Soundproofing Windows from Traffic, on a Budget...

Hello folks,

Have moved into an apartment that is on the ground floor of a surprisingly busy little street. It's completely quiet when there are no cars but one goes by every minute or two all night and it gets more frequent from about 5am onwards.

The windows are aluminum I believe, built in early 90's, double glazed and pretty big, about 2x2m, there are also ventilation gaps up the top that have been blocked with duck tape.

Its proving difficult to get a good nights sleep so I'm looking for simple and inexpensive ways to reduce the sound. It's a rental place so getting new/replacement windows is not an option. I'm not too keen on earplugs (probably the cheapest option) so I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions. I was thinking of making some shutters out of thinish MDF and putting some kind of foam/padding on them. This would also help block out the light, the curtains are fairly thin. Not sure what the best material to use would be?

If you have any suggestions let me know, I love the apartment otherwise so if I can just sort this out it would be great

hi,
i know you say you dont want to use ear plugs but i had similar probs in different rental houses over the years and found one particular type of earplug to literally be a godsend. otherwise i'd have gone mad from lack of sleep. they are called Quies earplugs and are available in pharmacies. they are made of wax which you roll between your fingers until soft, then insert into ears and they mould to the shape and literally block out all noise very well, you can still hear your alarm or a smoke alarm etc but outside noise is totally gone. i cant recommend them enough. it takes a week or so to get used to the sensation of them being in your ear but i guarantee they are as close as you'll get to soundproof without spending a lot of money on DIY changes to the windows/ walls etc. give them a go anyway they're only a couple of euro for a box of 10 pairs i think, so nothing to lose

newtoallthis said:

hi,
i know you say you dont want to use ear plugs but i had similar probs in different rental houses over the years and found one particular type of earplug to literally be a godsend. otherwise i'd have gone mad from lack of sleep. they are called Quies earplugs and are available in pharmacies. they are made of wax which you roll between your fingers until soft, then insert into ears and they mould to the shape and literally block out all noise very well, you can still hear your alarm or a smoke alarm etc but outside noise is totally gone. i cant recommend them enough. it takes a week or so to get used to the sensation of them being in your ear but i guarantee they are as close as you'll get to soundproof without spending a lot of money on DIY changes to the windows/ walls etc. give them a go anyway they're only a couple of euro for a box of 10 pairs i think, so nothing to lose

Click to expand...

You can get the same ones in any builders providers

"It's completely quiet when there are no cars but one goes by every minute or two all night and it gets more frequent from about 5am onwards."

I have exactly the same problem, and solve it by (as other posters said) using good quality earplugs that expand to fit your ear when inserted. They really do work so that you can sleep etc. Luckily my kids sleep deeply and are not disturbed but I am a very light sleeper.