Barry Young wrote:


2) I've heard that the larger the gap between the two "windows" is, the
better the noise reduction. As the window reveal is about 35 cm deep, I
could make the gap this size, making the secondary glazing flush with the
walls - would this make sense? Or should I aim for a smaller gap?

Yes, good sound insulation needs a much bigger gap than is desirable
for thermal insulation, but 35cm is probably much more than you would
need.

About 4 inches (10cm) is almost certainly enough. Interestingly, you have
the scope to make the secondary pane non parallel with the outer. This
is the approach used in sound studios to reduce resonances between the
panes and improves sound isolation even more.

If you can arrange it, and wouldn't mind the sloping appearance, making
the gap at the bottom (say) 10 cm and the gap at the top (say) 15cm
ought to be pretty effective.

Nick.

"Barry Young" wrote
| I'm thinking about geting secondary double glazing for the bedroom in my
| flat as there's a fair amount of noise from the road just outside. A
couple
| of questions.
| 1) I quite like the look of the Newdawn kit that DIY plastics are selling
| (http://www.diyplas.co.uk/doubleglazing.html). They sell it in 3 and 4 mm
| thicknesses in both polystyrene and acrylic. The acrylic kits work out
| about 25-30% more expensive than polystyrene - is this worth the extra?
| From what I can gather they're a fair bit more durable and less likely to
| get "cloudy".

Hmm, I would be inclined to go for glass as being heavier.

| 2) I've heard that the larger the gap between the two "windows" is, the
| better the noise reduction. As the window reveal is about 35 cm deep, I
| could make the gap this size, making the secondary glazing flush with the
| walls - would this make sense? Or should I aim for a smaller gap?

The pub near me has got sealed double-glazed outer, single secondary glazing
over that, and then another (I think double) glazed inner, with about a foot
depth between the secondary glazing and the inner. This was to stop sound
getting out, not in :-)

Making sure the outer (existing) window is sealed airtight and lining the
reveal with accoustic tiles will also help.

Owain

using plastic will make your noise problem worse, it is not rigid enough to,
if you are serious about your noise problem you should look at the following
web site,
http://www.secondaryglazing.com

or if you are less serious the following site offers an aluminium system
that you can glaze with 4mm glass,
http://www.diyplastics.com/secondary...aryglazing.htm

I hope this help you get a good nights sleep
"Owain" wrote in message
...
"Barry Young" wrote
| I'm thinking about geting secondary double glazing for the bedroom in my
| flat as there's a fair amount of noise from the road just outside. A
couple
| of questions.
| 1) I quite like the look of the Newdawn kit that DIY plastics are
selling
| (http://www.diyplas.co.uk/doubleglazing.html). They sell it in 3 and 4
mm
| thicknesses in both polystyrene and acrylic. The acrylic kits work out
| about 25-30% more expensive than polystyrene - is this worth the extra?
| From what I can gather they're a fair bit more durable and less likely
to
| get "cloudy".

Hmm, I would be inclined to go for glass as being heavier.

| 2) I've heard that the larger the gap between the two "windows" is, the
| better the noise reduction. As the window reveal is about 35 cm deep, I
| could make the gap this size, making the secondary glazing flush with
the
| walls - would this make sense? Or should I aim for a smaller gap?

The pub near me has got sealed double-glazed outer, single secondary
glazing
over that, and then another (I think double) glazed inner, with about a
foot
depth between the secondary glazing and the inner. This was to stop sound
getting out, not in :-)

Making sure the outer (existing) window is sealed airtight and lining the
reveal with accoustic tiles will also help.

Owain