A noisy house could be the result of many things. Maybe you or your kids like to jam out and use the home as a private recording studio, maybe you enjoy getting loud during a football game with friends, maybe you are trying to recreate a movie theatre experience in the comfort of your home. Whatever it is that you are up to in your home, you need to make sure you are not waking up the whole neighborhood with your antics of being loud.
It can be hard not to do that, so you need to focus on making sure that you are able to soundproof your home so you can still enjoy your activities but avoid being that loud neighbor that no one likes. There are a lot of ways to soundproof your home, a lot of things not to do, and an equal amount of things that are useful to remember if you want to help someone else out. Soundproofing the home is easier than you might think, but here are important things to think about before you commit to it.
1. Are You Keeping Noise In or Out?
There are two types of ways the home can be soundproofed. The first is to ensure that what you are up to inside the home is not going to disturb the neighbors and the neighborhood around you, and the second is to make sure that all the noise from outside is kept out there.
If you like to jam with your music, you want to make sure it is not leaking out and disrupting everyone’s peace and quiet, and for those that hate the sound of traffic or people outside, then you want to make sure that sound is not sneaking in. These are the two ways to think of how you are going to soundproof the home.
2. Find and Seal Cracks or Holes
A big reason, probably the reason you are dealing with noise problems for soundproofing is that your home has holes or cracks that are letting in that pesky noise and vice versa. These holes need to be filled. They could be found in wooden beams, sealing for windows and doors, and cracks in concrete.
They might seem small or even be hardly noticeable, but they are going to be troublesome enough that if they are not dealt with, you will be dealing with sound getting in or out more often than not. If you click here, you can see how much it could cost you to fix this. You should always reach out to a professional contractor to help properly seal these holes or cracks.
3. Internal Doors May Be Passing Sound
Usually, when you think of sound getting through you imagine it is your doors, like the weather stripping on your doors that lead in and out of the home. The truth is, the sound could be traveling throughout the home because of the doors inside. Internal doors, such as ones for your bedroom or bathroom, maybe hollow or have significant gaps in between the floor, the hinges, and the top of the frame.
These doors are allowing sound to pass through your home and could be undoing any progress you made on sealing outside noise. You might need to simply replace the doors, which can cost a bit but does not take a lot of handy work to get done.
4. Replace Squeaky Flooring
The floor is one spot that your home may be a problem for sound. The worst issue could be squeaky floorboards. Loose hardwood or laminate floorboards will give you an annoying sound that can travel throughout the home easily and makes it really annoying when you know that there is one spot that is incessantly loud.
Replacing a board could be the simplest solution as it may only be one problem spot, but it could be that the entire flooring was installed improperly, which will cost a lot more. This is again when you should bring in a professional to help fix the floor and see if it is the source of your annoyance.
5. Insulate Your Home
Insulating your home is not only good for keeping the heat in and cold out, but it will help dampen sound as well. The best part is that the insulation works well for keeping the sound you want in and the sound you want out, both at the same time.
You need to make sure that your ceiling and walls are both insulated to ensure that you are doing the most to soundproof your home. There are many different ways that you can insulate, with fiberglass behind walls, neoprene rubber, and viscoelastic rubber, among others. These will help you keep your home soundproof inside and out.
6. Create a Soundproof Room
If you really want to have a space to keep yourself nice and peaceful, you might want to consider making a specific room that is soundproofed. This is really useful for people who do not want to spend the money on making sure their home is insulated all around, or replacing doors, or fixing their floorboards.
People who like to game, have a home theatre, or practice music or singing will really benefit from having a single, dedicated room that they can use as their little quiet, safe haven. Cheap alternatives include using the bottom of egg cartons and covering the walls or purchasing acoustic wall foam. This could be a simple solution to your noise problem.
7. Dampen Sound with Furniture and Decor
The last little trick you can use is also a simple way to save money and use what you have. To dampen noise, you can use some interior decorating to position furniture in areas where the acoustics are going to be most prevalent. Similarly, big area rugs will help soften sound bouncing off of hard floor materials.
Before you soundproof your home, you need to figure out what could be the problem. Is it keeping sound in, or keeping sound in it? You need to know how to fix it as well, and these considerations will help you make the right decisions.
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