Soundproofing a room does not have to be expensive, but it may soon become quite expensive if you go the course of removing stud walls and ceilings to install various high-end soundproofing materials.
Soundproofing a room may be done efficiently at a very minimal expense, especially if you are prepared to do the work yourself. But worry not. All of our recommendations are quite uncomplicated and straightforward to do even for persons who are new to D.I.Y.
How Do You Soundproof a Room?
We’ve compiled a list of some of the top value products you can buy to quickly install for great sound and noise reduction.
Cheap Ways to Soundproof a Room
Adding furniture and natural decor to your area is one of the simplest methods to mask undesirable noises in a room. Hard surfaces, such as hard flooring or blank existing walls, reflect sound.
1. Add Area Rugs
In an apartment, consider adding large area rugs to your main living spaces to muffle noise from lower neighbors. Adding a pad under the rug is another option to improve sound masking without taking up extra space.
2. Use Curtains and Window Treatments
Curtains not only provide a fantastic visual barrier from inquisitive neighbors, but they also serve a secondary role in terms of sound dampening. Hanging luxurious, thick curtain absorbs extra noise from outside as well as annoying road noise.
On the inside, the same drapes help to absorb ambient noise that floats around the area.
3. Add Upholstered Furniture
Adding upholstered furniture to your environment provides more locations for sound to be absorbed into and reduces bouncing. If you don’t have enough space for new furniture, try adding thick blankets or soft throw pillows to your existing spaces.
Best Ways to Soundproof a Room
If additional furniture doesn’t do the job, consider a more powerful option if you have particularly noisy neighbors, children, or housing right close to high-traffic areas.
The following options are not as cheap or dual-purpose as those described above, but they are more successful at soundproofing a room regardless of the source of the sound.
1. Cheap Soundproofing Foam
If you’re on a limited budget, you can get a lot done with cheap soundproofing foam. Soundproofing foam has come a long way in recent years, and it’s incredibly cheap on Amazon.
Soundproofing foam can be purchased for a low price. Even better, you can generally purchase soundproof foam in a number of colors, so it doesn’t have to be strictly functional. It can offer a lovely aesthetic touch to your area while also meeting your soundproofing requirements.
2. Install Acoustic Panels
Hanging acoustic panels can be rather expensive depending on size and quality, but they are undeniably one of the greatest ways to soundproof a space. Acoustic panels are good at absorbing undesirable sounds and can be hung as art or accents around your home or apartment.
These panels are typically lightweight and come in a range of colors to complement your design. Low-cost acoustic panels, such as these foam panels, are simple to install and assist to absorb undesirable noises.
Larger acoustical panel sizes are available for a little more money and can be placed with heavy-duty hardware or flush-mounted z-clips. These can be combined to form a single huge panel or used separately.
3. Use a Sound Booth
If you have a larger budget and can pinpoint the source of the noise in your house, you might want to consider renting a sound booth. This aids in isolating the sound before it has a chance to reverberate throughout your room. Alternatively, if you plan on recording music or voices, you may need to increase your budget and rent a recording studio space.
The mechanics of noise isolation are significantly easier to handle in a studio room created particularly for that purpose for professional recording (or even prosumers).
More Effective Methods of Soundproofing a Room
If you are considering a more extensive soundproofing project, you may need to consider more expensive options. However, it is still possible to effectively soundproof a room on a budget, but you will have to spend significantly more money than if you simply sealed the gaps around the windows and doors.
Here are the most cost-effective options for soundproofing a room.
1. Install Drywall
If you’re handy around the house and don’t mind building a more permanent solution, putting another layer of drywall to the walls and ceiling is a good place to start.
This solution, like every other suggested option, entails simply adding more bulk to the existing structure. It is much more effective if a cavity is left between the two layers of drywall since this creates an extra place for sound to flow through.
Drywall is a low-cost and simple-to-install material. This will make the room smaller, but the change will be minimal.
2. Add Drywall and Green Glue
Green Glue is a uniquely made product with a one-of-a-kind chemical formula. It turns mechanical energy emitted by noise pollution into heat. This makes it a very effective way of sound dampening and a low-cost addition if you’re already building a new layer of drywall.
It is recommended that you apply as much as possible on the opposite side of the drywall you are putting; the more you apply, the better the job.
3. Install Staggered Stud or Double Drywall
The standard wall is constructed with strips of lumber fastened to top and bottom plates. These strips are all arranged in a line upon which the drywall is placed, completing the wall. Although this creates a cavity, it is usually not very large, and sound can easily pass through it.
The strips in a staggered stud wall are staggered, as the name implies. This implies that they are alternately placed on one side and then the other, resulting in a cavity of roughly 12 inches between the walls. This will make a significant difference in soundproofing a room.
Double-wall construction is another good alternative. This is a pretty simple idea that works by employing two sets of strips instead of one. This implies that each side of the drywall is erected on its own set of studs, dividing the two walls almost completely.
Both methods function on the premise of decreasing the quantity of sound that can pass through the wall due to vibrations. Separating the two sides of the drywall makes sound travel between them much more difficult, and it effectively provides another layer of decoupling by limiting the contact points between walls.
Wrapping Up
Soundproofing a room on a budget is entirely achievable; you just have to be a little more inventive in your approach.
All of the options on this list are inexpensive and will give some level of soundproofing; but, if you want to do a better job, you will need to invest more money.