Your home should be a place of quiet and solitude. It shouldn’t feel like you’re hanging out outside when you enter your home. Soundproofing your home is essential to turn it into a silent sanctuary. Having a silent home decreases stress and anxiety and promotes calmness and relaxation. Doesn’t that sound like the perfect remedy after a hard day at work? There are numerous benefits to why drowning out the noise of bustling streets and urban city centers is good for your health. Quiet homes improve concentration, memory, creativity, and learning. You’ll also sleep better, promote neurogenesis, and communicate better.
Seal Gaps in Doors and Windows
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One of the easiest ways to soundproof your home is to keep noise out. To do this, use weatherstripping or draft stoppers to block noise. This is especially helpful if you live on a busy street or in a popular neighborhood with a loud nightlife. You’ll put this weatherstripping where the door meets the frame. If the gap is significant, a foam backer volcano blocks noise.
Install Door Sweeps
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Door sweeps work well by preventing sound from slipping in under doors. Again, if you live near a busy street with a lot of traffic or near a lot of nightlife, installing a door sweep will stop this noise from leaking into your home. Another benefit is it’ll prevent drafts from coming in, keeping your home warmer.
Add Acoustic Panels
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Wall-mounted panels absorb sound and improve room acoustics. Not only does this prevent sound from leaking out of your home, but it’ll also keep sound from entering your home. These are beneficial if you have close neighbors and like to throw a loud party repeatedly. These also help deaden the space and prevent conversations from entering another room.
Use Thick Curtains
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If you can’t install acoustic panels, a great alternative is to install heavy, soundproof curtains to block external noise and reduce echo. This will trap sound in your room while also keeping sound out. Curtains also absorb conversation instead of having it echo throughout your house, thus soundproofing multiple rooms. They also act as blackout curtains, preventing light from leaking into your home.
Apply Mass Loaded Vinyl (MLV)
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This is an excellent barrier material for walls, floors, and ceilings. Measure cut it, and add it to the walls or ceiling. Then, you can cover the MLV with drywall to keep it out of sight. This is a permanent way to soundproof your home, though it’s more costly than other options.
Lay Down Rugs and Carpets
If your home’s flooring is primarily wooden, try replacing it with soft surfaces that absorb sound. These surfaces will absorb conversation and reduce or completely negate the sounds of footsteps walking to and from rooms, people entering and exiting your home, and pets’ fingernails on the ground. You won’t have to wake up in the middle of the night to have your family come home late!
Install Double-Pane Windows
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Thin windows are typically the culprits of noise leaking into your home. By installing double-pane windows, you’ll quickly reduce external noise significantly. These windows create a barrier of two glass panes and an air space between them, dampening sound waves. This is especially beneficial in homes located in urban areas.
Use Soundproof Blankets
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If you can’t stand the noise leaking into your home and are looking for temporary solutions for doors or walls, use soundproof blankets to quickly absorb sound and prevent it from entering or leaking into your home. This is a quick fix if you need something overnight before you can use a more permanent solution to soundproof your home.
Hang Tapestries or Fabric Wall Hangings
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Hang tapestries or fabric wall hangings for style while dampening noise! Thicker wall hangings will absorb sound well and keep your space warm. Ensure you hang these in areas with thin walls, windows, or doors that are not insulated.
Add Furniture
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Have you ever noticed that noise in large, empty spaces echoes more in the room? Adding more furniture, like sofas, bookshelves, and cushions, allows you to absorb sound effectively and efficiently. This is also a fun way to revamp your space and add fun furniture to your home.
Create a Soundproof Door
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Sound slips into hollow places, including doors! One of the best ways to reduce sound while revamping your space is to replace hollow-core doors with solid-core ones. Solid oak doors are great options because they’re made of thick, durable material and do a great job blocking noise.
Install Resilient Channels
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To reduce sound, add these between drywall layers for sound isolation. You’ll attach thin metal profiles to wall studs or ceiling joists, which creates a small gap between the drywall and the framing. This works to reduce sound by isolating vibrations produced from sound. It does this by “decoupling” the drywall from the framing. Even though this will require more overhead planning than other ways of soundproofing, it’s long-lasting and very effective.
Use Green Glue
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Green glue is a great way to soften and dampen sound. It can be applied between dry walls and effectively reduces sound. Because it goes in dry walls, you’ll need to apply it to a new wall instead of an existing one.
