Totally agree about sealing gaps—learned that the hard way myself. My place is an old historic home with original windows, and when I first moved in, street noise was ridiculous. Thought thicker curtains or insulation would solve it, but nope. Turned out the real issue was all these tiny cracks around the frames and baseboards. Spent a weekend sealing everything up with acoustic caulk and weatherstripping, and honestly, it made a bigger difference than anything else. Insulation density helps, sure, but without sealing those sneaky little gaps, you're basically throwing money away. Glad you figured it out too... feels good when you finally get some peace and quiet, doesn't it?
Yeah, sealing gaps was a game changer for me too. I tried soundproof insulation first in my condo—helped a bit, but honestly, once I tackled those sneaky cracks around outlets and doors, that's when things really quieted down. Lesson learned the hard way, haha.
Interesting you mention outlets—I hadn't even thought about those. Did you notice a big difference between sealing around doors versus windows? I've been debating whether it's worth tackling my windows next, since they're older and probably leakier than I'd like to admit. Wondering if anyone's found window sealing to be as impactful as doors or outlets...
I tackled my windows last fall thinking it'd be a quick fix... turns out, sealing windows is like opening a bag of chips—you start with one and suddenly you're committed to the whole thing. It did help noticeably with drafts, but sound-wise, doors made a bigger impact for me. Did anyone try weather stripping versus caulking? Curious if one's better bang for the buck.
I get the appeal of sealing windows, but honestly, weather stripping made a bigger difference for me than caulking. Caulking's great for drafts, but sound-wise, it didn't do much. Weather stripping around my old wooden doors was a game changer—less street noise and fewer rattles. Also, if you're really after sound dampening, heavy curtains or rugs can surprisingly help. My historic home has thin walls, and soft furnishings made more noticeable improvements than sealing ever did... just my two cents.
