Little Drifter Hotel — Acoustic Glazing for Heritage Building
The owner of Little Drifter Melbourne contacted us after receiving noise complaints from neighbouring occupants — the hotel’s bar and restaurant on a busy CBD street were causing disturbance through ageing single-glazed windows. Within one hour of the call, our team arrived on-site to assess the situation, and a detailed quote was delivered within three hours. Our responsiveness secured the project immediately. Shortly after, the City of Melbourne council placed a formal noise regulation requirement on the property, making the acoustic upgrade not just desirable but legally mandatory.
The Challenge
The hotel owner was receiving noise complaints from neighbours, and the City of Melbourne council stepped in with a formal noise regulation requirement. Ageing single-glazed windows on a busy CBD street were failing acoustically — and every day of non-compliance risked fines and lost restaurant revenue for the hotel.
Rapid Response
Within one hour of the owner’s call, our team was on-site assessing the windows and noise levels. A full scope and quote were delivered within three hours — the fastest turnaround the client had received from any contractor. SDW proposed a high-performance double-glazed solution using VLam Hush acoustic laminated glass, targeting Rw 41 acoustic rating. It then emerged the building was heritage listed — the external windows could not simply be replaced, threatening the entire project.
The Solution
Rather than abandoning the project, the team reassessed the existing openings and surrounding fabric, identifying around 70mm of available masonry area at the perimeter. SDW redesigned the framing system as a secondary window installed internally — keeping the heritage look of the original windows completely intact while adding high-performance acoustic glazing behind them. The result: noise reduced to compliant levels without altering a single element of the heritage facade.
The Outcome
The required acoustic outcome was achieved while retaining the heritage-listed windows — avoiding a far more complex external replacement and heritage-alteration process. The result was visually clean internally and left the heritage exterior materially unchanged. The council noise regulation was satisfied, complaints ceased, and the hotel’s bar and restaurant continued operating without disruption. The quality of work and speed of delivery impressed the client so much that SDW was subsequently awarded additional projects, including Stages 2 and 3 of the hotel’s refurbishment.
“From the first call to on-site assessment in one hour, quote in three hours, and a creative solution that kept the heritage look while solving the noise problem — that’s why the client came back for more.”
Project Gallery
The Little Drifter Hotel in Melbourne’s CBD — a heritage building where Smart Doors & Windows delivered an innovative internal secondary glazing system to achieve Rw 41 acoustic performance without altering the protected heritage facade.
