CHEAPEST Budget way For SOUNDPROOFING a Room
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- čas přidán 28. 05. 2024
- Soundproofing a room on a budget can be challenging sometimes but in this video ill show you every aspects of soundproofing for cheap! The 3 main places to look at when finding the cheapest way to soundproof a room is finding the cheapest way for soundproofing the door and soundproofing the wall and window.
Using materials that might not have the word acoustic on them will keep the price low. I compiled some alternative soundproofing material that will work almost just as good but at a fraction of the cost and keeping your soundproofing project on budget!
FULL ARTICLE with more tips - wp.me/p9FBmC-1WI
Links to the soundproofing products I talk about in this video. All links are from Amazon and are affiliate links which helps my content at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
1. Red Devil Caulking - amzn.to/3P0cpnP
2. DOOR SEAL KIT - amzn.to/3LirCNp
3. Weatherstrip Rubber - amzn.to/3neyu6v
4. U-Shaped Door Sweep - amzn.to/3qxTlQN
5. Mass Loaded Vinyl - amzn.to/45ygwfY
5. caulking dispenser 10 oz - amzn.to/3X3tQpp
6. Moving Blankets - amzn.to/3J7On6F
7. Acoustic Foam - amzn.to/3qA9R5C
8. Sound Deadening Curtains - amzn.to/2JbycJp
9. Single Panel Sound Deadening Curtains - amzn.to/2HBA0L6
10. Industrial Velcro - amzn.to/2TpQsR2
11. Baker Rod - amzn.to/3KaDIsU
12. Small Tool Set - amzn.to/3Aph9f1
Articles to check out for any soundproofing projects! Especially the DIY!
1. Doors - soundproofguide.com/15-best-w...
2. Windows - soundproofguide.com/how-to-so...
3. Floors - soundproofguide.com/how-to-so...
4. Ceilings - soundproofguide.com/how-to-so...
Bear in mind that some of the links in this video are affiliate links, and if you go through them to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. Keep in mind that I link these companies and their products because of their quality and not because of the commission I receive from your purchases. The decision is yours, and whether or not you decide to buy something is completely up to you.
Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational, or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
Consider SUBSCRIBING if you like this content! Thank You. #soundproofing #soundproof #caulking #diy #noisereduction #weatherstrip #diyproject - Jak na to + styl
Links to ALL products I recommend in the description of this video!
Careful man... if you over insulate a room, by making sure there is no 'gaps' or 'light', you are also reducing the flow of air through.
If you take a look at the darwin awards, this would be on it.
If you are going to seal up all the 'gaps' you better make sure you have an air exchange system like a professional studio does, otherwise you are suffocating someone slowly. And no, you aren't fitting enough plants into a single room to recycle the air that a human expends.
Other than that, pretty solid video. I'd put a warning somewhere though so someone doesn't sue you for not having the common sense
Fun fact though, there is a scientist on here that proved that a $2 towel is more effective than a acoustic panel by several orders of magnitude.
If you remove the drywall and add 2x4s to the wall so one side is not physically attached to the other, just a 1/8th inch is enough, then the sound on one side can not physically travel to the other when you replace the drywall. That tiny air gap makes a huge difference and costs almost nothing to do.
@@davidbeppler3032 Sound travels through air. If you want ACTUAL sound proofing, you are using vacuums or materials that have vacuums trapped in them.
Having worked with a very well-respected professional in this area, this guy’s recommendations are dead on! The only major thing we did differently was to add drop closers and thresholds to the doors. Note that as you sound deaden a room, you generally also insulate that room. We had to also add dedicated hvac for those rooms.
Appreciate it! And great points!!
Have a new neighbor in my apartment building that loves to slam their front door, and the sound travels up the stairwell and into my apartment. After watching this video I put a flashlight in the hall pointed at my door and turned off all the lights in my apartment and saw light bleeding through from the bottom. Previously I thought there was 0 gap in my front door. Thanks for the tip!
Years ago I binge watched a bunch of seasons of 30 Rock. I happened to have my laptop connected to an old 8 channel PA system with a pair of very large house speakers and several stage monitors. The house speakers had massive 36" woofers and a folded horn passive port, and extremely large horn tweeters. It reproduced a very large range of frequencies.
