Soundproof your room and create a peaceful haven at home
Noisy neighbors or busy streets. There are various reasons why you may need to soundproof a room. This guide will walk you through soundproofing windows, walls, ceilings, and floors. Whether you want better sleep or a more peaceful home office, take the control into your own hands and learn to soundproof a room in a few simple steps.
Correctly installing insulation can be difficult. Health and safety risks are involved; therefore, we highly recommend contacting a pro to ensure the job is completed safely and correctly.
Depending on the scope of your project, soundproofing materials can be a heavy investment. Most insulation materials have decent soundproofing abilities. Your best bet is acoustic foam, which costs $90 to $110 per 2ft-by-4ft sheet. These sheets come in aluminum or film backing and allow you to cut them to your desired sizes. Some also come with pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) for easy attachment.
Another necessary supply is acoustic caulk. These can cost anywhere from $14 to $27 per standard tube or $40 to $70 per gallon. Depending on your needs, you may also want to purchase noise-canceling curtains and window films. If you are building an additional layer of wall, your price could go up significantly due to the current plywood cost.
Start by soundproofing your windows, especially if outside noise is what bothers you the most. Soundproofing windows also helps improve your house’s energy efficiency since it seals the cracks between your window panes and the frames.
Cut out strips of acoustic foam and pack them around the window frame. If you want to have the option of opening the windows during quiet hours, don’t caulk them shut. Otherwise, seal the window completely with acoustic caulk.
Next, inspect the connection between the window frame and the walls. Sometimes there can be small cracks and gaps between the two due to improper installation, allowing noise to come in. If you notice anything, seal it with an acoustic caulk.
For additional soundproofing, add a noise-canceling window film to the glass. Noise-canceling curtains are also a great investment if you live on a busy street. Some windows can also have a secondary gaze installed to make the room even quieter.
Another easy soundproofing option for your room is the doors. Cut out strips of acoustic foams and put them against the door frame. Alternatively, seal the frame edges with weather stripping. If you are using thin foam strips, your door should shut normally. For additional soundproofing, you can add a rubber door stopper on the floor.
Alternatively, you can remove the door from the frame and attach an acoustic foam panel to it as long as you don’t mind the look. Trim the foam so your hardware still works. This is a more affordable way to soundproof a hollow door versus purchasing a solid hardwood one.
This is an easier solution to insulate your walls without removing drywall. For more thorough wall soundproofing methods, skip to step 5.
For minor soundproofing, try to add wallpaper to your walls. Even regular wallpapers will help reduce sound. The same goes for draperies and tapestries.
For more effective soundproofing, look into adhesive soundproofing foam panels. These panels come in various designs, and can also create a modern, minimalist look that’s quite pleasant to the eyes. The only downside is that adhesives may damage your walls, meaning when you remove them, you may need to do some minor repairs.
Another option that doesn’t involve breaking down existing walls is building a new drywall layer on the inside. As long as your room has ample space, this is a highly effective soundproofing method.
Start by adding wall frames to existing studs. You can also add sound clips or resilient channels, which are metal framing pieces with sound control abilities, to the new studs. You should also consider adding some insulation for additional soundproofing. The investment here is reasonable, but the results are significant. For example, wool insulation costs about $1.40 to $2.10 per square foot but can block noises effectively and last a long time.
For those who are willing to put in the effort and do things properly, open up your existing walls and place insulation there. As you may have imagined, this is a much more labor-intensive process and requires some good skills.
The traditional way of insulation uses fiber batts or insulation rolls. This requires you to take out existing drywall until wall frames are completely exposed. Cut the insulation to size and place them inside the wall frames. Install new drywall to cover the insulation. You may need to use electric box extenders to relocate your electric boxes during this stage.
A newer technology called injection foam insulation also allows you to insulate without removing drywall. Instead, you drill holes to let the injection nozzle through. Once you are done, simply patch up the holes.
If you didn’t soundproof your ceilings during the construction stage, we don’t recommend you open it back up. Unless you can insulate the floors in a room directly above the room. That is a more doable project than redoing your ceilings completely just to soundproof. However, if you insist on insulating your ceilings, go to the next step.
