Ask Slashdot: Hacking Urban Noise?

Move by Anonymous Coward · 2012-09-29 04:35 · Score: 5, Insightful

Quit being a downtown hipster and move to a nice house on a quiet street.

Re:Move by Rob+the+Bold · 2012-09-29 05:16 · Score: 4, Insightful

(plus soundproofing increases the resale value)
Unfortunately, I've discovered (to my annoyance) that practical home improvements like insulation, thermal windows, high efficiency HVAC and appliances, etc., etc. just don't impress the average buyer nearly as much as painting all the walls beige and replacing the hardware with something in brushed nickel or, my personal bete noire: "oil-rubbed bronze."

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I am not a crackpot.

George Bernard Shaw by Frankie70 · 2012-09-29 04:38 · Score: 5, Insightful

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.

Re:George Bernard Shaw by jhoegl · 2012-09-29 04:42 · Score: 5, Funny

My adaption to fart mufflers and loud base was a sound detector and a machine gun. If the passing car got too loud, it would track and fire.
I havent built it yet, but one day...
I wouldnt shed a tear for these obnoxious people. They disturb hundreds of people daily, so fuck em.
Re:George Bernard Shaw by joocemann · 2012-09-29 08:46 · Score: 5, Insightful

I've come to accept the loud bass ---- when you were a teen and you enjoyed it in your own car, or your friends' car, you basically asked for it.
When I hear the loud annoying bass cars go by, I get frustrated, and then I reflect on the youth, including my youth, and I sympathize with their carelessness and then forgive.
Reflect on your own foolish crap with honesty. You'll understand that you, too, used to piss off a lot of people doing something you thought was fun. And then maybe some tolerance and understanding can help...
Re:George Bernard Shaw by Paracelcus · 2012-09-29 10:31 · Score: 4, Interesting

I lived in slums for the first twenty five years of my life and as a very quiet person (apparently the only one) in uptown Chicago, I had many altercations with assholes who thought that I wanted to listen to their bullshit music at top volume at one AM and later!
I tried working two jobs to keep me away from it and finally moved into what should have been a quiet bldg, it wasn't down the hall was a drunk named Julio who owned a stereo with an automatic changer, and one 45 RPM record that he looped all night with his door open!
The landlord, yelling, nothing helped! One night when Julio was passed out (with his door open) I walked in, oped his window and threw his stereo down six stories to the ally below!
The best part was nobody saw me, and the little shit accused me and made the mistake of attacking me in front of witnesses! Oh joy! He had to move out after he was released from the hospital!
I HATE noise makers!

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I killed da wabbit -Elmer Fudd
Re:George Bernard Shaw by markdavis · 2012-09-29 15:23 · Score: 4, Insightful

Sorry, I *NEVER* played music so loud it could be heard out of my car, nor at home. So forgive me for not forgiving people that annoy the crap out of me with such noise.

Heavy drape by Anonymous Coward · 2012-09-29 04:40 · Score: 5, Informative

Have curtains made from the kind of heavy drape they use in studios. Check out how people deal with acoustic treatment in home studio builds. For instance the gearslutz.com "studio building/acoustics" subforum has many threads to geek out on.

It does not have to be far by RotateLeftByte · 2012-09-29 04:41 · Score: 3, Insightful

I used to live right on the A10 highway into London. I move about 400 yds away and the traffic noise was a distant hum. I know that for some /. readers 400yds is beyond the pale when it comes to walking but around here parking spaces were like gold dust so people walk to the top of the street and take the bus, another 200yds there was the train station. 5 mins on the bus took you to a Tube Station.
Many of my neighbours at that time didn't have a car. They didn't need one.

More fool you for choosing to live where you do.

--
I'd rather be riding my '63 Triumph T120.

Re:It does not have to be far by Loosifur · 2012-09-29 06:29 · Score: 3, Funny

Really, cause I know a guy who tries to make pithy jabs at the US but can't manage to spell "imperial" or "Liberia" correctly.
Oh, and if you love the TSA so much why don't you marry it, etc.

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This unbiased moderation brought to you by the Porcine Aviation Group!

