Hi everyone
Looking for some advice about reducing noise through windows, specifically low-pitched noise.
Three bed end terrace house, had the double glazing and all frames replaced about seven years ago with UPVC double glazing. I’m close - but not next to - a busy 30mph road. One side of the house is next to a park and there is a busy 40mph road beyond that, and further, a busy dual carriageway. The windows upstairs are quite large - think 3m by 1.5m or so. They’re almost the width of the rooms, with one or two opening panes.
What I’m experiencing is that there is nearly always a low pitched hum coming through the windows. It is not mega low pitched, but it is like a rolling, fluctuating hum, almost like an echo inside glass.
It drives me insane. At first I felt that the windows were almost amplifying this sound or generating it themselves by reverberating at a weird frequency, but over time I recognise that the low noise is present and audible outside. I think perhaps they reduce all other frequencies bar this one so well, that this annoying frequency really stands out as a consequence. If I touch the window the noise doesn’t change or decrease so I don’t think it is a fitment issue or vibration issue.
The hum seems to not be present at all two days a year - Christmas and New Years! Maybe less traffic, or perhaps there is some other environmental cause that isn’t present at these times. I am near a railway line but I don’t think that’s the cause, it seems to be coming from the other direction.
My living room is much better for this, and I don’t really notice the hum. It has older double glazed UPVC patio doors so I thought perhaps the units in these were better quality, but I think more likely that the ground floor is a bit more shielded from sounds by the fencing of the garden, and a small extension blocking the waves too. However, upstairs and at the front of the house I feel like I’m always being assaulted by sound and I can’t relax in my own house! I used to think perhaps the double glazing modules are crap quality but I don’t really know how I would measure this. If they were perhaps I could change the glass modules alone without replacing the frames.
My question is - do I look into replacing this double glazing with acoustic glass - and maybe replacing the frames too, renewing them all with something designed to reduce sound, or should I invest in secondary glazing first? The issue with secondary glazing is that I like to have my bedroom window cracked open. I’m not so much annoyed that I’m hearing the sound in general, I’m annoyed that it is passing through, or highlighted by, my windows! Also if it were installed and made no difference, would I need it removed if I were to then change the external windows at a later date?
Does anyone have any experience or advice as I’m going mad. I swear I’ve been in hotels next to national speed limit roads that let through less noise than I have here. Perhaps it is an unfortunate combination of factors, such as location..
Looking for some advice about reducing noise through windows, specifically low-pitched noise.
Three bed end terrace house, had the double glazing and all frames replaced about seven years ago with UPVC double glazing. I’m close - but not next to - a busy 30mph road. One side of the house is next to a park and there is a busy 40mph road beyond that, and further, a busy dual carriageway. The windows upstairs are quite large - think 3m by 1.5m or so. They’re almost the width of the rooms, with one or two opening panes.
What I’m experiencing is that there is nearly always a low pitched hum coming through the windows. It is not mega low pitched, but it is like a rolling, fluctuating hum, almost like an echo inside glass.
It drives me insane. At first I felt that the windows were almost amplifying this sound or generating it themselves by reverberating at a weird frequency, but over time I recognise that the low noise is present and audible outside. I think perhaps they reduce all other frequencies bar this one so well, that this annoying frequency really stands out as a consequence. If I touch the window the noise doesn’t change or decrease so I don’t think it is a fitment issue or vibration issue.
The hum seems to not be present at all two days a year - Christmas and New Years! Maybe less traffic, or perhaps there is some other environmental cause that isn’t present at these times. I am near a railway line but I don’t think that’s the cause, it seems to be coming from the other direction.
My living room is much better for this, and I don’t really notice the hum. It has older double glazed UPVC patio doors so I thought perhaps the units in these were better quality, but I think more likely that the ground floor is a bit more shielded from sounds by the fencing of the garden, and a small extension blocking the waves too. However, upstairs and at the front of the house I feel like I’m always being assaulted by sound and I can’t relax in my own house! I used to think perhaps the double glazing modules are crap quality but I don’t really know how I would measure this. If they were perhaps I could change the glass modules alone without replacing the frames.
My question is - do I look into replacing this double glazing with acoustic glass - and maybe replacing the frames too, renewing them all with something designed to reduce sound, or should I invest in secondary glazing first? The issue with secondary glazing is that I like to have my bedroom window cracked open. I’m not so much annoyed that I’m hearing the sound in general, I’m annoyed that it is passing through, or highlighted by, my windows! Also if it were installed and made no difference, would I need it removed if I were to then change the external windows at a later date?
Does anyone have any experience or advice as I’m going mad. I swear I’ve been in hotels next to national speed limit roads that let through less noise than I have here. Perhaps it is an unfortunate combination of factors, such as location..
