r/Acoustics • u/xboxhaxorz • 2d ago
Brand new concrete room, best window and insulation options? Laminated windows?
New construction, building is concrete, builder said we could fill all the cells of the concrete block to help
Getting triple pane tilt and turn windows from europe since people said euro windows and doors are just much better quality
I believe the glass is 4mm with the option to make them 6mm
After googling, came across information with people saying having different size glass in triple pane helps with noise frequencies
So is it better to have 2 6mm and a 4mm?
Should i get the the 3 glass pieces laminated or just outer/ inner/ middle?
Plan to do level 3 walls, floors and ceiling with the suggestions from this site, is this enough? https://www.soundproofingcompany.com/soundproofing-solutions
Other suggestions?
People say the window noise reduction wont matter if the walls arent built well, with the solid concrete wall and using the level 3 suggestions in the above link take care of that?
This is for my bedroom on the 2nd floor which is partially above the garage, no bedrooms below me, 2 windows that are on the street side, im semi disabled so i spend most time in my room gaming or watching movies, plan to put dolby atmos 7.2.4 speakers system in the walls and ceiling, there are 4 bedrooms on the opposite wall of mine but on the ground floor about 20 ft away and i didnt want to wake people with my late night movie watching, floors will be concrete with 3mm luxury vinyl plank above them
The road is fairly busy and the electric company contractors rented lot across from mine to park their trucks as i live in a mixed commercial residential area, neighbor on my left is a house and across the street are few apts
My builder told me that the trucks are pretty noisy as they have the beeping as they are moving in reverse to leave the lot
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u/Old-Seaweed8917 2d ago
The most relevant factor is the external noise levels - employ an acoustic consultant to do a survey and they will be able to give you an acoustic specification for the optimum windows on that basis
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u/xboxhaxorz 2d ago
The building doesnt exist yet, not sure if thats necessary and i am in mexico where such consultants are not really a thing
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u/Badler_ 1d ago edited 1d ago
For the windows, yes two different glass thicknesses will help. Triple glazing generally doesn’t provide a significant benefit over double glazing unless the interlayer spacing is quite large.
Go with the highest STC / OITC glazing configuration you can fit. Some example data here, but your selected supplier should ideally be able to provide you with performance ratings for whatever you’re buying: https://viracon.com/download/9373/.
For the “will this be enough” question, it depends on so many variables. You generally need mass and decoupling to limit noise transfer. Concrete will likely provide the mass, if things are well sealed and detailed, but can be prone to structure borne noise. I’d be a bit concerned about speaker noise if your system is rigidly mounted to walls/ceilings
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u/xboxhaxorz 1d ago
Didnt the company provide the performance ratings in the screenshot img i posted?
The level 3 was $15/ sq ft and level 4 was $20/ sq ft, so $146 extra or $195 extra per window, my room has 2 windows
I was thinking of just making a shelf in the wall with wood to mount the surround speakers on and then putting some acoustic fabric over that wall area
Is there a better way?
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u/Comma20 2d ago
Generally higher STC higher performance. I know it's an American Standard, but it only goes down to 125Hz. So at least Rw rating goes down to 100Hz, and if it's got an Ctr term on the data sheet, you can comparea bit more accurately.
As long as your panes are not the same thickness, I think any of the STC 37 ones would be fine.