Glass doors are notoriously bad at blocking sound because glass has such a low STC rating. However, if you choose to soundproof your sliding glass doors with soundproof curtains, you can lose natural light and your view if you have a nice one.
Using a soundproof sliding glass door will reduce sound by 75% as well as insulate and provide a substantial amount more safety to your residence. Soundproof sliding glass doors use laminated glass that is substantially stronger than the typical, tempered glass that is used with the average sliding glass door.
Glass doors are a pain to try to soundproof because either way, you will need to cover the glass in some way to block the intruding noise. Of course, when you block the glass, you mostly make a glass door useless by not being able to see the view.
Fiberglass doors have some type of foam at their core, which gives them the opportunity to be extremely well-insulated and one of the best soundproof door options if the foam is high-density.
If you need to block sound waves from entering a room, then the answer to “is wood more soundproof than glass” is no. The reason is that glass blocks sound instead of absorbing it. For this reason, you cannot compare its acoustic properties to wood to get the answer.
Glass is actually a great conductor of sound, much batter than air. Glass is also a great reflector of sound waves and this is why the glass is used as a sound insulator.
Many home designs incorporate sliding doors. They're often desired for the openness they create in a room and the great view they give to the outdoors. However, sliding doors have their downfalls, primarily the inability to effectively block sound coming in above and around the doorway.
A solid wood door is one of the most effective means of soundproofing the biggest opening in the room. The downside is that it's also the most expensive way to soundproof a door, so people on a budget may not be able to afford this solution.
To soundproof a door, make it structurally strong enough to block noise by replacing it with a solid core door or by adding mass loaded vinyl, soundproof blankets, and panels to the existing door. Then, seal the gaps with a door gasket, door sweep or spray foam to prevent air leaks.
Understand Ratings for Better Sound Blocking Doors
To block loud speech, a door needs an STC rating of from 40 to 50. For excellent noise blocking, you'll need a door with an STC of from 50 to 60 and gaskets to block noise from traveling through gaps.
For reference, at a rating of around 25, it's relatively easy to hear normal speech and standard noises. For soundproof glass, the various means of construction result in an STC rating between 38-50, significantly reducing noise penetration.
Seal Up Sound Leaks for Interior Doors
Interior French Doors are often used to separate a home office from the family room or other busier areas of the home. As interior doors, they typically will not provide sufficient soundproofing to allow simultaneous uses of the space, without some soundproofing.
Cover walls with thick blankets, moving pads, tapestries, or quilts. Virtually any soft material will work, though thicker ones absorb more sound than thinner materials. If you don't mind adding an industrial look to the room, fasten sound-absorbing panels to the walls and, if necessary, the ceiling.
Door sweeps, like acoustic door seals, help keep interior noise in and exterior noise out. Door sweep installation is simple, yet it makes a cow-sized difference when it comes to noise control. Door seals and sweeps can be used separately, but provide the most thorough door soundproofing when used together.
Overall, this door sweep will reduce the level of noise inside of a room, as long as the rest of the door is also secure. However, since the EPDM rubber is fairly stiff, it may make scraping noises as you move the door.
Soundproofing Pocket Doors – Do Pocket Doors Block Sound? The short answer is no – pocket doors do not block very much sound. Whether or not you chose to have pocket doors or the house came that way when you bought it, pocket doors aren't very soundproof.
Though air is the most common medium through which we hear sound, most solids and liquids conduct sound waves more efficiently than air and other gases.
The best materials for carrying sound waves include some metals such as aluminum, and hard substances like diamond.
Generally, glass is first laminated with a specialized PVB interlayer that offers excellent sound-absorption properties. This dampening core helps to prevent sound frequencies from vibrating from one pane of glass to the other. When compared to ordinary glass, this type of glass reduces external noise by up to 60%.
Dual-pane windows, also called double-pane windows, help to reduce some noise. Triple-pane glass is the best option for reducing the most noise. In fact, Pella Lifestyle Series triple-pane windows with optional sound control package reduce 52% more noise than single pane windows.