Somewhere along the line, one of the seasons, there must have been construction outside of the building where they filmed the series, because for the rest of that season and for at least the next one or two seasons, almost every scene involving dialog had the sound of dump trucks pulling away and shifting gears. At first it was barely noticeable, but once I noticed it, it became hard to ignore. I was able to drop a few bands on the parametric eq to help silence it, but it was always audible to some extent.
I studied sound reinforcement at a community college years ago. We covered the issue of external noise and sound deadening materials, soundproifing, etc, as part of a "constructing a studio" course module. I'm surprised NBC hired sound guys who didn't account for that nose interference.
I'm sure the sound guys brought it up, and then proposed spending X number of dollars to fix a problem a couple hundred people might detect. The suits at NBC then squashed that proposal.
I kind of followed you about the speakers, generally, but think it’s wild as hell you were able to hear that much background. I’m sure stuff like that gets picked up, and then maybe in post they try to hide it, but I suffered some hearing loss on active duty and it’s cause a lot of things to disappear. So, I just find it wild when people can hear through like that.
If you want to soundproof your home... you're gonna have to dance for it.
What 36in folded/tapped horns were you using?
As far as walls nothing beats adding drywall for noise reduction! Just add 2 additional 1/2 inch layers with a 3/4 space of air ( Door stoppers as spacers ) and stagger the drywall ( meaning don't installed them the exactly the same way but putting some vertically and some horizontally ). Its the cheapest way and it will give you the biggest bang for the buck!
Of course we must add extensions to the electrical outlets and the drywall itself but after you get a HUGE sound reduction. PLUS your suggestion for the outlets and cracks make perfect sense as well 👍
when i was in high school i bought a truck load of carpet foam padding to sound proof an old shop i used to practice in with an old band and we layered the whole room at least 3 times with carpet foam and hung moving blankets over all of that as well and you wouldnt believe how well it worked. we paid like a 100 bucks between 5 kids for all that and we jammed like clams while bothering anyone around us
That's awesome! Ever taken any pictures of that? It would be cool to see and have all the details for a possible Sorts video. info@soundproofguide.com if you wanted to share.
"While bothering anyone around us" so you sound proofed so you could could physically bother people? Right on.
@@SavantApostle Unnecessary criticism. Maybe he used voice recognition which can make all sorts of crazy errors. I'm just glad he shared the story.
Jammed like clams😂
Sometimes carpet stores get rid of the carpet samples when the manufacturers change colors etc. Never hurts to ask for free rectangles of carpet that already have nice edges
If you want to hang curtains to reduce outside noise (typically traffic), use the heaviest fabric you can find and have the curtain hang at one-quater of the the noise wavelength from the window. Assuming the centerband traffic frequency is 500 Hz, the 1/4-wavelength is just under 7 inches. Ideally, you want some extra material so the curtain is not tretched taut, but is a bit ruffled. This effectively varies the distance to the window and mitigates a wider frequency band of noise.
working nightshift and having a home built across the street makes me wish I thought of that, I put foam insulation sheets in windows and got custom molded ear plugs.
Just use a producers choice blanket for curtains works great
Legend
7 inches? That’s enough room to put in some plants on the window sill, or for your cats to bird watch.
Thanks for the measurement. I was gonna start with zero air gap and probably forget what I was doing. Lmao
The difference between deadening the sounds coming from inside a room, (echoes and such) and preventing sounds from outside coming into the room (traffic, TV, etc.) is an important distinction, that I had not considered before. Thanks for that!
I really like how practical and honest you are about the “soundproofing”. I’m a carpenter and I’ve had many clients expect pure silence on a busy street. I will be sharing this as they can hear from an expert there is no perfect sound proofing (in most scenarios)!
When our house was being built, I had the builder add insulation to the interior walls. I had this done for noise reduction. Noise originating in one room would then be less noticeable in adjacent rooms.
Opting for 5/8 drywall instead of the usual half inch is also helpful
I regret not insulating our interior walls. I don't want to open them back up. I am considering loose fill (it's just paper,) but I think it may not be worth the effort.
That should be standardvall homes the fact it isn't infuriates me I don't pay rent or buy a home to hear others sounds its basically defeating the object of having your own space
At build/framing time, best results come from doubling up the stud count, with half offset by half your usual on centre measurement, staggering the odds & evens so that plaster board from the adjacent rooms aren’t attached to the same studs - no vector of vibration transmission.
