Be it a suburban home or an apartment, everyone loves to have their space peaceful without the hustle from the outside world like traffic noises, loud neighbours and others.
This becomes even more important if you are working from home.
Fortunately, you can address this issue by soundproofing the room, especially if you are not a fan of using noise-cancelling handphones for longer duration.
In this article, we are going to explore different ways of soundproofing a room – including simple DIY tricks and more advanced methods.
Before going into the methods, we shall have a quick look about soundproofing.
What is Soundproofing?
As the name suggests, soundproofing is a process where a room is given an acoustic treatment to filter, block, absorb, suppress, reflect, or diffuse sound or noise.
One of the best examples is a movie theatre. You cannot enjoy the movie if external noise creeps into the theatre and hence every theatre will undergo some sort of acoustic treatment where external noise and sound do not enter the room and the sound from the theatre doesn’t leave the hall.
Having a full-fledged soundproofing acoustic treatment is expensive and may not be the right investment every time. There are some affordable and DIY solutions as well to block the outside noise pollution. You can find them in this article.
How to Soundproof a Room?
Before starting to soundproofing, it is important to keep some things in mind. The three critical points to address are
- Source of the noise
- Entry point or location of sound entry
- Reflection points of the sound
1. Source of the sound
It would be quite helpful to know the areas or specific places where the noise is generated like TV, outside traffic, noisy neighbours or others. Understanding this helps to conceal the source accordingly.
2. Entry point of the sound
If the noise is coming into the room from outside, then knowing the entry or source can help with better judgement of time and money being spent on soundproofing.
For example, if the noises are mostly coming from the windows, then you can concentrate on soundproofing the windows instead of wasting your money on sounding proofing the entire room.
However, if you want to soundproof the entire room for making it as a home theatre or sounding room, then you can just skip this option.
3. Reflection points of sound
Once the sound enters a space or area, it will surely reflect at the similar entry angle. Walls, headboards, tips of headboards and furniture are some of the reflection areas.
Easy Fixes to Soundproof a Room
1. Carpeting
Wall-to-wall carpeting will reduce impact noise from sliding furniture and shoes. A thick pile carpet is very effective at absorbing sound from below. Throw area rugs on areas of the floor that you use most.
Carpeting that is not thick enough may cause you to hear some impact sounds, but it will not absorb sound from below. To improve sound absorption, consider installing soundproofing underneath. Install a soundproofing layer underneath a laminate or hardwood floor to absorb sound.
2. Sealing the Gaps
Sealing the rooms helps to eliminate the sounds are the entering the room from outside. Foam weatherstripping can be applied around the door frame to seal any gaps where sound can travel. Do not forget to seal the bottom of your door. This is where sound can travel.
Installing a wraparound floor sweep is the best way to seal it. You can make improvements to your bedroom’s soundproofing by replacing the hollow-core door with a stronger one.
3. Curtains and Blankets
Thick blankets are good insulators of sound and you can install them on thin walls to block sound and noise from other side.
Even if the walls are thick and insulated, adding blankets can further reduce the sound that enters the room. You can spend a little bit more and buy soundproof curtains that are heavy and absorb even small sounds.
Another low-cost option is to simply add door curtains and make sure they are heavy. This acts as an additional soundproofing layer.
4. Build a Bookcase
One of simplest ways to soundproof a room is by adding mass to the room to make the walls thicker and reduce the travel of unwanted sounds and noises. An easy way to add mass to a room is using a bookcase.
A simple bookcase can act as a good sound barrier as they resist vibration and essentially cancelling sound transmission. The advantage of bookcase is that they should fit flush to the walls and also, they should cover from floor to ceiling without any air gaps.
5. Window Inserts or Acoustic Windows
Window inserts are worth the investment if you are willing to spend a bit. These inserts are made from clear glass or acrylic and will not block your view. These window inserts are a great alternative to curtains or blankets. These inserts are placed over existing windows to create an airtight seal that prevents air and sound from entering the room. They reduce outside noise entering the room.
Acoustic windows, also known as soundproof windows, are an expensive alternative to replacing your windows. There are two advantages to them. They reduce outside noise by blocking out sound waves from the outside. They reduce heat entering your home, which can help reduce your cooling costs.
6. Acoustic Panels
Acoustic panels (acoustic foam), are used in home theatres and recording studios. Acoustic panels have a pattern on the surface that reduces sound reflections (sound bouncing off surfaces and creating echo). There are many options, but foam is the most popular and affordable. Foam panels can be used to reduce noise and sound entering a room.
7. Insulate Ceiling
You will need to soundproof the ceiling in order to make a room soundproof. Although soundproofing a ceiling can be expensive, you will get the results you want. Ceiling clouds and acoustic tiles are two tried-and-true ways to eliminate ceiling sound.
