How can I sound proof sliding glass doors that face a LOUD freeway?

Question

I just moved into this apartment, and it is very nice with one major exception. The bedroom has sliding glass doors which face a very loud freeway, and It sounds like the thing is open all the time. I thought I would get used to the noise, but after a couple of weeks, I am still loosing sleep. I went to Lowes and Home Depot and even a music shop, but no one had any real solution. The hardware stores suggested I purchase these 8x4 foot (2/3" thick) insulation boards and then cut them to size to "plug" the doorway. This is not a problem, because I don't need to go in and out of this door, however, I am not sure that these panels will be enough. I am hoping someone has run into a similar problem and found a solution. The only other option is to wear ear plugs, which I did last night, but then you have to deal with not hearing anything (which is almost as bad as hearing everything if you know what I mean). Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Answer 1

You may think me mad for saying this, but your solution is actually "MORE NOISE." I will assume the cheaper the better. For budget purposes and a need to get your deposit back without putting holes in the walls, consider white noise as an alternative. People in cities fall asleep with the TV on a static channel or a fan to mask the "L" train that roars by every half hour. There are also machines that produce white noise. This "Masks" the other outside sounds with a more subtle one. If all else fails, you still can make use of a 30 day return policy and you have lost nothing by trying this. Check the source from the New York Times and let me know what you think.

Answer 2

The white noise, egg crate, and thick draperies would probably be the most effective solution.

How long do you plan on staying there though? With egg crate and sound boards on the windows, they might stick over time, and if you're going to get a new place soon, you'll have sound boards and egg crates you don't know what to do with.

I would also suggest the following ideas, some of which may not work well with others...

Stick your dresser, book case, or some other large and thick piece of furniture up against the window. If you're really not going to be using it, you'll be surprised how well a cieling-to-floor, wall-to-wall book case full of books can absorb sound.

Set up some accordion-folding japanese style room partition panels in front of the window, for another layer inside.

Get a better lock on the door. Cheap ones can let the panes rattle more, which makes more noise. Besides, you won't use it, so you may never look at it to see if it's still properly closed. The lock on the handle is usually pretty cheap. Make sure there's one on the top corner between the two panes. You can also stick something in the track... but I suppose the egg crate stuff would already be doing that.

Decorate the patio. Sun shades, screening, bushes, and even potted plants can break up the sound waves before they get to the door. The bushes would be most effective, if you can get them, their leaf patterns are almost as effective as egg crates, although they will take a while to grow up enough for this purpose.

Wind chimes can break things up a little too, as well as producing a sort of "white" noise of their own... although the sound of wind chimes can become a problem for some people.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

First of all you need to actually come to the determination that the sound coming in from the freeway is through the sliding glass doors,and not through any other source. If that is the fact then with being an apartment and who pays what is your next consideration. Otherwise the only real solution is to take the doors out and have the double paned storm windowed doors built in as the replacement. Due to the costs involved with this procedure , wouldn't be in your best interests. So you may want to have some kind of a shanti built that is installed at an angle from the top of the arcadia doors at a 45 to 70 degree angle downward to as close to the ground as possible. I would recommend either an acoustic soundboard or similar and to alter the waves of sounds coming in I would also consider enclosing the sides as well. And the addition of blackout curtains ( which are lined with a thin rubber based material ) will also add to the db's already reduced substantually.

Answer 5

I installed a back up diesel generator under the rear deck of a house and sound proofed it so you couldn't hear it on the front porch. Every time a sound wave hits a different material it bends it and slows it down. By the time the diesel sound got to the outer walls of the closure there was nothing left of it. I used Rigid foam insulation panels (the thin ones about 1/4") that have foil on both sides with foam in the middle and layered it. I got advise from the company I bought the generator from. The owner showed me a sectional view of one of the closures the use to house there generators in to keep the sound down. I tripled the thickness and it worked great. You could build a dummy wall in front of the sliding glass doors out of 2x4's and use the insulation I described before to fill the voids between the studs. I was amazed at how it worked. If you can't do the construction or need to keep the egress to the porch, tape around the doors and layer the insulation mentioned before on the glass. Also get a couple layers of heavy drapes to cover the whole wall. The older movie theaters used to use drapes on the walls to keep the outside noises out and the movie sounds in.