Mass by Anonymous Coward · 2012-09-29 04:43 · Score: 5, Informative

Although there are dozens of vendors selling what sound like promising solutions, there is only one solution that really works: more mass. Think of it as a physics problem.. sound waves energy transmitted through the air that cause parts of the structure (including the structure above and below) and environment (e.g. the air around you) to vibrate at a particular resonance. The only way to stop the noise is to stop the vibration. A popular option is to use double drywall with something like rockwool insulation between the studs. You can get away with either 2 x 1/2" drywall or 2 x 5/8" drywall with a small furring strip in between without sacrificing too much living space. Look into Green Glue as an additional way to dampen vibrations in that setup. You can also go for a detached wall or "room within a room," but that starts to get expensive to do right.

If you want to look at a "serious" solution ($$$$), you should try to find a sound mitigation contractor in your area. They can survey the room during different times of day and determine what the best solution is for your situation.

Wait for rap and hip-hop to fall out of favor by elrous0 · 2012-09-29 04:46 · Score: 3

It's the bass that really pisses me off. It's like legalized assault on my ears.

--
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.

More details needed by arth1 · 2012-09-29 04:46 · Score: 5, Informative

How and what, exactly, have you insulated, and where is your domicile in relation to the street?

Do you have sound dampening mats on the ceiling? If not, bear in mind that most houses and apartments are above street level, and most of the sound will be reflected off the ceiling. A layer of sound dampening material there should have the largest effect.

If you live low to the ground, sound insulating the walls that can see the street, rather than just outside walls would have a similar effect.

A few strategically placed plants or sound dividers - think cubicle walls but far less intrusive - can also help.

If you must go with a noise generator (which I don't recommend), try pink noise instead of white. The sounds from the street you try to mask out are going to be mostly low frequency, and white noise will mainly add more sound energy in the higher end of the spectrum.

Re:More details needed by davegravy · 2012-09-29 08:02 · Score: 5, Informative

How and what, exactly, have you insulated, and where is your domicile in relation to the street?
Do you have sound dampening mats on the ceiling? If not, bear in mind that most houses and apartments are above street level, and most of the sound will be reflected off the ceiling. A layer of sound dampening material there should have the largest effect.
If you live low to the ground, sound insulating the walls that can see the street, rather than just outside walls would have a similar effect.
There are two components to the noise intrusion - the direct field and the reverberant field. Adding absorptive finishes to the room will help reduce the reverberant field, which in a best case scenario will buy you 3dB (i.e a barely noticeable improvement). Short improving the isolation (i.e windows and exterior partition construction) there isn't anything you can do about the direct field.

A few strategically placed plants or sound dividers - think cubicle walls but far less intrusive - can also help.
Massive barriers can help in outdoor noise propagation scenarios. In this type of situation, the outdoor noise is impacting the exterior facade, causing it to vibrate, and is re-radiating sound in the interior of the OP's space. This means that the source of sound is a large area, not a point source. The sound is effectively coming from "everywhere", and so you don't get the same kind of path length difference attenuation from barriers like you do when you have a point source that is far from the receiver. This is exascerbated by the fact that the intrusion is low frequency which diffracts around corners far more than higher frequency sound.
Plants are not massive enough to be of any significant help. To put things into perspective, a dense forest that's 100m in depth will only attenuate sound 2-3dB, and that's mostly a high frequency reduction.

If you must go with a noise generator (which I don't recommend), try pink noise instead of white. The sounds from the street you try to mask out are going to be mostly low frequency, and white noise will mainly add more sound energy in the higher end of the spectrum.
White noise will add equal sound energy across the spectrum. Pink noise will add more energy in the lower frequencies. We don't typically recommend noise masking for low frequency intrusions into offices and other facilities we consult on because the masking is generally perceived to be more annoying than the original problem. It's best used when there is a speech privacy problem in large open offices because there isn't ENOUGH background noise.
Upgrading your window would typically be recommended, but will only do a little for low frequency. Note that in glazed assemblies, the framing is the weak point. STC 35 is where most frames will top out (even though the glazing will advertise higher STCs into the 50s). If you want a really solid window construction you need an isolated frame assembly which is two frames in series that do not touch each other and which are isolated from the surrounding structure using 3mm thick neoprene gaskets. Each frame supports a separate pane of glass. The inside perimeter should be lined with glass-fibre to prevent standing waves in the cavity.
Overall thickness of the glazing might be 2-3"

Obligatory XKCD by whennegan · 2012-09-29 04:48 · Score: 5, Funny

http://xkcd.com/368/

What, specifically, did you do? by QuietLagoon · 2012-09-29 04:48 · Score: 4, Informative

Although I've replaced all windows, insulated, and caulked every square inch of the place,

I've been in houses on a busy streets where the street noise stops at the walls and windows. So, possibly, you did not go far enough. For example, there are windows and there are sound-reducing windows.

