How To

5 Simple Ways to Soundproof Your House

Written by Mint.com
Published Dec 31, 2012
2 min read
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Is five minutes of silence too much to ask for? If there’s an amateur guitar player or a husband who watches football at full volume living with you, then yes, it might be.

To maximize your peace and quiet around the house, try a few of these easy soundproofing strategies. These tips will reduce vibrations, plug sound leaks and absorb noise. How great does that sound?

Plug sound leaks.

Pretend sound moves like water throughout your house. To stop the sound, you need to plug the leaks. To do this, buy some acoustic sealant and apply it around any gaps between your overhead lighting fixtures, door casings and switch boxes.

Use rugs and carpets.

Rugs, carpets and even drapes help reduce ambient noise. If you have a loud room that’s “naked,” consider adding a new throw rug or carpet. It will help dampen the noise and spiff up the room at the same time.

Add a layer of drywall.

Drywall is a dense material that stops noise, so it’s a perfect soundproofing addition. You don’t have to double-drywall your entire house. Just focus on the noisiest areas, like your kid’s room, or the areas you want to keep particularly quiet, like your office. For this project, we recommend hiring a contractor.

Install acoustic panels.

Acoustic panels absorb sound, which makes them a perfect buffer around particularly loud rooms (like a music room). You can even turn your panels into a work of art with these custom acoustical treatments from Soundproof Cow.

Switch your doors.

If your home has hollow core doors (these are light weight and inexpensive), there’s probably a lot of extra sound passing through them. To quiet things down, consider replacing them with solid core doors, which you can find at your local hardware store for about $60-$80.

BrightNest is a free site that provides tools and tips to homeowners to help them save money, get organized and keep their home in great shape.