving at midnight, you name it. I almost splurged on acoustic glass, but decided to try storm windows first (mostly because my wallet threatened to disown me). Anyway, after a weekend of obsessively sealing every tiny gap with weatherstripping and caulk, the difference was night and day. Not saying acoustic glass isn't awesome - it totally is - but sometimes a solid DIY sealing job can surprise you. Plus, it's oddly satisfying hunting down those sneaky air leaks... or maybe that's just me being weirdly obsessive again.

Anyway, after a weekend of obsessively sealing every tiny gap with weatherstripping and caulk, the difference was night and day.

Storm windows plus sealing did the trick for me too. Here's what I did: first, checked all around the window frames for gaps - used a candle flame to spot drafts. Then applied weatherstripping tape and caulked any cracks. Installed storm windows afterward. Noise dropped significantly, especially traffic hum and random honks. Acoustic glass probably works even better, but this combo was cheaper and effective enough for my needs. Worth trying before spending big bucks on acoustic glass.