Maybe you need to re-evaluate what you did to keep the noise out before you embark upon a project to reduce or mask the noise inside the room.

Build another wall by microcars · 2012-09-29 04:52 · Score: 4, Informative

inside with a window that is separated from the "real" outside wall by a few inches.
You will be surprised at how effective this is while leaving the original "look and feel" of the room.

--
I like microcars

Can't recommend noise canceling headphones by aaaaaaargh! · 2012-09-29 04:57 · Score: 3, Informative

One of the last things I've ever bought from Sony were their ultra-expensive MDR-NC500D digital noise canceling headphones. I can't speak for other noice canceling headphones, but can definitely not recommend the ones by Sony. Don't get fooled by the advertisements, the actual noise canceling is pretty weak, does not have any effect on car noise, and is only noticable when you listen to music. (You can't use them just for canceling outside noise.) Moreover, they need power all the time in order to work at all. In my opinion, they are definitely not worth the money.

Noise cancelling won't work by AmiMoJo · 2012-09-29 05:00 · Score: 3, Insightful

You won't be able to cancel out road noise for an entire room. Noise cancelling basically only works with headphones and in certain controlled industrial environments. For a room with road noise coming from different directions from moving sources with a moving listener it just won't work.

I'm afraid you are basically screwed. The only option is to move.

--
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC

Wall of sound won't work by Chalnoth · 2012-09-29 05:08 · Score: 5, Informative

It will do literally nothing. Sound waves simply add. You can't get rid of sound waves by adding a bunch of random sound waves. The sound waves you don't want will pass right through. Now, if you simply have a white noise generator in your house, so that the ambient volume is higher, that may make it so that your ears have a harder time picking out specific sounds, which will, in turn, make it easier to ignore them.

Barring that, noise cancelling headphones or double-pane windows, as others have mentioned, are going to be your best bets. And double-pane windows are good for heating/cooling anyway.

As an aside, I'm also rather skeptical that noise cancellation for the entire apartment could ever be practical. The problem is the waveform bouncing off the various walls and other features of the apartment is going to be too complex to accurately measure or cancel. And then what about the sounds you do want to hear?

Re:are the windows.. by Zero__Kelvin · 2012-09-29 05:09 · Score: 4, Funny

Unless you can read, in which case he said that most of the sound is coming through the windows. I'm not really surprised, since the vast majority of problems I have ever dealt with are related to windows.

--
Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun

Re:Get a Pair of Headphones by __aasdno7518 · 2012-09-29 05:11 · Score: 3, Informative

Headphones don't block noise and turning them up to block noise will damage your hearing. Amazon.com has ear protectors and they will help.

And the motorcycles .... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-09-29 05:12 · Score: 5, Insightful

My adaption to fart mufflers and loud base was a sound detector and a machine gun. If the passing car got too loud, it would track and fire.

I havent built it yet, but one day...

I wouldnt shed a tear for these obnoxious people. They disturb hundreds of people daily, so fuck em.

And the motorcycles.

It's all about our narcissistic society. "Hey look at me! I'm special!"

Re:And the motorcycles .... by realityimpaired · 2012-09-29 05:23 · Score: 4, Insightful

Motorcycles aren't about narcissism, they're about freedom. With the exception of Harley Davidson bikes, which are deliberately tuned badly to make noise, most of the good bikes (think Honda orr BMW) are actually pretty quiet, and, especially among older motorcycle drivers, they are far and above the most courteous drivers on the road, which seems kind of counter to the notion that they're narcissistic.
Re:And the motorcycles .... by Bill+Dimm · 2012-09-29 05:24 · Score: 4, Funny

And the motorcycles.
It's all about our narcissistic society. "Hey look at me! I'm special!"
Yep. South Park did an episode on it, and nailed it as usual.
Re:And the motorcycles .... by element-o.p. · 2012-09-29 07:33 · Score: 5, Insightful

I ride too, and you're full of crap.

