Making your walls soundproof doesn’t have to be a difficult task. In fact, we will tell you 9 secrets of the trade to help you on your way.
Before settling on one method, consider how expensive and time-consuming they might be. Then weigh up that problem with how big the room is and how loud the sounds are.
With these four ideas in mind, take a dive into these DIY secrets to soundproofing your walls.
Add Extra Drywall
The best way to stop noise from bouncing around the whole house is to put stuff in the way. Sounds are just vibrations, after all. The vibrations will fizzle out after contacting too many dense materials.
You could add bricks or stones, but in practice, that would be a time-consuming and impractical strategy. Instead, drywall will be a lightweight, easy-to-install barrier to add to your walls.
Caulk Sandwich
Suppose you add an extra layer of drywall but are still hearing too much noise. Then we suggest creating a “caulk sandwich.”
This method involves layering acoustical caulk (around ⅜ inches thick) on your exposed drywall and then adding another layer of drywall on top. It creates a sandwich of extra-thick layering.
Acoustical caulk is a rubber material that doesn’t harden. Instead, you use it like glue. However, unlike glue, it has a natural sound barrier in its make-up, which is why many soundproofing experts opt for this adhesive.
The concept will only work if you have enough space to add in more walls.
Mass-Loaded Vinyl
Mass-Loaded Vinyl (also known as MLV) was specially designed to control noise. It is a flexible and thin material that can easily be attached to the walls or floors already in your home.
MLV can easily dampen noise by itself, but if you need to stop your kid’s rock band music from screaming into the hallway, you may need another method.
Creating an MLV sandwich, similar to the caulk sandwich above, will massively reduce the sound vibrations.
Fixing Sound Leaks
If you’ve already soundproofed your walls, but can still hear too much noise, there could be a leak.
If there is a hole in your barrier, the sound will leak through like water. You can fix these holes quickly with caulk adhesive.
Look around your doors, ceiling, adjoining walls, and switch boxes for any holes.
Acoustic Panels
Acoustic panels absorb sound, stopping them from bouncing off the walls. Also known as PEPP (Porous Expanded Polypropylene), the panels are sold in a variety of thicknesses and sizes, as well as colors.
You can glue or hammer these panels into your pre-existing walls.
Soft Items
If you are using a rented space, changing the walls and hammering on the structure might not be possible.
In those instances, we suggest adding “soft items.” These are things like carpets, drapes, and even plants.
These soft items absorb the vibrations in the room before they can escape into the rest of the building. And you can easily remove them when or if you move.
Sound Deadening Ducts
Sound deadening ducts are a type of ventilation. They are sometimes called sound traps, mufflers, or sound attenuators.
They act just like ventilation systems and pull in sound waves. Once the sound waves enter the ducts, the vibrations are reduced through the expansion joints and compensators.
However, to add these into your home, you need to create a new duct system. This idea would be best for new buildings or restructuring projects.
Solid-Core Doors
If you’ve soundproofed the walls but notice that your doors are letting in vibrations, you may need to switch to solid-core doors.
Hollow doors use a honeycomb effect inside their structure. This makes them lightweight, sturdy, and costs less money. However, this honeycomb effect means there is less resistance to vibrations.
With solid-core doors, the whole wooden structure is …. whole. This makes them heavy and forces the vibrations to push through more materials.
With more in their way, the door should dampen the sounds.
Monitor Your Sound Transmission Class
Your sound transmission class (STC) is the level of sound reduction. The best sound reduction rooms have a high STC rating.
If your STC rating goes up by 10, the sound volume will be cut in half.
When you buy one of the items above, look at the STC rating to see which is the best option for you.
Summary
All of these DIY solutions are used by experts. Using them, you can quieten your home without paying a fortune to hire a professional.
If you want more advice use Get Sound Proofing expert soundproofing insights.