Acoustic rock wool insulation helps too.
Pretty sure it’s standard in the uk and all new homes to insulate interior walls
Caution on the moving blankets for window covering: the top fabrics are not UV stable and over time the sunlight will convert the tops to dust. They work and I use them but you will want to put some other stable fabric, like your light blocking curtain, between the moving blanket and the outside light. If you don't want the stylish moving blanket wall covering look, get some other fabric print and attach that to the moving blanket to convert it to a tapestry like in merry old medieval times.
Good point, nothing worse than wondering why the air quality is starting to go down in the room. Then have a neighbor start complaining because you have a blanket covering the window that looks like something from a haunted house (I'm thinking beauty and the beast style) 😅
I used moving blankets once for a quilt I made, it’s cheaper than the expensive wadding, but you can buy a UV wash additive by Rit Dye’s, use a spray bottle and spray the blankets with the solution that should help to extend the life of the blankets. I use it so that I can wash and hang my quilts out to dry in the sun this helps to stop the colours from fading when on the line and on the bed when the sun shines through the window.
Good idea! Was wondering if a couple of layers of cardboard next to the window first, then a moving blanket up against that would work. Could put some cool contact paper on the side facing out. Ppl wld be walking by going...dang, they had to use cardboard!😂
There were lots of good suggestions here. I have a basement studio and I have spent way too much money on soundproofing materials (only $100 when I told my wife how much😂). I know I’m gonna be irritated when theses small and inexpensive tricks do more than all the big, dumb, expensive things. Oh well… live and learn. Thanks for the great video.
As a voiceover performer, I won't work with them anymore, due to one job long ago where the amount of dust in the ones the producer had, literally hurt my voice.
Finally a video that is realistic and honest about soundproofing.
I used weather stripping along with those bottom door draft stoppers and it works very well.
I have to pull the door a little harder to make sure it closes properly which also tells me the seal is tight.
The biggest problem which you mentioned and no one else has is the air flow...
The room can get a bit stuffy and humid since the air flow has been reduced so much.
Open doors and windows for a while everyday
Best advice I seen on CZcams. I had a shared wall in my downtown condo between my living room and a neighbor's bedroom. Eight grand later, no noise from my sound system was heard in my neighbor's bedroom. Everything he suggests has to be done and done correctly, but the end result is blissful silence.
The best and cheapest sound deadened room is one you may already have... a walk in closet with both sides full of clothes... We used to roll the baby carriage in ours and you could have a party in the room adjoining the closet and it was a nothing more than a slight background murmur. I know a couple of people using theirs as recording rooms for podcasts -
Now that's a great suggestion
Dude. Dude. You may have just changed my life.
I cleaned my closet out and turned it into a vocal booth, acoustic foam all the way around even on back of the door, monitor, mic, guitar cable, even a webcam so you can live stream from there and see the performer from the control room
That’s a great idea when you just need a break from the screaming baby 🤣
True
I discovered using flat moving boxes cut to fit snug inside the window frame, fold the moving blanket around it then stuff it into your window frame.. super soundproof and will cost about 15 dollars for a standard window. Harbor Freight has cheap moving blankets and Home depot has cheap moving boxes👍
I just asked about cardboard! 😂.., seriously though, does it help, bcz that wld be a more affordable solution for me. In addition to the blanket of course.
@@micahthomas9521 I wish I had pictures but yes! It totally worked, good luck! What's cool is you can make more layers, but if you have the same snug fit I got, you'll see how good it is.
Wait what, does that work??? Currently I'm using cardboard but it doesn't mitigate any low vibration sounds like engines rumbling
@@user-need.advicee so when I did my bedroom window, I put the blanket up like a curtain and I got lucky my 2 flat boxes where the right size to shove into the blanket snug along the whole outer edges of the window frame. Got to make a good tight fit. And I hung another moving blanket on the back side from the top of the frame to look like a curtain as much as I could. Low frequency sounds are the hardest to block out, however, the position of our window didn't point directly at the street even though I was the front unit. Anyways, mine worked great. Best way to block low frequency like cars and subwoofers unfortunately is to add mass (like how theaters use concrete, velvet, and carpeting.) Hope this helps, it's a cheap fix in this case after all and doesn't address walls and anything else sounds can go through.
