Hi,
I'm going mental and need to soundproof my apartment.
Does anyone have any recommendations (from experience) for reputable businesses for installing Double Glazed windows for south west Sydney?
These things are so expensive and it's hard to know a good from dodgy business, so I want to get it right.
Any builders out there have any recommendations?
I have heard of people getting them manufactured overseas and then shipped here to be installed by a local.
I have seen builders get container loads from China of windows.
I've been exploring the idea of just using perspex and cutting to size then installing onto the existing frame. You just need to seal the edges to get the air barrier. When I was in uni during winter hanging opaque paint drop sheets over window binds helped a lot with keeping the heating in (not necessarily noise out).
sounds amazing, I just don't know where to start
Hi there,
I'm in Melbourne so can't recommend any suppliers in Sydney but we have got ours manufactured by a company local here. We, like you are in an apartment and have a lot of sound intrusion from trams, trains, and traffic. For our sliding doors we installed acoustic double glazing, cheaper than triple glazing and still very effective. One side of the glass is laminated twice as thick (2 pieces back to back). This is what eliminates sound. Highly recommended. Thanks
thanks for that. did you just go to a window specialist and have that organised or some other specialist?
It was a double glazing company. They're called Thermotek if you want to look them up for ideas
Was there a particular reason you didn't go with secondary glazing which is cheaper? How much did you end up paying for it? Im also in Melbourne and thinking to fix up my sound problems due to facing a really busy main road.
@crimsondarkn: We needed to replace our doors as they were buggered and thought we'd do it all at the same time. It was around $17k for two large doors and three windows. The doors and one window were done with acoustic glazing
@wce2018: 17K ? Holy crap. I got a quote from StopNoise, and it was only about 3k for 2 windows and a door…. jesus christ.
@crimsondarkn: Haha yeah a bit of a punch in the face but we had to do it to fix our leaks. We now don't have water coming in which is worth it in itself. We also haven't had the heating on in winter since installing so 100% worth it
Had a similar issue in our old apartment in which the bedrooms were on a busy(ish) road. We finally got sick of the noise at night and installed some cheap(er) retrofit double glazing from magnetite on our large sliding doors. Do a quick google.
It's just a 2nd layer of laminate/perspex sort of thing they put over the existing windows. It still wasn't cheap, but cheaper than the glass double glazing alternative plus we would have had issues with strata.
It worked and significantly cut the sound coming through - not totally though, but I don't think anything would be.
We were happy with the results and wondered why we never did it earlier.
I've been looking into that as well. Does it ever get tiresome having two sets of doors/windows?
Was never too bad, I never remember being annoyed with it.
The relative silence made up for it
i've just started looking at acoustics and soundproofing and came across this video talk i watched recently.
i was thinking of measuring up a sheet of thick perspex and attached some foam around it and shoving it into the window seal and seeing if that helps.
there's other stuff you can do as well, acoustic curtains etc.
If there is room in the window sill you can install another complete window for the maximum sound proofing. The factors that increase the soundproofing are the thickness of the glass in the windows and the space between the glass panes.
I live on a very busy and noisy road and looked at this extensively when deciding how to block out noise. I changed out the very thin original window glass for 10mm thick glass panes. I then installed a complete set of sliding windows with 10mm thick glass on the inside of these original windows. I used soundout windows, which I think were made by https://www.awsaustralia.com.au/vantage/residential-sliding-… but bought them locally in Sydney from a random window joint. I have a 8cm gap between the two windows.
I would say doing this blocked out a good 95% of the traffic noise at the front of my house. Mind you I am in a double brick house which helped. I also installed two solid wood doors with seals on the front of my house which is like an airlock coming in but again, cut noise almost completely.
Anyway, food for thought, especially if you have deep window sills.
thank you! i'm pretty sure the glass i've got now is like 1mm. lol I'd love to do what you've done. Did you have the same business replace your original glass and install the second layer? Got about 8-9 cms indent for the balcony doors and 10cm for window sills
I have a mate who is a glazier so I got him to swap out the glass in my existing old style sash windows at the cost of the glass.
As for the secondary windows that I installed inside my original windows, I ordered them direct from a local (Sydney) window manufacturer who delivered them with 10mm glass already installed. I then paid for my carpenter to put them in. I bought 3 largish windows, about 3m by 1.5m high. From memory that set me back about $4000.
I do remember that it paid to shop around. I was quoted between that $4000 and up to about $10000 for the same windows from different places. The further west in Sydney the businesses I called were, the cheaper it got.
By the way, the magnetite windows mentioned here to my understanding are not glass, they install a sheet of perpex/acrylic onto the inside of the window. They usually fix them with strips of strong magnets so they can be removed for cleaning etc and to open the original windows. Also if they are fixed in I believe you can get issues with condensation. I considered doing this myself by just buying perpex, having it cut to size and buying some magnetetic strips to put in place. Might be worth considering. I rang Magnetite for a quote at the time and it was almost as much cost as installing the secondary windows I went with.
The secondary windows isn't particularily stylist though, so I can see why people with federation houses and the like often go for Magnetite solutions.
HI - can you pls PM me the place from where you ordered the windows in Sydney thanks
if you close every window and door tight … you need to run A/C 24/7 for ventilation ?
lol well im not an AC type of person. only used it once in the last year.. and I spent my entire life sleeping with my bedroom sliding door wide open all year round. Transitioning to sleeping with it closed was tough. But I'm literally at the point of nearing nervous breakdown from 24 hour traffic noise and poor sleep. So the windows will be open, but when it's time for bed or peace and quiet, it'd be nice (critical) to have some quiet
What did you end up doing? Curious as I am in the same situation right now.
