Home Depot’s Soundproof Windows & Products — and a Better Alternative
For most homeowners, home is a haven. It’s your space that looks, feels and even smells exactly how you’ve chosen it to. But in heavily populated areas or homes near things like airports, train tracks, or busy intersections, outside noise can disrupt your flow and bring in unwanted distractions. To help with noise reduction, homeowners frequently decide to invest in new windows from Home Depot and other retailers.
However, you might not need to completely replace your windows to help keep your home quiet and comfortable.
Why Should I Soundproof My Windows?
Acoustics matter in your home, but it’s not the first thing people think of when they’re designing their space—quite often, the way sound travels in your space is an afterthought.
But better acoustics in the home adds to indoor comfort and helps humans actually enjoy their space.
“Acoustics often remain a neglected aspect of interior design and architecture,” says Sudeep Kolte at Housing.com. “Although we may not think of the sound and acoustics of our home, it remains an integral aspect towards greater comfort and a better ambiance.”
Studies have shown that an acoustically comfortable home can help to make things more pleasant for your family. The benefits go beyond a peaceful, serene space, though. A quiet home helps with better sleep, improved mental health, and even lower blood pressure.
Noise Reduction Windows and Other Sound Solutions
Home Depot and other large retailers offer homeowners a few products to make their homes more acoustically comfortable. It’s important to note that while no windows are 100% soundproof, there are a few solutions that might help to drastically reduce the noise in your space.
Double-Paned windows
Double-panes are often the easy solution that is available and bought at big box stores, but they are not the best for sound performance. Plus, fully replacing all of the old single-paned windows on a home isn’t always a feasible option for homeowners.
High-performing double-pane windows can be pricey, so you might not be able to replace all of the windows at once, and even then, they may not provide the level of sound reduction you actually want.
While they are better than single-paned windows — because there are more surfaces for sound to travel through and the air between the panes acts as another buffer for noise — they may not be your best choice, especially if you have a historic home.
Some homeowners may want to keep the original, single-pane windows if they have a historic home, in order to preserve the architectural character. Many older windows are made of irreplaceable old-growth wood and replacing them with vinyl means the new windows will not aesthetically match the home. So instead of replacing the historic window, it’s suggested that homeowners opt for repairs and the addition of a storm window insert. These can be the best noise reduction option from historic windows to newly installed double-panes.
If you’re building a new home, choosing double-paned windows is a smart choice. If you have single-paned windows in your current home and you can’t replace all of them at the same time, see if you can work with a contractor to replace them in stages.
Or, to save on time, labor and money, you can use other implements with your existing windows in order to reduce sound travel.
Window Tape
Home Depot offers a few budget-friendly options for noise reduction window products, like Protecto tape. The tape acts as an all-in-one product that helps to prevent air and moisture leaks around windows and doors, and a roll of it comes in around $20. This particular product needs to be added when your window is installed. Other products, like weatherstip foam tape, can be added after your window is installed.
Tape products like Protecto are an inexpensive, quick, and easy way to help provide some soundproofing, but it’s not going to cancel out much of the sound coming into your space because there is no added insulation to the window opening. You’ll need to combine it with other products to help effectively block unwanted noise entering the home.
Soundproofing Curtains
Curtains are frequently recommended as a solution for noise-reduction in the home. Soft surfaces and fabrics can help to absorb noise in your space, and they can add a touch of style to your interior design at the same time.
Soundproofing curtains can run anywhere from $30-100. If you don’t want to completely replace your windows, the curtains act as a cost-effective alternative. As a bonus, most soundproofing curtains are also blackout curtains, which can reduce the amount of light entering the room, helping occupants sleep more comfortably.
However, while these types of curtains are better than uncovered windows, they are not a complete solution. Sound and light will still get through, no matter how high-quality the curtains are.
Caulking
Many home improvement professionals recommend caulking as a way to block out sound—not just around windows, but other areas in your home that might let it noise.
“To reduce sound coming through walls and floors, caulk around light fixtures, receptacle boxes, and door casings,” writes Lisa Kaplan Gordon for Houselogic.
Caulking isn’t going to prevent all noise from coming into your home, and you’ll need to re-caulk those areas again in the future. Plus, if you don’t pick just the right color, it can be an eyesore—especially in a few months or years when it starts to crack from age.
But, by including caulking in your soundproofing strategy, you’ll add to the acoustic comfort in your home, without hurting your budget.
Window Inserts
If you don’t want to replace your old windows and options such as installing curtains, caulking, and window tape sound like a hassle or don’t meet your needs, you’re in luck. Window inserts are a great solution to help reduce the amount of noise entering your home.
Indow soundproofing window inserts are an effective and easy-to-install noise reduction product. The inserts are custom-made to fit each of your windows exactly, and they are then installed by pressing them in your window frames—no mounting brackets or adhesives needed.
All Indow window inserts reduce outside noise by at least 50%, and the Acoustic Grade product reduces noise by up to 70%*.
Don’t Make Acoustic Design an Afterthought
If your home isn’t feeling like the escape that you need it to be, soundproofing products can help to make things more comfortable. Thankfully, you don’t need to completely redesign your home to make it acoustically comfortable.