Acoustic ceiling tiles are made of acoustic materials like foam, polyester, and fiberglass. Depending on your needs, you can choose from sound absorption, sound blocking or sound diffusion tiles.
Ceiling clouds are like ceiling tiles but are hung parallel to and offset from the ceiling. They absorb sound as it travels towards a ceiling, and bounce back to the floor. These are most used in recording studios, and they can be expensive additions to your home.
How to Soundproof an Entire Room
Below, we are going to provide a detail step-by-step process of soundproofing a room. The steps provide you an understanding on how to proceed while soundproofing.
Step 1 – Gather all materials such as Fiberglass sound absorbent material, acoustical sealing material, and drywall.
Step 2 – Turn off the power supply. Seal all electrical boxes and any holes in the drywall or studs. Caulk and acoustic sealing agents can be used.
Step 3 – Fill the stud cavities using the insulation material (fiberglass batts or foam) The insulation material can be cut into smaller pieces with a utility knife either before or during installation. You can also fit the insulation material around cables, pipes, and other obstacles to ensure it fits flush between the cavities.
Step 4 – Screw horizontal resilient channel from top to bottom, usually 4 to 5 channels
Step 5 – Lay the drywall on the ground (front side down) and then apply the acoustical dampening glue on the back. This seals the drywall and insulation material. Attach the drywall to its final position, and then screw it onto the horizontal resilient channels.
Step 6 – Seal the space between two drywalls, and between drywall and floor with silicone caulk or acoustic sealing compound.
Step 7 – Add a gasket to the door, and add a door sweep.
Soundproofing Tips
There are many soundproofing methods that can be applied to any budget. These include outsourcing to professionals or quick fixes. Here are some tips to help you soundproof within a budget.
- To reduce noise, strategically place furniture or hang wallpaper or tapestries.
- Seal small cracks and holes in walls with sealant
- For a quick fix, hang thick blankets or ornate tapestries from the ceiling.
- Install rugs or carpets on the existing floor.
- Remember the four elements that make up soundproofing – absorption, decoupling and damping.
- Mass is often the most important and easiest to manage. This can be as easy as choosing the right furniture or more complicated than installing drywall.
- While dampening products like Acoustic Sealant can make a significant difference, they should not be used in conjunction with more powerful methods. You should seal your project only after you have completed all other soundproofing tasks.
- Do not use insulation foam or egg boxes. These are the soundproofing products that people know from recording studios. However, they do not block sound.
Some Frequently Asked Questions
Ans: Use thick blankets or quilts to soundproof walls. You can block noise from outside by covering the walls, windows, or doors with blankets. You can keep the sound out by hanging blankets on the inside and outside walls.
Ans: Here are some great ways to soundproof condo walls.
* Sound barriers can be installed over the condo wall.
* Increase the mass of drywall
* Use decoupling techniques.
* Use a damping agent (Green Glue).
* Wall hangings are a great investment.
* Audio blankets.
* Carpets and curtains that soundproof
Ans: Silicone can be used in soundproofing and caulk. Silicone is applied as a paste and cures to form the rubbery coating. This coating stops air sound propagation. It is also an excellent damping material, and can dampen mid-frequency sounds.
Ans: Porous, soft, or flexible materials (like cloths), serve as excellent acoustic isolationists. They absorb most sound while dense, hard, and impenetrable material (like metals) reflect the most.
Ans: Soundproofing can be done in both directions. Soundproofing can be used to block unwanted noises from neighbours. You can also increase the privacy of your home by doing this.
Ans: This popular question can be answered in a few words: no. Cardboard does not absorb sound actively, but it will reduce echos and noises when placed on walls, ceilings, and floors.
Ans: Can bubble wrap be used to soundproof a room? Because it lacks enough mass, bubble wrap is not suitable for soundproofing a room. Although bubble wrap may offer the slightest sound reduction, the cost of replacement and upkeep is prohibitive.
Ans: Absolutely! Any sound that comes in or out of an outside door can be caused by cracks or gaps. You can soundproof it with weatherstripping or a door sweep.
Ans: Yes, soundproof curtains can be used to reduce outside noise and divert it outside.
Ans: You can reduce noise by placing large furniture pieces against the wall that divides you from the neighbour’s apartment.
Conclusion
Everyone loves to have a peaceful night or evening after a long tiring day. But if you have noisy neighbours or live in traffic locality, then it is hard to find peace.
For such situations, soundproofing can be a great help. And fortunately, you can soundproof a room without burning a hole in your pocket. We have mentioned them clearly in this article.
Thanks for reading the article. If you have any doubts regarding this topic, you can share in the comment section below.
