09
Buildings
A balcony is not automatically a noise barrier
A balcony can screen road traffic, reflect sound towards a window or resonate at particular frequencies. Its acoustic value depends on the whole geometry, not its presence alone.
Residential acoustics · London
How sound enters our homes—and what we can do about it.
I’m Sebastian Paszek, an acoustician writing about noise, buildings and the difference between laboratory claims and what people actually hear at home.
Working principle
Quiet should be engineered and measured, not guessed.
Selected writing
Notes on quieter homes
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08
Environmental noise
Why a drone can sound more intrusive than its decibel reading
Drone noise is shaped by tones, rapid fluctuations, repetition and the quietness of the setting. A useful residential assessment therefore needs more than one headline sound level.
07
Environmental noise
Will electric cars make a noisy road quieter?
Removing engine noise can improve a street’s soundscape, especially in slow and stop–start traffic. But at the bedroom window, speed, tyres, road surface and traffic mix still decide much of the result.
06
Why a ‘quiet’ heat pump can still be noticeable at night
A single dB figure cannot describe changes in operating condition, tonal character or the masking effect of a neighbourhood. New research helps explain why careful placement still matters.
05
A window is not simply open or closed
A smaller opening may reduce noise, but it also changes cooling airflow. New field research shows why acoustic and overheating design need the same window geometry.
04
What is a quiet façade—and can you create one in an existing home?
Why the front and back of the same home can provide radically different acoustic environments, and what that means for retrofit design.
03
Windows and doors
Why a high-performance window does not always create a quiet room
Sound finds the weakest path. The glass may test brilliantly while frames, vents and surrounding walls tell a different story.
02
Measurement
Decibels are not the whole story
Two rooms can share a headline noise level and feel entirely different. Frequency, peaks and timing help explain why.
01
Buildings
The ventilation dilemma: a quieter room still needs fresh air
Closing a sound path can also close an air path. Successful acoustic design has to resolve both requirements together.
About
Measured in real homes.
I am a Senior Acoustician and Chief Operating Officer at The Soundproof Windows. I specialise in practical residential acoustics: the paths noise takes through windows, doors, ventilation openings and surrounding building elements. My work combines on-site acoustic measurement with the realities of architecture, conservation and installation.
I am also a STEM Ambassador. I previously served as a community governor at Beal Multi-Academy Trust from 2014 to 2016 and as a Scout instructor.
Outside work, sailing and photography are the counterpoint: both reward attention to weather, light and small changes in the environment.