If you’re someone who’s fed up with unwanted and disturbing noise, you are not alone.
In this article, we explore some useful solutions to this agonising problem so that you can enjoy soundproof tranquility for you and your family in your home or apartment.
Almost every person dislikes an unwanted noise and wants to block it from getting into their premises.
Whether it’s traffic noise, the undesirable sound of sirens outside, a neighbour’s loud music or a persistent barking dog, continual noise pollution affects our wellbeing and mental health.
In this blog post, you are going to discover the best possible ways that can help you make your home soundproof so that you stay protected against agonisingly disturbing noises.
Why soundproof your home?
Noise pollution not only upsets your leisure activities and domestic chores, but it also puts a very negative impact on your nervous system, whether you are awake or asleep.
Research shows that increasing levels of noise in heavily urbanised areas is becoming one of the biggest factors on declining mental health.
Noise is not just a nuisance. It affects the way people feel.
How to get started with soundproofing?
First off, you need to pinpoint where noise pollution is coming from.
It is coming through the windows, doors, walls, roof or the adjoining walls of your own home?
Regardless of the types of noise whether traffic, music, loud conversations or just a television with the volume up high, the primary objective of installing soundproofing materials in your home or apartment is to block the outside noise from getting in and preventing the inside noise from going out of your house or room.
Start by soundproofing your doors & windows
After thorough investigation, it turns out that doors and windows are the main culprits that allow noise to enter and exit your property more than anything else.
Soundproofing walls alone simply won’t work if the windows and doors are not thoroughly soundproofed as well.
Experts highly recommend the use of heavyweight acoustic doors rather than simple doors.
Compared to a heavyweight and strong door, a hollow and lightweight door has limited capacity at blocking sound waves.
The soundproofing process must begin with the doors and windows so that external noises cannot enter your premises.
Soundproofing Windows & Doors
Always use high-quality double or even triple-glazed soundproof windows that give a tried and tested blockage of external noises.
Lower quality windows simply won’t do the job..
Install Double or Triple Glazed Windows
If you can’t afford double or triple glazed windows, you can install curtains with an acoustic interlining on all of your windows.
They will help prevent outside noises from entering your home.
Plug Gaps In & Around Doors
It’s very important to block air leakages between the base of doors and the floor, and gaps between the door and the surrounding frame.
The gaps in or around the doors allow the entry of air, so noise can easily get through.
It is advisable to use soundproof seals to close the leakage and stop the noise from coming in.
You will also need to make sure that the doors close properly rather than partially.
In such cases where doors remain partially open, get them fully repaired or corrected so they close correctly.
The Addition of Heavy Mass to Walls & Doors
Once your doors and windows have been soundproofed, you need to add mass to walls and ceilings.
Adding mass is a tried and tested method that never fails.
When a sound hits a bare wall or ceiling, it creates a vibration that you need to dampen or decouple.
By adding sound absorbing mass, sound energy is no longer able to reflect.
People who live in semi-detached homes or apartments are more likely to encounter the issue of unwanted noise through adjoining walls, especially in new builds that use stud walls.
The way to deal with the noise pollution coming through walls is to add a layer of the soundboard to the shared party walls.
When talking about the soundproof process of the entire house, you need to make sure that the main doors of your house are good and solid enough to block the outside sounds from entering.
You can block airborne sound using a heavy and dense mass.
The best way of blocking the sound is to use the dense and heavier material in doors, windows, walls, and roofs.
Only Use Triple Glazed Windows in Excessively Noisy Areas
You are strongly advised against using cheap-quality single glazed windows.
Always use high-quality double glazed windows.
If you are living in an area full of traffic noise, or your house is located near a busy road in a metropolitan city, you are strongly advised to install triple glazed windows.
Gone are the days when triple glazed windows were not affordable – they are easily affordable as well as easily available to buy from a number of retailers..
Change the Position of Furniture
Rearranging your furniture can also help you reduce the impact of noise.
Try rearranging the furniture placement, and you will make a big difference to noise in the room.
Always install built-in wardrobes in the shared or party walls to block the noise from passing through.
Adjust your bookshelves to the party walls and fill them with your books.
This is because bookshelves have the amazing ability to absorb noise pollution.
It is very important to deal with the noise within your house by making every room soundproof until the entire house is noise free.
Additionally, fabric sofas have the added capability of absorbing sound compared to a leather sofas.
Sound absorption means noise reduction!
The use of carpets instead of wood or tiles on floors, the addition of cushions, and the placement of bookcases are just a few examples of useful soundproofing hacks.
Those who live in apartments and are fed up with unpleasant noises coming from outside should use rubber textile mats on the walls and rugs on the ceilings.
You can soundproof your house by preventing the sound from reflecting on hard surfaces such as floors, walls, and roofs.
The reflection of sound or noise increases the overall noise inside a room.
In order to minimize the reflecting impacts of noise pollution, you can cover those hard areas with some soft material.
Conclusion
The various ways listed above should really make a different to noise in your home.
Please note that there is no single “one size fits all” formula or method to soundproof a home.
However, the above stated measures together will help you create a noise free eenvironment in your house.