A loud pipe isn't going to keep an idiot driver from cutting you off. I've been cut off by idiot drivers more than once, and generally speaking, it's by a young kid with a ten thousand watt stereo cranked up to 11. Your loud pipe isn't going to phase him in the least, but it will piss off everyone else around you, leading to onerous restrictions about what can and cannot be installed on a bike, where bikes can go, etc. As far as only being excessively loud under extreme acceleration, yeah, I call B.S. on that, too. If you're running a straight pipe with no muffler, it will be loud even at idle. It's only ear-splitting at high manifold pressure settings (i.e., acceleration). Regarding "it is the driver...not the bike itself..." well, yeah, but that's a tautology since the rider is the one who has to remove the stock muffler to install the obnoxious one, it is the rider who has to thumb the starter button, and it's the rider who has to twist the throttle to get the bike to accelerate.

--
MCSE? No, sir...I don't do Windows. Yes, I am an idealist. What's your point?
Re:And the motorcycles .... by WGFCrafty · 2012-09-29 07:39 · Score: 3, Funny

Motorcycles aren't about narcissism, they're about freedom. With the exception of Harley Davidson bikes, which are deliberately tuned badly to make noise, most of the good bikes (think Honda orr BMW) are actually pretty quiet, and, especially among older motorcycle drivers, they are far and above the most courteous drivers on the road, which seems kind of counter to the notion that they're narcissistic.
If Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is anything to go on, they're not narcissistic, they're philosophers who go insane when they come to the conclusion that quality is synonymous with the Tao.
Re:And the motorcycles .... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-09-29 07:52 · Score: 5, Insightful

I disagree. I ride, and standing next to a harley with loud pipes is crazy. They're ridiculous, such that you can't even talk over them at a stop light. "Hey, you wanna turn left up there or keep going?" has to get done half with hand signals. And yes, the "loud pipes save lives" thing is total bullshit. Anywhere over 25mph, everyone merges into you anyway... they just don't hear you.
Quick experiment, next time you see a cruiser coming up behind you, certainly keep your eye on them, but turn your stereo off and see if you can hear them. You'll see.
That said, half mile away, you can only hear squids. I live near two highways, and that awful, high pitched whine they make travels right into your living room. It does not help that those kids travel in packs.
So if your neighbor has a loud cruiser and regularly comes home at 1am every night, that could be annoying. If you live anywhere near a busy street, you learn to hate sport bike riders. The good part is they ride like morons, so over the course of a riding season it's an ever-diminishing population.
Re:And the motorcycles .... by arth1 · 2012-09-29 08:18 · Score: 3, Insightful

I guess the Founding Fathers were all motorcycle riders then.
I think we can safely assume that most of them rode carts and wagons instead of ponies.
Much like most people today prefer the freedom from the elements and the freedom to bring a bag or two.
In the past, there were motorbikes that offered freedom - you could drive them on paths where no car could go. Modern motorbikes, however, tend to demand more of the pavement than cars do.
By all means, I can see reasons why some people want a motorbike, but freedom is not one of them, no matter how often repeated.
Re:And the motorcycles .... by Seumas · 2012-09-29 08:32 · Score: 4, Insightful

Motorcycles aren't about narcissism, they're about freedom.

Bullshit. I don't need to hear your "freedom" in a residential neighborhood at 3am on a Saturday morning from five miles away.
Re:And the motorcycles .... by Seumas · 2012-09-29 08:37 · Score: 4, Insightful

I disagree. I ride, and standing next to a harley with loud pipes is crazy. They're ridiculous, such that you can't even talk over them at a stop light.
Such that you can't even talk over them at a stop light? Dude, you can't even talk over them from a mile away in your own home. These mother fuckers are so god damn fucking loud that, even in the comfort of your own quiet home, you have to pause the conversation for 30+ seconds while they finish arriving from a mile or two away and then get a mile or two away to the other side and out of ear-shot. This shit is so ungodly loud that it should not only be a fucking ticketable (and patrolled-for) offense, but a fucking jailable one.
Re:And the motorcycles .... by QuantumRiff · 2012-09-29 13:55 · Score: 3, Insightful

I ride, and always hated the "loud Pipes save lives" saying.. Unless you bend the pipes completely around to face forward, they aren't easily heard by people in front of you.

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What are we going to do tonight Brain?
Re:And the motorcycles .... by Cyberax · 2012-09-29 15:41 · Score: 3, Insightful

That omission should have been fixed long ago. Assholes like you really disturb hundreds of people.

