soundproofing

[RacersEdge]

I live very close to a highway - and the noise gets a little loud when I'm trying to sleep. How effective would a couple sound foam boards on my window be? (Like the kind in a recording studio.) Is this something Home Depot would have?

[Crveballin]

I would just buy a large window fan that will create some nice white noise for you. Worked great in college with the thin walls.

[RacersEdge]

Well, I think I would just go for a white noise generator for that - I think like Brookstone carries that stuff. (Also I have no need for a fan at all.) I'm curious on how well sound cones would work.

[callydrias]

I think what you're talking about works to keep sound inside a room, not out.

[RacersEdge]

[ QUOTE ]
I think what you're talking about works to keep sound inside a room, not out.

[/ QUOTE ]

I believe the cone shape dissipates sound - as opposed to have the sound waves bounce around off of flat surfaces.

[LAGmaniac]

I'm pretty sure that sound foam is designed to deaden the sound from the inside of the room not the outside. Home depot won't have it and it wouldn't be cheap to cover your walls with those tiles either. You can use egg crates as a substitute but like I said I don't think it will help much if at all.

I have heard that hanging heavy drapes on the walls works, and that leaving a gap of an inch or two from the wall is ideal.

[callydrias]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I think what you're talking about works to keep sound inside a room, not out.

[/ QUOTE ]

I believe the cone shape dissipates sound - as opposed to have the sound waves bounce around off of flat surfaces.

[/ QUOTE ]

Right, but you put them in the room with the sound source so that you can't hear them elsewhere. Putting them in your room would cut out the echoes, but you'd still hear the sound before it was attenuated. It would probably help some, but I doubt it would make a huge difference. I am not a acoustical engineer though....

[RacersEdge]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm pretty sure that sound foam is designed to deaden the sound from the inside of the room not the outside. Home depot won't have it and it wouldn't be cheap to cover your walls with those tiles either. You can use egg crates as a substitute but like I said I don't think it will help much if at all.

I have heard that hanging heavy drapes on the walls works, and that leaving a gap of an inch or two from the wall is ideal.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, I think you are right now that I am reading up on it. Having something with some mass in the sound path apparently works best - like your drapes idea. Maybe I will try putting a comforter over the window and see how that works.

Certainly if you soundproof the inside of a room, it will prevent sound from coming inside. Saying it doesn’t is like saying a watertight container won’t let water out but will let water in. If sound can’t get out, it can’t get in.

Sound travels through air and the vibration of hard substances (walls, floors, etc.). The more airtight your room is, the less sound will come in. The thicker your walls are, the less they vibrate.

If you want to use studio foam (Auralex or Sonex), it will cost about $4 per square foot. This will get expensive (don’t necessarily need to cover the entire area though), and is quite flammable.

You can use egg crates (not the foam ones) against the wall, and then hang drapes about six inches away from the crates. This should at least take care of many mid-high frequencies, but you will still have a problem with the rumble of low frequencies (e.g., big trucks).