@@jrtama5 where can I buy mass vinyl?
I am so glad this video actually uses “soundproofing” correctly. So many videos refer to acoustic treatment as soundproofing, and they’re totally different things, as you said. Thank you!
I did it, by attending auctions at offices...I bought 12 panels of cubicle walls for around 10 bucks....does beautifully! That's my recommendation., along with black out curtains and doors, it does a lovely job. yes, caulk everything, but blackout curtains. surprisingly they do an amazing job!
On the eletrical outlet, you can also use plumber's putty. Super, super cheap
Some really good advice. The terms for the distinction between reducing sound from outside, vs echoes is Noise Reduction vs Acoustic Treatment. As an audiobook narrator, I’ve had to do all of this, but especially acoustic treatment to cut reflection. You’re so right about the price differential with the added “acoustic” in the name. Such a scam… usually. I DID pay extra for “Acoustic Blankets” vs heavy duty moving blankets and, for my purposes, they were well worth the extra cost. They are thicker, denser, and easier to use. But regular mov8ng blankets do a pretty decent job.
A lot of common sense and useful stuff for low cost soundproofing for everyday folks. And also the clearing up of what those acoustic foams pads actually do, which is they should only be used when YOU are the one making the noise and don't want it to escape. Thanks brother, keep it up!
tbh the foam isn't even so much about keeping your noise from escaping as much as it is about keeping your noise from bouncing around the room for ages giving you nasty reverb tails on your recordings. It'll do something for keeping your noise from leaving, but I doubt it'd do much, especially if you only have a few panels hung on your wall
For traffic noise, start by caulking the outside of the window trim, openings where pipes come in, etc.
A nice side-effect of caulking and sealing is improved energy efficiency and fewer pests coming in. It's a win-win-win
What I remember is what an American architect used in his glasfiber igloo’s. They were hollow and reflected all the sound. He used “paper-mache” for everything above 6 feet in the room. And it worked like magic. Wallpaper glue mixed with small pieces of paper. In my country we call it papier-maché.
For windows you can use a piece of plexiglass cut to fit, and edged with weatherstripping so that you have a friction fit around the frame.
Aka an interior storm window.
Ooh, interesting! :)
I assume that placing it a few inches back from the window would be better than having it touch the window?
@@glowcube do you think it’d be effective on metal shutters ? To suppress crickets sounds and dog barking inn the distance
Another thing that you can add to outlets is the insulation pads designed for blocking drafts (especially useful on exterior walls). They fit in behind the cover and fit fairly snug. A pack of 6 costs a couple of dollars.
Thank you!!
Great idea, thanks.
Yeah I used those and apparently the hot wire wasn't sitting right and guess what happened to that foam pad? Yep started smoking. We found it before it caught on fire. Use them with caution.
@@Nonybusinessxxxxxx That's a problem with the person who wired your outlets and let the hot wire poke outside of the screw
Ive tried so many tips and tricks I see online and all your points are correct. Most folks confuse panels to absorb noise.
A few points
-- Deadening that other room can be a faster way to improve the room you care about.
-- "draft stoppers" that people use for doors can work as well as a blanket to stop the noise under a door. A chunk of rug also works
-- Hanging a tapestry an inch off a wall deadens sound quite a bit. The gap makes it free to move.
-- For windows consider drapes rather than curtains. Drapes are made of more substantial material and the rod positions them out from the window. The drapery rod can be arranged so that the edges of the curtains wrap towards the wall to block that path. You can have the top of the drapes well above the window near the ceiling. This makes the path for sound harder in that direction. You can add curtains within the outline of the window opening as well.
Allowing your soundproofing materials to float is a great point! That way the sound get converted to mechanical energy as well as heat(like foam stops sound.)
@@jbarker2160I don't understand, does the air insulate the sound?!
