Totally relate to the whack-a-mole feeling, haha. I found that adding heavy curtains helped a ton with sound leaks around windows. Ever tried combining curtains with your insulation setup? Curious if others had luck with that combo...
I get the curtain suggestion, but honestly, in my experience with older homes, curtains alone don't quite cut it. I've been living in a historic house (built in 1923) for about seven years now, and let me tell you—soundproofing these old beauties is a whole different beast.
When I first moved in, street noise was driving me nuts. Tried thick velvet curtains first, and sure, they helped a bit with echo and softened some of the sharper noises, but the deeper sounds—like traffic rumble or neighbors' bass-heavy music—still came right through. Eventually, I bit the bullet and went for proper insulation upgrades. I used dense mineral wool insulation behind drywall on exterior-facing walls, especially around windows and doors. The difference was night and day. It wasn't cheap or easy (old plaster walls are a nightmare to work with), but it genuinely transformed the acoustics inside.
That said, curtains do have their place. After finishing the insulation job, I put the heavy curtains back up, and they complemented the insulation nicely. They seem to help absorb some of the higher-frequency sounds that insulation alone doesn't fully tackle. But if you're dealing with serious noise issues, curtains alone probably won't get you there. They're more like icing on the cake rather than the main solution.
Also worth mentioning—windows themselves can be a weak point. If you have original single-pane windows like mine, consider adding storm windows or even interior window inserts. I installed acrylic inserts last winter, and they noticeably reduced noise leakage around the frames.
Bottom line: curtains are helpful as part of a broader strategy, but if you're serious about soundproofing an older home, insulation upgrades and window treatments combined are your best bet.
You're spot-on about curtains being more of a finishing touch. I went through something similar a while back—my place is from the 1930s, and street noise was brutal. Curtains softened things a bit, but didn't really solve it. Ended up doing insulation too, and yeah, it really does make a huge difference. Glad to hear I'm not the only one who found plaster walls a total pain to deal with...
Interesting you mention insulation as the big fix. I've seen a few cases where homeowners went all-in on insulation but still had noise issues—especially with older homes. Did you find it was insulation alone that helped, or could it have been sealing gaps and cracks around windows and doors too? Sometimes those tiny openings make a bigger difference than people realize... Curious if anyone else noticed this?
Totally agree with you on the gaps and cracks thing. When we first moved into our older place, we thought insulation would solve everything, but nope...still heard way too much street noise. Then we sealed around the windows and doors with weatherstripping and caulk, and it was like night and day. Honestly, I think it's a combo of both insulation and sealing those sneaky little openings that really does the trick. Plus, sealing gaps is way cheaper, so it's a win-win.