Add Weatherstripping to Garage Doors
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Just as you’d do with doors and windows, add weatherstripping to garage doors to block outdoor noise. Your garage has such a large surface area that a lot of noise can leak through and into your home, so it’s essential to weatherstrip it. You can also add weatherstrips to the door of your home leading into your garage.
Fill Wall Cavities
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Wall cavities are some of the biggest culprits of sound! To absorb sound, use insulation like Rockwool or fiberglass in wall cavities. This project will require much more overhead planning than others on this list, but it’s an effective way to mute sound from outside, especially if you live in an urban area.
Build a Room-Within-a-Room
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If you use your home as an office or recording studio, building a room within a room is the best way to prevent noise from entering. You can use additional soundproof hacks, like acoustic panels, to insulate the room even more. In that second room, those extra wall layers will prevent even the tiniest sounds from leaking through.
Install a Soundproof Door Kit
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To install a soundproof door kit, you’ll need to remove the door trim, seal any gaps around the door frame using acoustic sealant, and then add weatherstripping around the perimeter and a sweep at the bottom of the door. This is an effective and durable way to soundproof your door for a long time.
Soundproof Vents and HVAC Systems
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Have you ever heard a conversation through the vents coming from the next room? Acoustic foam or vent covers can prevent sound from traveling within your home. This is especially helpful if you have a playroom with loud children and want to keep your bedroom a silent sanctuary.
Use White Noise Machines
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If you can’t install soundproofing hacks, investing in a white noise machine is one of the easiest ways to mask noise instead of blocking it entirely. These are incredibly calming and helpful at night and will drown out any noise from outside. You won’t hear traffic, people walking in and out of your house, or cars honking their horns.
Fill Gaps with Acoustical Caulk
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Caulk is great for sealing cracks in walls, floors, and ceilings. It can also be used in various surface merge points to prevent sound from leaking through and into the cracks. It can also be used in exposed and unexposed perimeter joints and floor and ceiling runners to keep sound in check.
Build a Bookshelf Wall
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There’s nothing better than a home full of books! Fully stocked shelves act as sound barriers. Install a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf and start filling it with all those books collecting dust in your attic to create a natural sound barrier. Best of all, this adds decoration and gives your home a cozy vibe.
Opt for Soundproof Paint
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Paint your walls with soundproof paint instead of regular paint. Go for a thicker paint that reduces vibrations and muffles noise. While it won’t dampen all noise, it effectively reduces mid-range frequencies, which is the frequency of regular speech. Use soundproof paint in conjunction with other soundproofing hacks for optimal noise control.
Add Acoustic Foam Bass Traps
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Thanks to the size and thickness of the foam, bass traps work well for soundproofing. They’re also perfect for corners to manage low-frequency sounds. They work by trapping the sound waves that hit it and tightening up mid-frequency sound. Though these might not be the most stylish decorations, they indeed work to reduce sound.
Upgrade to Quiet Appliances
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Soundproofing your home might be as simple as using quiet appliances! You can quickly reduce mechanical noise sources by upgrading to modern, efficient appliances. While this might not be budget-friendly, it’ll undoubtedly reduce noise and save money on your bill in the long run since upgraded appliances are much more efficient. This includes dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, refrigerators, and stoves.
Soundproof Electrical Outlets
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Even the slightest noise from electrical outlets can disrupt a silent sanctuary! To reduce noise even further, foam gaskets are used to seal outlets. This is an easy project that you can finish in the afternoon. Go for neoprene box seals. You’ll unscrew the plate, place the box seal, and re-screw it.
Install a Thick, Padded Headboard
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Instead of using a thin headboard, install a thick, padded headboard to dampen noise from shared walls in bedrooms. Although this will not prevent noise from the outside from leaking into your home, it will help keep your bedroom silent, especially if you have kids or housemates.
Use Rubber Floor Mats
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If you have wooden floors and don’t want to install carpets, use rubber floor mats to reduce noise. These are great for gyms or home offices to reduce impact noise. This will reduce footsteps in the room and absorb any excess sound that leaks into the room from neighboring rooms.
Isolate Vibrating Appliances
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Have you ever noticed how noisy your appliances are? To prevent noise from vibrating across your home, place washers, dryers, and other appliances on vibration pads to absorb the noise. This will prevent them from rattling and echoing through your home. You won’t even notice those appliances are on!