@@mryan4452 Think about throwing a tennis ball at the wall it will bounce back, now if you throw it at the wall with a blanket directly on the wall it will still bounce slightly off it. If you throw it at a blanket that's mounted a inch off the wall not touching anything, the tennis ball will not bounce back and drop to the ground
@@313chickenThat's a really good analogy, thanks! :)
In my college apartment for the past 2 year, when I first moved in I noticed how much echoing there was in my room. I hung up my old comforter and that made one hell of a difference. I put it right behind my monitors, the direction I faced 95% of the time, and It stayed up there (as long as the clips holding them up didn't let go, which they did A LOT [velcro would have probably fixed the problem]) for the entirety of those 2 years. When I moved out this past spring and took it down, I forgot just how much and how loudly it echoed
Some good tips. I watched a DIY channel that showed how to make your own acoustic panels. A good way is to go to an art store for the frames at the size you want and a fabric store for Terri-cloth towel. Use velcro on the frames and the towel so that once and awhile the Terri cloth can be was of dust. Terri cloth has that extra thickness similar to moving blankets and that fluffiness helps sound dead in a room.
If you are working on a location set chances are you don’t get much ability to control a window. Lighting team does.
Insulation foam is your friend hear as you can cover up holes and the foam can help block vibration between panes sometimes.
If you have full control and ownership of windows but they are single pane take silicon caulking and use it to go along where the trim meets the glass. This will stop it from vibrating when outside noise is a problem. I’ve done it and it works. My old apartment was single pane and delivery trucks idling would make the whole room shake and vibrate the glass.
I live in a apartment with sheetrock between myself and the airbnb on the other side. I can't put up loaded vinyl and more sheet rock so I went the moving blanket route. It works to some extent. It doesn't fix the problem but you will get less noise from the other side. Also blackout curtains work very well for the noise and privacy. I also got some dense foam from packaging and put some of it up on the wall. It adds to the sounddeading, but not as much as furniture in the room(Or in my case empty boxes around the room).
The biggest problem I find is people mistaking sound treatment with sound proofing. The layman does not distinguish between the two. With new clients, it's the first thing I have to explain. Sound treatment can be easy and cost effective. Sound proofing is generally more difficult and more expensive.
How did you manage to use "layman" in this sentence? I assure you this isn't as big of a problem as you think and us laymen out there know that acoustic foam doesnt soundproof rooms
@@jaredroscoe800 YOU may know that, but in my line of work I run into people all the time who have no idea how any of this works and need to be educated about the terminology and have their expectations set to realistic levels.
Can confirm. I had no clue of the difference. I’ve been talking about soundproofing left and right for my new bedroom. Little did I know there’s so much more than I thought. I never even thought about treatment Vs. proofing
Thanks for this! I live in an 80 year old house next to a 4 lane road with typical air brakes, emergency vehicles, atypical exhaust, horns & extreme car audio systems noise interfering with my workday and movie nights - I've been considering replacing windows and doors as well as drywall to reduce the noise, but these tips will be much less expensive!
Best of luck! Let us know how it all works out!!
Did It work?
@@mukeshsharma1151they never come back with feedback 😒
@@renaldsunset they suck
Thanks for the advice! My friend tried to buy the foam squares and received extremely flimsy knock offs, so he had to purchase everything again.
I took your advise and used an old pair of pants and a fluffy robe at the door gap, and its really helped me get better sleep without my roommates constantly waking me up!
Great tips. Prevent the noise (and light) when you have a chance. If you ever build, these little things can make such a difference in quality of life. Even if you have a leak/repair, if the wall is open, add what you can then.
5:00 (apx) - For the lower door you need to have something you can put in place when needing to soundproof. Keep in mind, your lower door gap is needed for HVAC systems to function properly in circulating air. So if not needing soundproofing all the time, get something you can put in place when needed. IE: towel as mentioned.
Depends on the house. I have an HVAC return in each room, so the door gap is not part of the recirculating plan.
we have "snakes", basically 4-6cm diameter tubes of material filled with something inert, like dry clean sand (probably has something synthetic in it now) - heavy enough to stay there and block draughts/sound, but light enough that you can still open the door easily.
@@shawnbrennan7526And noise travels through your return ducts, too!
All of my rooms have cold air returns. Not everyone needs the gap.
@@FreedomTalkMedia If you have a separate setup like that then great, but that is not the majority of homes. The gap is an issue to be reviewed.
Also your returns create a channel for sound to carry through to other rooms. Just like AC Supplies that allow sound to carry from room to room.
While it may not be at a level that is concerning or unacceptable in your specific case it still needs to be addressed.
