How are they planning to mount the laminated glass in the opening? From what I read it will be a more or less permanent mount? One potential advantage (but also potential acoustical disadvantage) of the plastic insert is that it's much lighter than the laminated glass so it can be relatively easy to remove from the opening if necessary, whereas the laminated glass is going to be heavy. A laminated insert using 3mm glass for both lites will be over 50lbs at the size window that you describe, and while laminated glass can be very safe when handling, it's still a chore if you have to remove it from the opening for any reason. But acoustically that weight (density) is to your advantage. The .06 acoustical laminate glass means that they are using a 1.52mm thick PVB interlayer in the laminated glass. Generically .030" or .76mm interlayer is considered safety, .060" or 1.52mm is considered security, and .090" or 2.28mm is considered to be impact resistant, or the thickness generally used for hurricane impact glass. Adding additional thickness also adds some acoustical advantage as well, roughly 1 to 2 dB advantage for every additional .76mm thickness. I would suggest that if you are going to be looking at comparing laminated glass to acrylic, you might consider using the laminated glass in your bedroom.

I am looking to install about a dozen or so "XX" dual slider windows in tandem. Basically, I plan on putting one window on top of another. This is similar to what the company "Soundproof Windows" does, except I'm ordering standard windows and having my contractor install two in tandem. Hopefully Oberon can chime in on this one. I did hire an acoustical engineer... however he is not aware of the STC rating for these unique XX dual slider windows. Basically, it's a horizontal slider where both windows (left and right) slide independently. I need these because I have planter boxes directly outside the windows and I want access to the entire section from inside the house. The planter boxes are not accessible from the outside because they are either two or three stories up (homes are three stories tall). Does anyone know if the XX dual slider is appropriate in achieving a high STC rating? My goal is 50 STC with these two windows in tandem: First window (outside) Dual pane 1/4" lam, 5/8" air space, 1/8" plate glass Second window (inside) Single pane 3/16" lam Note that there is about 2 1/2" of airspace between the two sliding windows. So technically, when both windows are closed, I have created a "triple pane" window with a 5/8" airspace and a 2 1/2" airspace. And 3 varying window thicknesses - 1/8", 3/16" and 1/4". Total mass in glass is 9/16" and this doesn't include the two laminate films between two panes which I assume add about 1/8" more. And the reason why I need a ridiculously high 50 STC is because these are bedrooms and the property is located right next to a highway. Any advice is appreciated!

The condo board's requirements for noise reduction will be very important to find/view/have a copy on hand. Carpet is the ONLY product that cancels FOOT STEPS! And guess what noise gets the MOST complaints? Right. Foot steps. Sigh. You can see where they will go with this? As a cork flooring professional, I tackled this on a DAILY basis. I always recommend STARTING with the Condo boards REQUIREMENTS and then challenging them with available data. This gets much easier if you have a health requirement that means you must ELIMINATE carpet. That way you can argue "undue hardship". Anyway, onto the data. I recommend working with cork floating flooring (11mm or thicker) plus 6mm or 12mm cork underlayment. Yes. That means you will have an increase of 3/4" floor height. That's a serious step up from most carpet installs. The carpets I can see look like "low-nap". The padding underneath them is what does all the "acoustic work" when it comes to VOCAL NOISES (STC ratings). Cork + cork will do NICELY for vocal noises (airborne sound = STC). What cork does not do (as) well with = foot steps. Hence the need to look at 12mm cork underlay (1/2"). In the USA, 70% of condos will accept 6mm cork underlay. The other 30% REQUIRE 1/2" and there is nothing you can do to make them change their mind. So....first things first. Find samples of both floating floor AND cork underlayments. Ask for DELTA IIC ratings from the manufacturers of the cork products (NOT IIC/STC ratings...they are EASILY falsified). https://www.icorkfloor.com/store/acoustic-underlay-12mm-cork/ https://www.greenbuildingsupply.com/core/media/media.nl?id=102754&c=772072&h=9829b186ca369be841f2&_xt=.pdf Check out "page 10 of 12" in the second link...at the very bottom of the page you will see "Increase in Impact Isolation class = 22". This is the DELTA IIC rating for 12mm cork underlayment. This is the MOST PRECISE document I have ever found for cork. These are 'pure' numbers. They cannot be manipulated because the testing is SOOOOO regimented. They test used 8mm Pergo laminate which is rated as a "Zero" for noise reduction (it does NOTHING to keep noise down). All the "work" is being done by the cork. The 12mm cork underlay offers 22 dB. An 11mm cork plank (by itself) will offer 8-10 dB. The two put together (and YES you are ALLOWED to ADD Delta IIC numbers...that's why they are SOOOOO important) you get 30- 32 dB worth of Impact noise reduction. That is MASSIVE. I can't tell you how MASSIVE that is. A 6" concrete slab rates as 26-28 dB. An 8" concrete slab = 30-32 dB. By installing 1" worth of cork+cork product you have effectively added the equivalent of 8" of concrete! Whew! That's impressive. If your proposal and PRESENTATION to the condo board are done properly, with lots of scientific "know-how" you can get the exemption done with the 1/2" cork underlay + cork flooring. And if you have a health concern re: carpet, you are even farther down the path to cork flooring.

If warmth is not a concern, then a LAMINATE would do well. Go as high-end as you can afford. The good stuff starts in the $5/sf range...and goes higher. I like a 6mm cork underlay just for noise reduction (condos are notoriously loud = the carpet is taking care of that right now. I would leave the tile in the kichen/entrance areas. If you really want to pull it out, then replace it with a real porcelain tile OR with a THICK vinyl plank (CoreTec = $7-$9/sf) in a tile/stone look. Never use laminate in splash zones. The reason why I suggest laminate = the average 'rental' floor will last 7 years. As a short term rental there is a higher chance of big damage...than with a family living in the unit for 7 continuous years. Vinyl does NOT allow acoustic padding to be used underneath. That means you will be directly on the subfloor = be able to hear everything being said from the unit below...and the unit below will be able to hear everything going on in your condo. You will want to find out if there are any acoustic requirements for the unit. The carpet is eating up all the acoustics right now. Most condos require carpet to be replaced by a 'like' material (acoustically speaking).