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5 Ways to Soundproof a Room in Your Home


Many companies have settled into the remote work culture and will continue to have their employees work from home. Did your home office turn from a one-month temporary situation into a one-year setup and now to a permanent office location in your home? If that sends you into a panic, let’s talk about ways to soundproof a room

Or maybe you have a new baby coming and would like the baby to nap soundly without being disturbed by their siblings in the house. Do you have a podcast or music career where you are often recording out of your home? There are so many reasons to utilize soundproofing a room. 

What is Soundproofing?

Soundproofing a room involves renovations to install materials that stop sound from coming in or out of the room. You may use a method that consists of reconstructing the wall or adding panels to your walls and ceilings, which is a less invasive technique.

Your existing walls are made of drywall that acts more like a drum, bouncing the sound off of it. Softer materials are used for blocking noise. When you add cushions and panels to interrupt the direct contact of studs to the wall, you eliminate the sound vibrations that can travel along hard surfaces. 

Ways to Soundproof a Room

Whether you would like to look into soundproofing a room for a home addition or an existing space, there are a few ways to go about it. Look at the various ways to put a stop to the sound bouncing in your room and absorb the sound instead. 

Some soundproofing materials are common sense. Have you been to a house that has a lot of echoing and noise when filled with people? You may notice that the floors are hard, the walls don’t have much on them, and the ceilings are high. Noise is quickly bounced off hard, empty surfaces. 

There are many products on the market to help you soundproof a room: 

  • Wallpaper
  • Paint
  • Clouds or sound-absorbing panels hung from the ceiling
  • Extra drywall
  • Floor-to-ceiling bookcases
  • Rugs instead of hard floors

Take a look at a few other soundproofing methods: 

Ceiling Tiles

Say you’ve built out your basement, and now you can send the little ones down there to play while you get some peace and quiet upstairs. But you can still hear them through the floor. Investing in soundproof ceiling tiles may be the solution you are seeking. 

These ceiling tiles are heavy-duty and made to block out noise. The tiles come in various styles, including tiles with smooth surfaces or a corduroy-like surface. They are meant to absorb the noise, so a soft texture is a great go-to when it comes to materials for soundproofing a room. 

Soundproof Curtains

Soundproofing a room can also involve blocking out noise from the outside caused by: 

  • Noisy neighbors
  • Heavy traffic
  • Fireworks
  • Dogs barking
  • Trains or fire stations nearby

You can use blackout curtains to block out the light, but the noise is still going to keep you up when you’re trying to sleep. Your existing windows, even if they are new, don’t have many soundproofing capabilities. It can be helpful to hang a quilt-pad over the windows to block out the noise. 

Or, for a better design, you can use soundproof curtains that are meant to hang around your window to make it quieter inside. You can even drape the soundproofing curtains to cover the whole wall. Another option would be to install weather strips consisting of felt with adhesive to seal out any noise that may come through your window cracks. 

Install a New Door  

If you want to soundproof an office or a bedroom, it may mean choosing a new door for the space. A hollow door will let more noise through than a solid wood door. If you have a crack under your bedroom door, you can install a door sweep to eliminate noise that may come through the bottom of the door. It will also double as a draft stopper to keep climate control in your room. 

Most inside doorways do not have weather strips on them. Weatherstrips are made from a soft material that is adhered to all sides of your door to keep out the cold or hot air from the outside. You can install weatherstrips on your inside doors to eliminate noise! 

Sound Isolation System

If you are building a home addition, then you can make a plan for soundproofing a room from the start. Several aspects of soundproofing are more easily done before the drywall is put up. The most effective soundproofing happens inside a wall’s structure. Consider if you would have a need to reduce noise in your new space. 

Are you adding on a baby room or an owner’s suite? What about a home office or theater room? All of these home additions would benefit from a sound isolation system. What would a sound isolation system include? 

Sound travels through the common studs that extend from room to room in your home and connect the drywall to form walls. A sound isolation system is a floating wall that does not attach to the studs. Therefore, your wall will not provide a place for your sound to travel outside of the room you’re in and will not let outside noise inside. 

The floating wall works by: 

  • Fastening to the studs without direct contact between the hardware and wood
  • Using a dampener to pad the studs when connecting the metal tracks
  • Lining the metal tracks with neoprene pads to cushion the noise that tries to vibrate through the drywall

This sound isolation system is more than just putting carpet on the walls. This tried-and-true soundproofing method takes a lot of work, including tearing into walls for existing rooms. And it is a perfect method when planning to soundproof a room in a home addition. 

Acoustic Panels

If your home addition consists of building a recording studio in your home for your music or podcast, consider some specialty soundproofing techniques. Acoustic panels can be used in a recording studio not only to keep the room free from outside noise but to clarify the sound inside the room. You don’t want a room full of echoes as you are recording. 

Acoustic panels can be wrapped in any fabric of your choice to blend in with the design esthetic of your space. Acoustical foam can also be used to absorb sounds. This material will amplify the sound inside the room, utilizing the space to create the best sound clarity possible. 

 Sound travels like water, finding its way through any crack or pinhole. Use an acoustic caulk to seal up any holes that may be in the room from normal wear and tear. When working in a recording studio, you want the sound waves to stay in the room, with no chance of escape. Every detail will help in the soundproofing process. 

Hire a Contractor to Help Soundproof

Soundproofing can be a small project, or it can be extensive if you elect to add extra drywall or install a sound isolation system. Although it may seem like the work can be done on your own, hiring a contractor is always best to determine which materials and brands are best to trust. You don’t want to waste time carpeting your walls or installing faulty acoustic panels if the method isn’t going to work. Whether you have a need for a small project like soundproofing a room or would like to embark on a home addition to expand your living space, you can trust Tandem Contracting. With an impeccable reputation in the industry, our expert team can help you achieve your vision for your current home without having to move. Contact us today to set up the initial consultation and get started on your home improvement project in New Jersey.

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