Those are good points. As you mentioned, sound is the movement of air. Another thing to consider is utilizing area rugs. They can be hung on the wall as well as laid out on the floor and they are much more attractive than moving blankets. Better still, hang a rug in front of a moving blanket. The main thing is to break up parallel surfaces. Putting sound deadening objects (cylinders, etc.) in the corners helps as well. Since we're talking about the movement of air, what about your vents or registers? There are things that can be done there as well. It all depends on how much the sound pressure level needs to be reduced. And then there's landscaping. :))
You make great points! I did make a video recently about soundproof the air vents by adding something called a “sound maze”! They are pretty cool! Here’s the video - czcams.com/video/k66tray91RU/video.html
"Soft" surfaces - rugs, cushy sofas, fabric-covered screens - all work within a room to make it sound better. Even paintings help. It might keep sound in the room, too.
Thank you for mentioning landscaping. Nobody thinks of that when they chop down all the trees on their property.
Trying to boost this video obviously has had a long term effect, because it just popped up in my recommended videos without me looking for soundproofing solutions at any point in my life, and it's 11 months later now. I watched it out of curiosity and gave it a like to reach even more people that are not looking for it. :D
Excellent advice. I've worked on noise reduction and your idea of turning off the lights and seeing where light is coming thru cracks is right on. Sound is sneaky and it's amazing how a small opening can bring in a huge amount of sound. It's not like air convection it's more associated conceptually to be more like water hammer.
We need this kind of helpfulness and honesty everywhere else in the world. Thank you for your insight.
You’re awesome! Thank you 😊
To improve sound and cut high frequency bounces, hang a heavy textile (rug, quilt) a couple of inches from a wall. Prettier than a moving blanket.
Bookcases decrease "too bright" sound because the sound bounces behind the books and gets lost. They can help minimize sound transmission from another room because the mass of a filled bookcase is high.
Great vid on sound proofing a room. Your ideas are rock solid and very economical. Thanks for sharing.
This is tremendously helpful - thank you!
I wish i had seen this years ago!!! I had a son with anxiety that would game and be loud. My daughter next door to him would have to work in the morning and the whole thing was contentious. I even recommended the moving blanket!! I was so excited when you said that. But, I completely missed the cracks. That would have helped them so much!! Anyway, thank you!
telling your kid to stfu would've been the cheapest option
@@_DeadBeat_ your name says it all.
You briefly mentioned this, but the gaps under the door and leaky windows are usually the only way of a room to get fresh air. A thing to keep in mind before going apeshit with sealing stuff.
Cold air return gets rid of cold air for circulation and to get fresh air in the morning you open window for five minutes even in winter. Canadian tradition.
Every room in our house has air vents the AC and furnace use to circulate air. Is that not widely the case in other regions?
Thank you for this info. I learned so much.
Thank You for caring, and honesty that you use to produce these informational videos. Living in spaces without privacy can cause stress between neighbors and pour quality of living. Soundproofing can help. Quality advisory is greatly appreciated.
This is why I purchase 2nd hand blankets when I find them at an op-shop (thrift-store). Takes the edge off the echo, and improves the heat retention of my bed/storage room. Cheaper than a heater.
Thanks - I did not know how much sound penetrates cracks around the doors, windows and electrical outlets. Budget approach is appreciated too! Very helpful!!!
I clicked on this out of curiousity, and found it quite informative, thanks. I will look for another video on how to sound-proof floors and ceilings, since I mainly want to be able to listen to movies loud in my living room, without disturbing the neighbours above and below.
Moving blankets and curtains and dense fabrics for the win! Set my booth up using moving blankets per instructions from my sound yoda sound engineer buddy, using laundry clips plus foam flooring and ceiling plus sheets, and they agree with your thoughts on most "acoustic" products, and that its all about sound deadening and sound isolation. So far my recordings have been very clean inside and quite clean outside of the booth, but i am sure they could be even cleaner, and the rest of your information and tips are great and I'll definitely be coming back to this video and looking through your others too. Thanks.👍👍 Stay safe and stay awesome. 🙃✌️
Great tips. This first thing I did was seal the gab under the door. That alone made a huge difference. Yea, that will interfere with airflow, but it's much quieter.
