Cheapest Way to Soundproof a Room

If you have noisy neighbors who party hard and play loud music that disturbs your peaceful existence, you might be looking for a good solution other than stuffing fingers in your ears. Similarly, if you live quite near to a busy road and the constant honking and cacophony of traffic keeps you awake at night, then you must be wondering about the sound blocking methods. Even though soundproofing a room is the best way to isolate yourself from the outside world, it might not be cheap to do so. If you own the place you are staying in, permanent soundproofing is possible. However, if you have rented the place, permanent soundproofing is not viable. In such a case, one has to resort to a soundproofing solution that is not only temporary, but also effective.

Inexpensive Ways of Soundproofing

The Walls

• The best way to soundproof a wall is to increase its thickness. With increase in the thickness and weight, the sound suppressing capacity of the wall also increases.
• If the wall is already built, external soundproofing materials have to be used. Two layers of sheetrock attached using silicone caulking soundproofs the walls to a great extent.
• Also, a layer of visco-elastic (sticky and stretchy) material can be glued between the two sheet-rocks or any other insulating surface.
• Using lead sheets is an age-old method of soundproofing. Nowadays, Mass Loaded Vinyl (MLV) is used instead, due to the environmental hazards of lead.
• Soundproof paint can be applied over the existing paint. It may not soundproof the wall completely but it does minimize the noise to some extent.
• Sprayed-on cellulose is an excellent sound absorbing material. One inch of cellulose layer absorbs 75% of the sound caused by sound reflection from hard surfaces such as walls.

The Floor

• If you have a floating flooring installed in your house, a layer of acoustic foam or any other soundproof material can be placed between the sub-floor and the floating floor.
• If the flooring is made of tiles or concrete, using acoustic carpets is beneficial.
• Melamine, a ceramic-based material, acts as a very good sound-absorbing material. Fitting the floor with melamine tiles is another way of soundproofing the floor.
• Rubber flooring rolls or interlocking rubber flooring tiles can also be used for the same.
• Along with walls, Mass Loaded Vinyl (MLV) sheets can be used on the floor for soundproofing.
• One-inch layer of sprayed-on cellulose sprayed on wood, steel, concrete, gypsum board, brick, glass, and plaster floors acts as an excellent soundproofing material.

Doors and Windows

• Wall plugs are an inexpensive way to reduce the noise. These are thick plugs that are stuffed into the window opening.
• Soundproof curtains have proved to be effective in minimizing the noise to a great extent. These curtains have quilted pattern and are one to two inches thick. Heavy weight added to the lower end of the curtain prevents them from being blown by the breeze.
• The door should be thick as well as dense. Hollow doors do not block out noise. Medium-density fiberboard door is a great option.
• The door-jambs can be sealed with foam to block out the noise.
• Two doors attached back-to-back can also minimize the noise efficiently.

The Ceiling

• The best way to soundproof the ceiling is to use sheet-rock and attach them using visco-elastic glue.
• Resilient metal channels can be inserted between one of the drywall and the studwork to minimize the noise.

Some More Soundproofing Methods

Basically, there are two ways you can get rid of noise. One method involves reducing sound coming from outside and other requires sound absorption. For reducing noise, there have to be adequate barriers between the sound source and you. This creates distance between you two and thus reduces sound intensity. Plastering the walls is a good idea for soundproofing as this makes it difficult for the sound waves to travel between materials of different intensities. However, this is effective only to a certain point.

For abating the sound coming from outside, you can use material like Acoustiblok-Wallcover^® which allows you to deaden the noise post-construction. This material works in a unique way. Instead of noise absorbing or canceling, it converts the sound waves into frictional energy which is not audible to human ears. Furthermore, you can just glue this material over your walls and cover it with a wallpaper. Other materials like QuietRock, Green Glue and Roxuls are also equally popular where noise absorbing materials are concerned.

Whether you like to keep the sounds of your TV inside or want to enjoy the tranquility of your room, soundproofing has become the need of the hour. Quietness is essentially important for students, especially those, who stay in a noisy area or are sharing apartment with others. Also, people doing night shifts in their jobs need peace when they try to relax after their work hours. Initially, soundproofing was considered to be a costly affair, but now with so many easy and inexpensive options, it is available to everyone. Now you no longer have to suffer through noise pollution or contend yourself with less effective audio system due to fear of disturbing others.