Sound absorption for windows?

[Mazeroth]

The house we just purchased has windows facing the direction of a major highway (I-70), which is 7 houses down from us plus behind some trees. However, you can still hear the highway from inside the house if you're in one of the rooms that has windows that face the highway. It's not very loud but I'm sure it's going to get annoying at times.

With that, do they make any sort of window covering (preferably blinds) that have some sound absorption characteristics? As of now they only have the cheap plastic blinds on them and I'm sure that's doing next to nothing to help the cause.

Thanks!

[ThomasW]

Use wooden slat shades combined with heavy lined drapes

[joecarrow]

Boy does that bring back memories! I was living in a fraternity house and finishing my senior year of some difficult classes, and I ended up hanging a quilt over my large windows to block out the sound of my less studious brethren.

If you just purchased the house, then there's something else you can do- get double or triple insulated windows. It's expensive, yes, but I think you can get a decent tax deduction on them. Also, as cold as some parts of Ohio can get (I grew up in Illinois), I would think that if you redid your whole house with insulated windows then they would pay for themselves in just a few years.

Here's what I'd say to do- do what Thomas says for now, then save your heating bill for January/February. When you can afford to have the windows done, compare the next winter's heating bill to see the savings.

[Rolex]

There are manufacturers that make windows with an STC rating (sound transmission coefficient), the higher the rating, they better they are at blocking the sound.

I'm working on a project now that requires 45 STC because of being next to some rail road tracks. Jeld Wen is one manufacturer that specifies their STC rating. That's not who I ended up using because I found another manufacturer with a higher rating. I'll have to look through my documents to find out what the name of the company is.

Bottom line, there are windows out there designed to help you get rid of noise.

[Mazeroth]

Thanks for the input so far.

If you could find the name of the manufacturer I would really appreciate it. I was thinking of putting new windows in the house and if I could potentially alleviate the noise problem at the same time that would be great.