Thanks for taking the time to make this video and explain the concepts behind your suggestions. Great stuff!!
if you know how to sew, you can add a little to these tips!
- To cover big windows, you can sew two noise deadening curtains together so there’s no gap.
- To make moving blankets less unsightly, search for a blanket/fabric you *do* like the look of and sew them together. That way it’ll basically be a very heavy tapestry! haha
Thank! This is by far the most helpful vid I've watched on this topic!
Thanks for the video. Always appreciate when people create content that says "you don't have to buy that 'stuff' " whatever the 'stuff' is.
Something I have noticed is that the sound proofing effect of uPVC double glazing degrades with time. I tracked it down to the collapse of the rubber seals between the moving panes and the uPVC surrounds. The rubber becomes harder and less springy with time which results in air gaps, and as you have already identified that causes the noise to leak through. If you have this it's time to replace the rubber seals.
I noticed that on the main entrance door of the house I recently bought. I had new windows installed but not the door as I am still working on the house and was afraid of damaging the new door.
agree, I used regular spray foam behind electric outlet boxes and found that sound proofing that and door was all I needed. Also put construction adhesive on the back of 5/8 wall board and let it dry, then take that and put it on the ceiling. It will reduce the soung transmission from floor to floor incredibly well.
This video was full of a lot of new, helpful information for me. Thank you.
Most interior doors are hollow core with cardboard honeycomb. Mass is your friend for soundproofing, so a solid core door would work way better with the gap sealing. As far as the windows, making sound panels with rockwool is going to really help, and if you want to go all out put mass loaded vinyl on the window first.
Those darn cardboard doors! When I tell homeowners that they are just cardboard, it's as if they don't believe me. But, after I have hung the door, and it starts falling apart, they don't call the manufacturer to complain, they call me.
If you have a Harbor Freight in your area, they have piles of affordable moving blankets.
Thank you for putting in the time and your effort on a great video.
Thank you so much for the practical summary
They have a 4x8 sound board at home depot that goes on the sticks before drywall and works well. Great video!
I just purchased room darkening drapes for my bedroom. Glad to learn that they will also help cut down on noise. I hope it helps a bit on days when people are mowing their lawns. I hope to use one of your tips to use on my bedroom door. I have to figure out what will be the best for my situation. Thank you for this very informative video.
Best of luck! 😊
Thanks for the great video! Goes to show how finishings in a home can go a long way to improving the quality of life
I’m no expert in this area, but your advice definitely matches with my experience.
Tips on caulking were new to me, so that’s great. 😀
Thank you Sir 👏
Great video - couple things maybe (or maybe not) useful. Door snake - its a little rolled up towel thingy that you put at the bottom of the door if you don't want to use a skirt - you could just use a rolled up towel. Moving blankets! - I never knew that. Makes total sense. Three ways to reduce noise (=any unwanted signal). 1). The mass/hard blocking the video speaks of. That dense foam really does work. So does concrete. 2). Chambering and attenuation - that is what the foam tiles try to do. I suspect the moving blanket do a bit of both 1&2. 3) Canceling - not really practical for a room. The textured foam does work if used properly. We used to use the "egg" or "nipple" foam (the tiles - except we bought in rolls/sheets) - but the texture needs to point toward the noise source to work best - it used to be cheap. There is a warning touched on in the video. Nothing is more uncomfortable than a sound dead room. They can be hot, stuffy, strangely uncomfortable and a friend of mine used to complain of itching while in the booth (I think in is head but still real to him). You are better off trying to reduce (not eliminate) noise while increasing sound (=pleasant signal). Unless it's a sound booth of course. This was really interesting as a video.
If you wanna get a better sound with a microphone one of the things to notice is usually people are sitting at their desk which is against the wall when they’re speaking which means your voice bounces right off the wall and comes right back to your microphone if you place a pillow between the wall in the microphone that pillow will capture a lot of that sound wave. And if you’re using a camera you won’t see it because it’s back against the wall. I also got an attractive oriental rug and hung out across the wall behind my computer desk, they do this a lot Eastern Europe and I think it looks pretty cool too.
Very good concise and full and comprehensive video. Thanks
The blanket idea can be good on the wall decor wise if you think about curtin rods around the top of the wall with an ikea drape on the outside, if you move you can take it with you.
