air vents in double glazed windows?

nelly_2

Ive noticed that a lot of windows have alarge cavity between the glass and metal inside the plastic and all sorts then a gap all the way round the window that is just filled with a tiny bead of silicone.

emma_b_4

we have a blackout blind and curtains up, im thinking of putting up heavier curtains too. i think its getting to me more now as im pregnant and find it hard to sleep and just as im dropping off noises outside disturb me! thing is we have lived here four years and it never bothered us for first year, even without dglazing. all our windows have the locks on so they can be left open and locked, its only the upstairs that then have the vents on too.

golddustmedia

We've got a newbuild house and were getting a lot of sound through some windows. I got the window fitters to inspect it and it turned out some of the opening frames were not closing tight enough to the frame so sound and even a draft was getting through. Couple of hours adjusting them and all was fine.

ps: we also have the trickle vents and when closed sound is pretty much gone.

emma_b_4

thanks i will wait till the safestyle man comes back and see what he thinks, just get the feeling they have had my money now so will fob me off...................

emma_b_4

i have ordered a white noise cd from ebay x

elzie

we had the same problem and found that the window fitting company had not fitted trickle vents (which are not included in the price!!- but are half the price direct from Jewsons!!) but they had actually forgot to seal the outside of the window- so in effect if either of my sprogs had leant against the glass they would have landed straight on the grass!! Sheer quality- I dont think!!

emma_b_4

please say it wasnt safestyle!

elzie

no it was a local firm in near where i live in Wiltshire- def woul NOt recommed them hee hee! I can laugh about it now but at the time I was just a lil hacked off!

emma_b_4

i would have been more than that!!

i have bought a white noise cd off ebay for £4 so will see if that works! if not, might come in useful for the baby anyway

Boojum

If you want to reduce sound coming through a window you will need specially designed dg units - as Rex said previously, two pieces of glass of different thicknesses. Ideally 6 mm and 10mm, with as large an air gap as you can fit into the frame, minimum 16mm. This does make for a large, heavy unit, but it does work. I live next to a sheet metal works, and with the windows described above, it cuts out virtually all of the noise, and we also have trickle vents in them.
While you're at it, why not replace the outer pane with self cleaning glass, and save yourself some future work. The inner pane should have a low-e coating as well, to comply with part L of the building regs.