Window inserts from Indow can help you achieve an indoor environment you’ll love and a peaceful place for your family. Find out more about Indow Soundproofing Window Inserts here, or contact Indow for a free estimate.
*We want to ensure our inserts help solve your noise problem. Overall noise reduction depends on the amount of noise coming through your walls, ceilings, floors, doors, and existing windows. Noise reduction will be less when placed over double-pane windows. Read our full Noise Reduction Sheet to learn more.
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Customer Reviews
4.48 Average 1399 Reviews
Fayette V
The inserts provided immediate results for the better. The inserts a virtually invisible which was better than expected. The biggest challenges were getting the accurate measurements which I Dow was helpful with and repositioning the blinds. Everything has worked out. We are planning to do this with other windows
Jamie W
We were excited to receive our Indows, but once we got them in, we were blown away! They match our woodwork almost perfectly. Installing them was far easier than we had anticipated, and we were immediately impressed by the noise reduction, as well as the ability to reduce the impact of the windows on our indoor temperature! Couldn't be more pleased and very excited to be able to add "custom" shapes for the top of our lancet windows.
Mark H
The acoustic indow window worked better than I expected at blocking out noise. The only thing I didn't like was the shipping company (T-Force Freight). The shipping company was difficult enough that I decided to rent a U-Haul and pick it up at their warehouse.
Venkatesh G
Indow solves my noise problem due to highway traffic. I recommend this company for noise reduce solutions.
Thomas R
The process was simple and easy. I was a little nervous having to measure everything myself...but I got the inserts and they fit in our windows perfectly without any hassle. 1000% recommended.
Dan E
As always with internet purchases, I was holding my breath on my recent purchase of inserts! However, everything suggested by everyone I spoke to via telephone, email and text, was verified when I received and installed my inserts!!! Nothing short of phenomenal; fit, sound deadening qualities, (yet to discover energy savings), and customer service is excellent!! I highly recommend this company and product!!
Anonymous
Good quality window inserts. Easy to install. Unfortunately, doesn't do much to block road noise that I was hoping it would help with. Website is clear on the uses so I can't say it was false advertising, just buyer error.
Tommy J
We ordered 4 Indow Window inserts to see how they worked on our steel casement windows. We are very pleased with the fit and finish, and especially the improvement in wintertime comfort. Steel casements present challenging issues when trying to improve efficiency. The only downside for our installation is it required the removal of the locking and operating hardware to work in concert with our window treatments. The attached photo is during installation with Indow inserts installed on the two left pair; not yet installed on the two right pair. Pretty minimal visual difference! I'm now ordering 17 more inserts for the rest of the house.
Catherine L
Our acoustic window inserts have definitely reduced the amount of street noise coming into our apartment. While we can still hear the train as the engines pass by the noise from the train cars is very muted. Likewise we still hear the drunken club patrons yelling, but it no longer seems like they are in the room with us. Our big negative would be that the blinds we enclosed in the space between our single pane and the insert melted and warped within the first week. I don’t think there was any mention in the directions about the possibility of heat build up and potential consequences. That might be good for people to know.
John W
Finally, a solution that doesn't break the bank and allows you to keep your existing windows. We bought ours primarily for additional soundproofing as our builder used dual-pane glass. It makes a measurable difference - 20 dB. The bonus is the insulation value. It's been a mild spring and our main bedroom at the front of the house facing the morning sun is much cooler. I suspect it will be warmer in winter as well. If you follow the self-measure and installation instructions to the letter, they go in easily. We have floor-to-ceiling windows, so we had massive inserts, but it was still manageable for two people.
Jillian G
The measurement process was overly complicated - I understand the desire to get a tight fit into not perfectly square windwos, but a 17 page manual for something you can accomplish with math felt unnecessary. I also found the interface to be a bit challenging to work with when inputting fractions that necessarily had to be rounded but the system didn't like my entry. Otherwise, the inserts themselves fit well, very tight, noticeable noise reduction. I am so satisfied with them that I am considering placing another order (depending on whether I want to also spend the money to change window treatments).
Michael M
What a great option for old homes with drafty windows! Our home's windows are so drafty that the curtains in our bedroom would move/blow when it was windy out. The communication with Indows was excellent, and our questions were answered promptly. We thought the measuring process would be a pain, and we were worried we would not be accurate enough, but the kit they sent along with the instructional videos made it very easy. The Indows were delivered in a large wooden crate, and they made it through shipping unharmed (just some dirt marks on the silicon tubing, most of it came off with Castille soap, but some dark smudges did remain on the white tubing--our only disappointment). Our windows are huge, so we installed the little safety chain provided and inserting them was a 2 person job. There was a little bit of a learning curve with the first Indow, but we can take them in and out fairly easily now. The fit was perfect, and we noticed a difference in the temperature of our home right away. Our house stayed warmer, our furnace ran less, and our curtains are no longer blowing in drafts. The product looks great, and blends right in with our woodwork! We will definitely order more for the few windows we didn't do, and we would recommend this company and product to anyone.
Lisa I
They really work! While I still hear traffic (mostly trucks and motorcycles) normal car traffic is virtually silenced. I'm still not able to sleep in the room because we get so many trucks I am able to use this room as an office space now, which was my goal. This room was once the noisiest room in my house and now I enjoy coming up here to watch tv. Thank you!