To many people, home is meant to be a place to relax, refresh and meditate. Therefore, nothing should disturb your peace. However, some things can drive you crazy whenever you’re relaxing in your ‘sweet home’ despite having kept most of the stuff inside your house in order, to enjoy being indoors maximally.
Most people want to soundproof a room inexpensively, and this can sometimes be possible – but it’s dependent on the room, the size, the surroundings and so forth. Sometimes, cost is something you’ll have to bear.
Noise from the surrounding area is a critical thing that can make you hate being in the house, but, it doesn’t have to be. To prevent the noise from coming into or from your room, you can insulate your office or house. Other than being in the quiet environment, the following are also some of the things that you’ll enjoy when you soundproof your apartment.
Reasons for soundproofing your house/room?
Two main reasons why you would want to soundproof your house are;
- To block the noise from getting into your home.
- To Block the sound from getting out of your house.
Other reasons may include;
For privacy purpose
Insulating your house will let you have your privacy. No one from the neighborhood will be able to tell what kind of music you like playing, as they cannot hear it from outside. You can soundproof specific rooms if you need more privacy as well.
To stay friendly with your neighbors
Neighbors should be there for one another. Show your neighbors that you care for them by soundproofing your noisy house not to disturb them. Remember they can help by looking after your place if not watering your flower garden in your absence.
To have a quality sleep
Nothing can underestimate the benefits of getting quality sleep. If you don’t soundproof your house, all the noise from the airplanes, crying babies in the neighborhood, someone skipping ropes upstairs and many more won’t let you have a sound sleep.
Ways to soundproof your house
Having known the importance of insulating your house, it is also essential you learn through the different techniques that you can use to soundproof your home or your room. You can cover your room yourself by using some of the below soundproof tips. However, other soundproofing method are a bit technical and might require you to hire an expert to do the work for you.
1. Soundproof your wall
Sound can be transmitted both through the air and the structure. You can soundproof the wall of your room to block or absorb the noise. However, soundproofing your wall with a purpose to achieve both is the best. Wall is one of the structure that allows the sound to pass through to or from your room but this is preventable by using the following method;
- Use acoustic wall foams: These are mostly used to absorb the sound but not to block it. They enhance the quality of the music within a room as they reduce sound echoing. Just like light, sound also gets reflected, and so acoustic foams will be excellent to use in this case. Apart from improving the tone in a room, acoustic wall foams also reduce the vibration of the sound waves making it weak to be noticed on the other side of the wall. Some of the areas where you can use this technique includes; music recording rooms and home theatre rooms.
- Decoupling: Decoupling is whereby you construct another wall against the existing wall, and then fill the gap in between the two walls with sound-absorbing materials such as foam panels. However, you must consider the space of your room before you pick this particular technique as well as your budget.
2. Use soundproof curtains
Putting soundproof curtains on your windows and doors can also be used to absorb the sound. Ensure the curtains are tall enough to cover the entire window. However, you should get another source of light in your room other than the sunlight when you’re using this curtain, as soundproof curtains that reduce noise from entering into or leaving from your place, but they also block the natural light as well.
3. Use carpet on your floor.
Consider using a thick fluffy rag on your floor, so as not to allow noise into or from your room. This mat will absorb the sound within your house and so by using it, you save your downstairs neighbor from having to deal with the noisy sound that comes when you drop an item on your floor or when you’re rearranging and dragging your furniture.
You can also soundproof the floor of your house by laying down acoustic boards. They are boards made of fiberglass or other materials that can absorb noise.
4. Close the gaps
It is a cheap and straightforward way of soundproofing your room that you can do yourself without employing a professional. It involves sealing all the spaces around your house to prevent the sound from entering or leaving through them. Usually, you can find these gaps on the doors and windows. Seal them by using a soundproof material such as caulk or fiberglass.
5. Change your doors
Doors replacement is a bit expensive way of soundproofing your house but is very useful as the doors are the most common throughway for the sound. An excellent soundproof door should be thick and not hollow. Ensure also there’re no gaps on your doors that can allow the noise to pass through.
You can also use soundproof blankets to insulate your doors. You do this, by just hanging the quilts on the door and it’s an alternative cheaper way as compared to door replacement method. However, this technique has a challenge as it isn’t attractive and can, therefore, bring your entire home décor down.
6. Soundproof the ceiling
Buy quiet materials to add on your roof and prevent the noise from coming in or going out through your rooftop. Note that some of this material may affect the temperature in your house and so you may be required to have other appliances like a heater to regulate the room temperature.
7. Add furniture into your room
Putting furniture, such as a wall unit in your dining room or a big wardrobe against your bedrooms’ wall will block the sound from getting into or out of your room. Other heavy furniture such as a sofa set will also prevent the intensity of the noise to or from your room.
Adding furniture also improves the quality of a sound within the room as they block noise echoing.
8. Replace your windows
Consider replacing your window glass with the double pane glass that cannot allow the sound to pass through quickly. Again seal all the spaces that may be on your window to block the transmission of sound completely.
Check out websites like Soundproof Panda to find some more great ways to soundproof your home! The above soundproofing tips are not only used to insulate your entire apartment from the outside world but can also be used to soundproof specific rooms within your home for privacy. If you have an office inside your house and a music recording room in the same house, you can have the two rooms insulated to avoid distractions. You can also look other noise reduction at quiethomeguide.com for so many things like Washing Machine, Laundry room and many more.
So, if your partner likes watching football in the sitting room while cheering his favorite team at the top of his voice, while you are on the next room, soothing your little ones to sleep, or even working on your order in the study room, you don’t have to get frustrated. Well, go ahead and implement the above techniques!