I ended up installing the biggest F off double glazed windows in one of the bedrooms. Was the most expensive option but I wanted to see what "the absolute best" was as a test. (I.e if the best can't help, it's pointless)
It was great. They were installed on the internal walls as a secondary window. The glass itself was ridiculously thick, the sealing mechanism was amazing. It did feel like it created a vacuum seal that tucked the air out of the bedroom :') haha
It was so effective that the sound travelling through the closed windows in the rest of the apartment was loud/crystal clear in the bedroom so I had to shut the bedroom door and sleep with a fan on.
I ended up living in that room - sleep and work.
It was so good that I was going to install the same system along the balcony to create a soundproof sunroom and the kitchen window (I.e everything). But something else happened to the building and it was the last straw. I GTFO of there and it's up for sale.
I think I spent the first week after my exit just sleeping. I didn't realise how much anxiety and nervous energy the 24hr traffic was infecting my body and mind. I lost perspective of what "normal" feels like and what normal level of traffic noise was.
I've had to go back to the apartment a few times recently and my mind is blown at how loud it is. The long street and buildings make a sound tunnel. Looking back, it was preposterous that I was going to spend a good fortune trying to "make it work" especially since I always have windows open.
If you're happy to live in a box with the windows always closed, it's worth investigating. Otherwise, if the noise is truly extreme, I'd just say run.
@CheapskateQueen: So you went with secondary glazing, if that's what I am understanding (instead of replacing the existing windows with some premium double glazing).
Yeah, I can't run, since signed a 4 year fixed mortgage. gulp. I guess secondary glazing is alot cheaper than just straight up double glazing. How much did you pay for your windows?
Maybe I will sell or turn it into IP once the 4 years are up.. But yeah, the traffic road noise is definitely deteriorating my health, mind and body.
@crimsondarkn: yeh it's hard. I think that's why I was desperate to try and make it work.. the alternative, selling isn't an easy choice.
it was a secondary system. tbh, after all my research and quotes, you want to keep both the original and add a second. even a bad first layer helps with noise reduction.
I did have two businesses quote to replace the glass with double glaze glass and frames. I almost went that way but a number of factors/concerns led me to my final choice.
@CheapskateQueen: Hmm gotcha. I was thinking whether it was worth replacing my double glazing windows with upvc double glazing. Heard good things about it, but it's like twice the cost of secondary system windows. If secondary is just as effective with noise reduction, and it's way cheaper, then based on what you've said, it certainly works.
@crimsondarkn: I'm pretty sure it was upvc.
at first I thought they were removing the original window. then when they came to measure, they said it was staying.
I was annoyed and thought they were trying to cheap out on me so I pushed back and they were like look we can remove it for you, but we don't recommend moving it. so I left it.
once installed, I tested the sound with the original window opened and closed and it definitely made a noticeable difference when it was closed.
I have something like this
https://www.google.com/search?q=upvc+window&client=ms-androi…
@CheapskateQueen: Wait, i'm confused. So your original windows were upvc double glazing? Because secondary glazing and upvc double glazing are two different things, I thought… maybe you can point me to the company you went with so I can research and get clarity?
@crimsondarkn: haha no - my original windows were awning windows with normal glass.
I installed the upvc double glazed window internally and kept the original awning windows as well
@CheapskateQueen: May I ask how much it costed you for how many videos? I got some quotes which were like almost 10k for 2 windows and a balcony door…
The cheapest option is Magnetite (mentioned above already). However, this is a retro-fit, as in, they install an additional pane of glass at a distance from the existing glass. If it's a door, then it might not be feasible, but would still be worth a look.
If that is the case, the only thing you can really do is completely swap out the existing windows with new windows. I don't live in Sydney, so I can't provide company recommendations, but I will say, for acoustic performance, make sure you check the window Rw (Weighted Rating), or STC (Sound Transmission Class). A higher number is equal to a better performance. You would want something like 35-40.
Also it's worth noting, that usually thicker glass is better than double glazing, e.g. 10mm thick glass with a laminated inter-layer will perform better than 6mm glass / 12mm airgap / 6mm glass double glazing.
I spoke to the owner / founder of 'DIY Double Glaze' a while ago and got a quote. The premise of this business is you measure the windows, they supply them and you install them. They (the owner) will come out and help with the job for an hourly charge. I found him really helpful and the overall cost was going to be surprisingly low (<$1k for 3 windows around 1.8m x 0.8m each or so). I am handy around the house and was happy to do the work, had it all worked out but we ended up selling up instead.
http://www.diydoubleglaze.com.au/index.shtml
There are various options depending on the need (noise or thermal insulation or both etc). He explained it and made a recommendation. For us we were going to go for 1 x thin (4mm) + 1 thick (I think 6mm or so) as the (sorry to get technical) resonant frequencies are different for the panes, so they will only transmit noise at those bands and hence 'cancel' eachother out. If they are the same then you get more noise. We live on a semi-major road.
When I looked at the Magnetite solution, that seemed very expensive and a bit of a patch up fix (but cetainly good for those who don't want to, or have the ability to, knock windows out).
In general aussie tradies are terrible for double glazing - you'd think it was gold or something.
For soundproofing you are better off with triple glazing, and I have heard of people getting them manufactured overseas and then shipped here to be installed by a local.