Why is the street noise so audible, and what genuinely reduces it?
Sound enters a home through whatever gap or thin surface is closest to the noise source. Old single-glazed sashes are often the loudest, but letterboxes, air bricks and unsealed gaps can rival them. Acoustic performance scales with mass and airtightness, which is why secondary glazing performs better than many people expect.
What it usually looks like
These are the symptoms readers describe most often. None of them alone is diagnostic, but together they build a picture.
- Traffic audible at night through closed windows
- Conversation outside legible inside
- Older single-glazed windows worst affected
- Front rooms noticeably louder than rear
Most common in: Victorian terrace · Edwardian semi-detached
Before you buy anything
Watch the house respond as you scroll.
These checks are listed in the order we would work through them. The illustration on the left changes with each one, so you can see what each check is actually addressing before deciding whether it is worth doing.
The source is loud, the path is direct, and the room receives all of it.
Seal the obvious gaps first
Letterboxes, keyholes, gaps around frames and unsealed pipework leak sound as well as heat. Closing them is cheap and immediately audible.
Add heavy curtains or interlined blinds
Mass absorbs sound. Heavy fabric over a window will reduce perceived noise even without changing the glass.
Look at secondary glazing before replacement
Secondary glazing with a wide air gap of 100mm or more outperforms most replacement double glazing for sound, while keeping the original window.
Inspect air bricks and vents
Air bricks transmit sound directly. Acoustic vents preserve airflow while cutting noise significantly.
Consider room layout if the noise source is unavoidable
Moving the bedroom to the back of the house can sometimes solve a noise problem more reliably than expensive fabric work.
Products that may help
Only consider these once the checks above have been ruled out. A product fitted into the wrong cause is rarely satisfying.
The cheapest answer to street noise getting in is usually the one that addresses the cause rather than the symptom. The list above is in the order we would work through it, because the checks at the top tend to rule out the most expensive mistakes further down.
Run the Home Comfort Score for this room
A two-minute reading gives you a number to compare against after each improvement, so you know what is actually working.