Paphos Life

We are seriously considering having 2 of our patio doors replaced with effective sound proofing double glazed units.

The rest of the house has shutters which cut out a lot of outside sound, but we prefer to keep these two patio doors free from shutters.

Would appreciate any advice, recommendations, things to consider etc. We have heard of a few horror stories where people had replacement units fitted only to discover that it made no difference at all.

Thanks

Don't expect miracles with double glazing. You will probably have to change the doors to robust UPVC and, with standard double glazing, that should reduce outside noise level by about 30 dB. You get more attenuation, I suggest triple glazing with hydrogen filling, which should give you another 10 to 15 dB. However, most noise comes through walls, as well as windows, if they are not well insulated.

When I wanted soundproofing (in Germany though) I was told there are 5 grades of glass/windows. Grade 1 you might use for a greenhouse and grade 5 for a hotel next to the airport runway. I´d try to find out whether there is a similar grading system in Cyprus.

My first house here had single glaze Aluminium sliding doors and windows which I changed for double glazed units. It made a difference in the ambient temperature of the house in both winter summer months but very little to any sound reduction. I did the same for my second house which had traditional wooden patio doors and windows with many single panel glass sections. This did make a big difference to both temperature and noise reduction although you can still hear dogs barking and cockerels crowing in the early morning