Is it possible to seal a secondary panel of glass over existing pvc double glazing window for soundproofing and not have dust and condensation build up inside? How about spacing the new sheet of glass with battening and then pumping in welding gas through a hole to be plugged later?
The reason I ask is because I am at my wits end with the increase in morons fitting noisy exhausts to cars and motorcycles in and around our area (a usually quiet village) I don't think I've sat down to watch a movie yet without missing dialogue thanks to these law breakers screaming by.
The way double glazing works, is by a vacuum in between the two panes
sound can't travel through a vacuum, as demonstrated in a science lesson I remember where a bell was placed in a chamber (ringing) then the air was sucked out - the result, we could see the bell's clapper moving, but it was silent!
What would the reason for filling the gap with welding gas!? It may make a very loud bang if it got ignited!
Ah, Mike ..... I can't tell you the number of times I've been tempted to fit a hose pipe to my kitchen tap and drench the people in open top sports cars blaring their stereos at top blast at the road junction underneath my flat on a Sunday afternoon. It was never a problem before Sunday shopping clogged up the streets. (Tempted, but no, I've never done it.)
But somehow they need to learn that having the right to play music doesn't give anyone the right to force others to listen to it, even through double glazing, to the extent of blocking out conversation.
LOL yes that gas would, but I meant the gas used in MIG welding which is there to enable the weld to be performed in a non watery atmosphere so it doesnt rust later. As for a vacuum, our double glazing is still quite noisy, the margarine tub quality plastic doesnt help, I suppose metal framed windows like you see in offices would be better for soundproofing, how about sucking the air out with a Dyson?
WRONG! Air pressure (approx 15lbs/sq in) would simply push the glass together either until they met, shattered or both.
The gap between the panes is filled with dry air or a special mixture of gases. The metal spacing frame work is filled with a desicant to ensure that the gas remains dry, hence the rows of small holes visible inside the gap.
There is a comprimise with double glazing between best thermal and best acoustic properties. Best acoustic preformance requires around 6" separation but this enables rather to much convection to take place in the gas thus transporting heat between the panes.
No, that's simply a misconception. There is no vacuum between the panes. Depending on how fancily they're made, there's either simply dry air, or (dry) inert gas - nothing fancier than nitrogen (which makes up 80% of the air we breathe anyway). DG cuts down on the noise because of two factors: first, the heavier mass of the glass (4mm thick typically,
6mm in some cases) which takes more energy to make it vibrate; secondly, the decoupling effect of the air gap between the panes. The seals at the edges of DG units aren't up to keeping a vacuum in, at all at all; as most people with DG units will notice, they often fail after a few years, allowing condensation in between the panes anyway.
For good sound isolation, the gap between the panes wants to be (from memory) about 50-60mm, much bigger than the "right" gap for thermal insulation. (At
50mm gap you get significant convection currents). Thus - and to help the original poster - you can and will get an effective reduction in noise transmission if you mount an extra sheet of glass (better, 'cos it's heavier) or polycarb (lighter, easier to cut) to create that sort of a gap between the existing window and this new pane. For some window designs, the outer frame is at a handy distance already from the pane; for older properties with deep window frames, the "secondary double glazing" kits you can still get (but seem thinner on the ground than they were 10-15 years ago) allow you to fix sliding panes which look OK at the right sort of distance.
I live near an old drill hall that's used for aerobics lessons once a week. There's no air conditioning so they have the doors open and the music on so loud that it completely drowns out my tv. The occasional shouts of "yeah!!" are particularly annoying.
..more annoying than peugeot diesels that sound like someone's backing up a tractor outside my window.
..more annoying than the guy who every night toots his horn when he leaves his girlfriends place.
..nearly as annoying as the neighbours who slam their doors like it's an olympic event and seem to walk 5 miles each day in big boots on their laminate flooring.
..and what about those churches, ringing bells on a sunday afternoon.... :-)
MIG uses *inert* gas (which doesn't contain oxygen) so that the weld doesn't oxidise, it's got very little to do with providing a "non watery atmosphere", although I've never tried welding outside in the rain.
I think some cheap double glazing isn't very well fitted so a lot of the sound is transmitted through the frame. Also as others have mentioned thicker glass and bigger gaps are better for sound insulation. Triple glazing of differing gaps is thus the ideal solution.
If this is really an issue, you can take it up with environmental health, if they don't do something about it, they will end up getting licences revoked!
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