A great method to soundproof your ceilings without knocking things out is acoustic tiles. Acoustic tiles come in various colors and designs. Plus, they are easy to install as most of them can be attached using adhesives. You can also install a ceiling cloud in a tall room: the same system production studios use for soundproofing.
Use a utility knife to remove your ceiling plasters. Sometimes your ceiling might be made with sheet rocks. To remove large chunks of ceilings, you may want to use a pry bar. Before taking out any ceilings, make sure you lay down tarps to collect any dust and debris. Ideally, you should empty all the furniture out of the room first.
Cut insulation batts to size and push them in between the ceiling joists using a long rod. Make sure the batts are snug closely against the joists. Seal any gaps with acoustic sealant. Once the sealant has settled, close the ceiling up by installing new drywall.
For top-floor rooms, you may also install insulations through the roof cavity if installing from below isn’t ideal. You can either access the cavity through an existing manhole or by removing some roofing materials temporarily. Since the roof cavity can reach a high temperature quickly, avoid completing this step during the hottest hours of the day.
The final step in soundproofing a room is the floors. It works great against a room with thin, echoing floors or old, creaking floors.
The easier approach to soundproofing floors is finding thick area rugs that cover up most of your walking spaces. Putting down area rugs also protects your hardwood floors from scratches and other damage. Alternatively, you can use sound-absorbing rubber tiles or gym floor tiles to absorb sounds, as long as you don’t mind the look.
A more thorough way of soundproofing your floors will be removing existing flooring to lay down insulations in the space between floors and ceilings. However, unless you are doing this during new construction or already plan on changing out your floors, this can be a labor-intensive and expensive project.
You can hire a soundproofing contractor to take care of the entire project. But that could cost a pretty penny. We highly recommend you take care of the smaller soundproofing pieces yourself, such as soundproofing windows, doors, and floors. Then, see if you still need to hire someone to do the rest.
Furthermore, if you plan on taking out the existing walls, you may want to hire a drywall or insulation contractor instead of a soundproofing company. These contractors may charge a different hourly rate, and hiring someone for a specific piece of the scope could come with major savings.
We do not recommend fiberglass insulation for soundproofing purposes, especially if you are working on a room that’s part of your living space. Fiberglass insulation is dangerous, and the installation process is hazardous. It is also harmful to the environment. When there are so many newer, healthier non-fiberglass alternatives in the market, the lower cost of fiberglass insulation simply doesn’t justify the harm and danger it poses.
Technically, it’s impossible to make any room 100% soundproof. However, you can significantly reduce the noise level by using proper soundproofing methods. Decoupling walls, adding a floating ceiling, encapsulating your room with sound-absorbing mats, and sealing window and door frames with acoustic caulk are all effective ways to soundproof a room without removing existing structures.
Identifying the source of noises is your first step to soundproofing a room without overspending. Generally, sound comes from inside or outside of the house. Inside noises include creaking floors, living noises like TVs in the living room, cooking sounds, or kids being kids. External noises generally include incremental weather, disturbing neighbors, and street traffic. Inside noises require you to soundproof floors, ceilings, and doors, whereas outside noises may require you to soundproof your attic, windows, and walls facing the streets.
Natural fiber batts and spray foam insulation both work great for soundproofing. Newer materials, such as hemp batts, are more expensive but more effective for insulation and sound blocking. They are also more sustainable. There is also a professional system called Blow-In Blanket Insulation (BIBS) that is soundproof and moisture-resistant. However, BIBS must be installed professionally and can be a costly investment.
Use acoustic mats and tiles, area rugs, draperies, and large furniture to soundproof your room without spending the big bucks on professional supplies. Large bookshelves and dressers work great in this case. This method works for minor soundproofing needs. For example, if you don’t want to hear your kids running down the halls when you need to work. For more excessive noises, you will need to soundproof your room more thoroughly.
If you are soundproofing a room on the top floor of your house, it’s best to soundproof your attic as well. Soundproofing your attic works better compared to adding acoustic tiles or draperies to the inside ceiling of a top-level room. Since you should insulate your attic regardless, you might add some additional soundproofing effects to hit two birds with one stone.