Answer 6

Common problem. Best solution...if you want to spend money... is to replace the glass doors with 2 - 3pane windows. There are different kinds with different sound ratings. Argon gas helps to a degree, and the seal aroud the door implacement helps. You'll need to have the entire door frame removed and replace with sound proofing in mind. Sadly the door isn't you're only problem and you might need to simply have the entire wall exposed and insulted for sound, the replastered with cement wall instead of that plaster wall. Again there are sound ratings involved. Not too expensive for the wall and insulation, but kind of expensive to do this if you have to hire someone. You can start with the glass window, and probably the other windows in the room.

Carpeting will help too as this will absorb sound form the window as it try to enter through pin hole cracks and through the bedroom door from the living or family area. Try having the room on the other side of the bed room door carpeted later to help. Acoustical ceilings are of the past but have that name for a reason. They do eat up sound, so put those the bedroom and room outside the bedroom later if necessary and if you want to spend the money.

Replacing the windows will cut out 30-70% of the noise (depending on quality of window and how loud the noise is).

Building a double door window will cut down on 90% but is unsighlty in your case.

There is also an alternative to what i mentioned above, called window plugs. Rated at 90%, window plugs are a good idea even if you have your windows replaced with better ones. A window plus is basically a foam molding. You barriacade up your window with a gap and poor molding into the gap between the glass doors and boards. I belive 4-6 inches. The foam dries, and instant presto foam plug to be removed and put on as desire. When on, the foam blocks all light, and most sound. Good to keep a space so the foam doesn't just cover the doors pocket but about 2-4 inches around the walls to minimize noise seepage. There's pre-made 1 1/2 inch thick plugs that are like mats you can buy online (google sound plug window). They don't cost very much at all. You just put it up and cut it down to size. Oh, for a sound plug you actually need dead air space between the glass and the foam about 1/2 inch.

Many options, you'll just have to price them out and implement them one after another until you're happy.

Answer 7

I had the same problem 25 years ago.

There are sound insulating curtains that you can hang. They are very heavy, so they will need to be hung properly. They get hung right up against the wall the door is in, under your regular curtains. So you can still have them open for light if needed, or to go in and out. Then just pull them shut when you are sleeping. I believe I bought them at Sears.

They cut about 90% of the noise I experienced.

I was about 25 feet (8 meteres) from the road, at an intersection with a traffic light.

I hope this helps.

Answer 8

Unfortunately, you can never fully get rid of that noise. But you can reduce it considerably. I live on a motorway in England and had the same problem when I moved into my home. I fitted insulation glass to all the windows in my house (at a cost of course!) and it significantly reduced the noise- but it's something Ive had to get used to, hearing the hum of a lorry go past every now and then.
The glass can be obtained from hardware stores or scrap yards, it should come with tracks that you fit around your window and slot the glass through. In effect, it's kinda like triple glazing!
Good luck.

Answer 9

Egg crate, heavy cork panels or the insulation panels will work, but I would also add heavy duty lined draperies on top of that. You can have the glass replaced, but since it is an apartment and dual pane, sound proof glass is expensive, the panels are a more economical solution. The fabric will provide one final buffer (to say that motorcycle full throttle in 5th gear at o'dawn thirty) and will muffle the sound as well as giving you something a little nicer to look at.

Answer 10

I would layer a window treatment. I don't know if you want to USE the sliding door, but you can hang curtian rods and heavy
drapes. I have even, in the past, being broke as I ususally am...
I took cheap blankets that were 20 a piece at Garden Ridge Pottery and sewed rings on top and put them up with streacher bars. It really darkened the room, when it needed to be, and kept the cold air out of my house from the window, which is what I intended, but it also buffers the noise too.