And actually there ARE laws in most of the states regulating the noise. If your vehicle is too noisy then it can't be certified.
Re:And the motorcycles .... by TheCarp · 2012-09-30 02:30 · Score: 3, Informative

I am a rider, and I have been through the MSF course, I recommend it.
No he is right, loud pipes most certainly do NOT save lives. Read some of the other comments, they are spot on. The majority of sound is heard right next to or behind the bike, not in front. Also, insulated cars and loud stereos, as you point out, can mostly cancel out bike noise.
Also... the noise is easily loud enough to damage hearing. In fact, motorcycle riders on the highway are advised to wear ear plugs, because even the sound of the wind will damage your ears over time in a full face helmet above 40-50 mph or so (never mind 80 mph :) ... thats loud)
What a motorcyclist has however is vision. A riders head rides almost as high as an SUV. He is also small. He has a lot of ability to avoid accidents, using his vision, size, and ability to accelerate.
I mean yes, there is a blind spot.... a good rider stays the fuck out of them and is very mindful of them when it can't be avoided. A good portion of being a good rider in traffic is assuming cars might not see you and riding specifically to increase visibility.
Good riders learn to use lane position to make sure they are seen and keep cars in their space, and make space for escapes. (sometimes you want to practically hug the lines)
Then... they practice evasive moves. A bike is a very agile device, but, if you don't intuitively know what to do, you will do the wrong thing. A lot of riders (a stunning number) don't even know that the bike counter-steers.
The vast majority of motorcycle accidents can be avoided by smart riding and avoiding the situations where a driver not seeing them means they die. That's never a smart bet. Assume they can't see you, make them see you.

--
"I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"

Use your stero by RNLockwood · 2012-09-29 05:13 · Score: 3, Funny

Crank up the sound level on your stereo to really high levels and use it constantly to mask street noises. Magically, after a while, you won't need it any more.

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Nate

Re:are the windows.. by grub · 2012-09-29 05:16 · Score: 5, Informative

We put all triple-pane in our house (Winnipeg, Canada) 5 years ago. We noticed the street noise almost disappear. (Not to mention the winter heating bills dropped by ~30%+)
Cost a pretty penny, about $13K for the whole house, but man was it worth it.

--
Trolling is a art,

It's not legal by rsilvergun · 2012-09-29 05:24 · Score: 3, Informative

but 30 years of tax cuts and underfunded police departments means the cops have better things to be doing. That's why you don't see these guys in wealthy parts of town.

--
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Re:Get a Pair of Headphones by tsa · 2012-09-29 05:45 · Score: 4, Funny

Headphones don't block noise and turning them up to block noise will damage your hearing.

So they do help :).

--

-- Cheers!

Re:are the windows.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-09-29 05:52 · Score: 5, Funny

So you're saying he should try replacing his windows with linux? It might just work, I've certainly seen installations where I couldn't get any sound to come through linux.

Re:Earplugs by nospam007 · 2012-09-29 05:55 · Score: 4, Interesting

"Cheap and works every time. After a few minutes, you'll forget you have them in."

I'd suggest the same. I work shifts and needed them to be able to sleep during the day. Now I can't live without them.
Not only sleeping, but programming, reading and other stuff is great with plugs.

But you can't forget them after a few minutes in the beginning.
I tested 2 dozen of them and still I needed 3 weeks until they didn't hurt anymore. If you wear them 8-10 hours, your ears need to adapt.
It _will_ hurt for some time, but then it's heaven.

Do a measurement first!!! by ctrl-alt-canc · 2012-09-29 06:17 · Score: 4, Informative

First you must measure how many decibel of attenuation you need. For this you need a sound level meter: If you don't have one at hand, a microphone + PC sound card + Audacity can be used as well (many apps for Android/Ipad are also available for this). Measure two sound spectra at your location: the first one with traffic noise present, the second one when you feel that background noise level is comfortable for you. The difference between the two spectra will tell you how much attenuation you need, and which frequencies need to be attenuated more.

Next compare the attenuation offered by each possible solutions (noise attenuationg windows, wall insulation, etc.) against the attenuation you need to achieve. If it isn't enough, move away, otherwise try installing the best solution you can afford.

Noise should be stopped before it enters the walls of your home: Once it is there, it can follow unsuspected paths to reach your ears (pipes, wall joints, etc.). The best way to stop it is to increase the acoustic impedance of external walls and windows.

Attenuation could be increased using viscoelastic materials like rubber: however they are best for attenuating high frequencies.

Re:That's nice by sycodon · 2012-09-29 06:19 · Score: 4, Interesting

You don't get $$$ by being lucky unless you inherit it or you hit the lottery.

