Soundproof Window Treatments

Windows let light in which is nice, but they also let sound in which can be extremely aggravating. In this article, we take a look at soundproof window treatments.

My Cousin Vinny is one of my favorite films. The movie is about two kids in trouble with the law in the deep south who call in their cousin Vinny who is an attorney in New York, Jersey or somewhere. It is a classic contrast of cultures and a hilarious movie. More importantly, there is an industrial whistle in town that goes off in the middle of the night and wakes Vinny up every time. If your windows let in noise, you know even moderate sounds can wreck your sleep or even just your daily life.


So, do soundproof window treatments provide a solution to this problem? Yes and no. Technically, there is no such thing as a soundproof window treatment. What you can buy, however, are super thick drapes that will muffle the sound coming through your windows. These drapes usually consist of a quilt like design and are two to three inches thick.

There are downsides to these drapes. First, they only work when closed. If you only have sound issues at night, this isn’t a problem at all. If you have sound problems during the day when you are up and about, however, it is unless you like living in a cave. The second problem is you will often need to upgrade the hardware for your drapes so that the extra weight does not pull everything down.



If you have really bad sound problems, a better approach may be to look at soundproof windows. These windows fit either inside or outside your current windows depending on the specific design. This creates a layer of air between the windows. That layer acts as a sound insulator and will reduce the noise factor by as much as 95 percent. As an added benefit, light will still penetrate so you won’t feel like you are living in a cave.

Coming up with soundproof window treatments is really a simple choice between heavy drapes or a double window system. In my opinion, a double window system is the better course.

<< Back to Window Treatments