People are free to move and live where they want. I suppose you want them to stay and suffer the festering blight of poverty and crime? As far as "solving the problems", name one city that has ever solved the problem. You can't solve stupid and the people causing these problems are Stupid incarnate.

I live outside a city and pay no city taxes. I pay county taxes for fire and police (County Sheriff), and a Hospital District and we have our own water district. I take no resources from the cities nearby, but I do spend my money there. When we pay off the bonds on our district, the city plans on annexing my neighborhood. So then I'll get to pay city taxes and get bum fucking nothing in return except a library card. That's when I move further away.

You people who want everyone to live crammed together in some kind of supposed utopia of harmony and efficiency are nuts. City living has it's advantages and its drawbacks and people are free to choose city, suburban or county lifestyles. Who the hell are you to say anything about their choice?

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When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.

Re:Get a Pair of Headphones by Grishnakh · 2012-09-29 06:25 · Score: 3, Informative

Wrong. Headphones DO block noise, if they look like these.

No, earbuds don't block noise, but those aren't "headphones".

I used to live on the A41 by Kupfernigk · 2012-09-29 06:35 · Score: 4, Interesting

I moved 110 miles away and the loudest noise was the surf on the beach. But most of the neighbors were near death...Too quiet. I now live a mere 120 miles from that apartment on the A41, in a village, and the loudest noise is the sparrows in the hedge that separates our drive from our neighbors. One day I might shoot the noisy little bastards.

Back OT, however, the answer is triple glazing and lining the outside wall with Noisekiller - which is a polymer foam/lead/foam composite which can silence the sound of a marine Diesel engine in a steel enclosure.

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From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."

buffering wall of sound by Onymous+Coward · 2012-09-29 07:25 · Score: 3, Insightful

I'm considering mounting an oblong parabolic reflector in the ceiling above the windows with a steady feed of white or brownian noise directed into it (e.g., via a small speaker placed within the reflector) to create a 'wall' of sound that would act as a buffer to the outside world.

Wait... would that actually do anything?

Are you saying that a curtain of sound (perhaps not even directed so that you can hear it) inhibits the passage of other sounds through it? I don't know anything about acoustics, but this seems untrue.

Re:Get a Pair of Headphones by icebike · 2012-09-29 08:25 · Score: 5, Interesting

Headphones don't block noise and turning them up to block noise will damage your hearing.
Amazon.com has ear protectors and they will help.

Actually some headphones do block noise, by having a mic and playing the reverse sound (180 degrees out of phase).
But in any event, living with headphones on is not an answer.

The sound is coming thru the windows. Even dual pane windows won't help, they simply act as a drum.
Three pane windows help some.

What is needed is a dual pane window where the panes are not parallel. Tipping the top of the outer
pane outward de-tunes the drum, and reduces sound transmission by quite a bit. The further you can tip it
the better is works.

It has the additional effect of cutting insolation, while actually increasing insulation.

Any good galzier could do this for you and there are starting to be some commercial models available,
but custom built is the best way to achieve this.

--
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.

Re:are the windows.. by grub · 2012-09-29 08:59 · Score: 3

Other than the large living room window which was double pane, everything was the original single pane from 1974.

--
Trolling is a art,

Re:are the windows.. by icebike · 2012-09-29 09:02 · Score: 4, Informative

Triple pane really doesn't do that much for sound deadening according to the Canadian Building Digest.
Tripple panes with dissimilar glass thickness works better,

But having a different type of glass on the inside works much better.

Typically they use laminated glass for the soundproufing inner pane, with glas laminated to plastic pane which dampens transmitted vibration.
There are commercial windows available for this. These solutions seldom work where you intend to open the window to let in a breeze.

If you don't want to buy entirely new windows there are simple and less costly interior add-on panes. This preserves the ability to open the window.

--
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.

Small Peckers by Anonymous Coward · 2012-09-29 09:48 · Score: 5, Insightful

Admit it - You put loud exhausts on your cars and trucks because you have to compensate for your tiny penis. Why else? Or is it just that you like to annoy people? You want "raw power"? Try flying a military jet. As to "freedom", how about your understanding that others lose their freedom to peace and quiet because you're an asshole. You want loud noise? Put a stereo on your bike (undoubtedly a Harley piece of crap) and some ear phones. You get the "loud" you want without annoying other people.

Re:The motorcycles are for lazy people by Anonymous Coward · 2012-09-29 10:30 · Score: 5, Funny

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_Across_America

Less than two weeks, fat ass.

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