Those door sweeps are really great. Mostly they stop a cold draft from outside, but also a lot of road noise. Now if only someone could suggest a magical device for an open window near talky neighbors!
You could become a bee keeper!
Seriously though, you could try wind chimes or a small water fountain - use one noise to cancel out the other noise.
A beehive would certainly encourage a "buffer space"! I like the way you think. Yes, background noise helps a lot; I use a small fan and wind chimes already. The water fountain helped for a little while, but started making horrible noises because I neglected to use distilled water and ruined the motor bearings. The next one will do better. Thanks for the suggestions! I just might try the bees also.
Watched out of curiosity. Very interesting. I'm sure you're helping a lot of ppl.
The one thing nobody talks about is how to block sub woofer noise. I have neighbors that have a sound system outside by their pool with sub woofers thumping away until all hours of the night. And bass notes seem to penetrate everything. Note to mention people who drive by in cars with over amplified sub woofers. You can hear them coming from miles away. You can't hear the music they're listening to, just the pounding bass. It's like having a giant beating heart outside you house.
A huge amount of mass is required to dim these bass noises. Think concrete walls, etc.
We just moved our ten year old to the room on the other side of our wall. Fortunately, we have paneling in both our rooms so I am planning to grab some moving blankets, remove the paneling and attach them to the studs then reattach the paneling. Great idea! We'll see if any "noises" disturb him.
I don't know if that's a good idea for some latent fire safety issues. If you do this anyways, definitely be careful to make sure the blankets don't make contact with wires or anything that can get too hot!
You might see similar results without increased fire risk by properly insulating the wall between the two rooms (if that hasn't been done already), though that's probably more expensive than a moving blanket. If you can afford it, that dense vinyl material mentioned in the video is probably your best bet since it's designed to be put inside walls.
I just worry that with a moving blanket you'll make that part of your house more dangerous in a fire, since the drywall acts as a slight fire barrier between studs and flammable materials inside the room
@@crazygrape Great response, thank you. We don't have any drywall on interior walls as this house was built in the 60s as a lake house. Less interior bulk aids I winterization with less moisture to freeze/thaw. We, however, Iive here year round. I would never mess with wiring as ours is quite questionable as it is. Someday, it'll all need updating! I have thought about bluebird, which could be applied over the studs and then paneling reapplied (there are no plugs on that wall in our room ... weird, I know). Thanks for your advise. I appreciate your thoughts and you sharing them.
Excellent information-thank you! I used foam board, cut to fit windows, used at night or extremely hot days, it worked!
Glad it helped!
All those Barndominum CZcamsrs need to watch this! Echoes like living in a tunnel would drive me bonkers.
People don't realize that there are different things that they are fighting, which need different tools.
Sound sources, like creeks, cracks, squeeks need to be dealt with at the source. Add some foam, or caulking, or better securing a loose board... whatever it is, you just need to make it stop.
Sound reflections. When people complain about a room, it isn't generally outside noise is affecting quality, but reflections off of hard surfaces. Carpet, especially with padding, is your best cheapest option. Second is adding panels or baffling in corners, or on at least half (and not opposite halves) of the walls. If you can do all of the walls, great, but just doing 2 adjacent walls in a 4 wall room is typically going to eat the majority of the problem. Personally, I like to use fire insulation like rock wool, framed in cheap wood, and covered in fabric. It can look super boring if you want, or you can use patterned material, or anything fabric with something you like on it. I like fantasy maps, and there are no end of fabric maps you can find online to slap on top of a DIY sound panel.
Next is sound leakage. The first actual step towards sound proofing. If there is an air gap, no matter how small, then sound will get through annoyingly easy. Recording studios are notoriously hot, because in a perfectly sealed room, the heat from a human and a single light bulb builds up very quickly if you don't have free flowing air. Spray foams, caulking, winterizing products... anything that seals gaps is your best friend. And if it if rubberised, then all the better!
Lastly is sound isolation. You want layers of boxes with air gaps between them. Sound travels well through air, but it does a terrible job at transitioning between mediums, so forcing sound to go through a mass, then air, then another mass, and then air again is key to sound isolation. And you want as few bridges between layers, and staggered weirdly as possible without becoming a building code violation. A cheap (but labor intensive) way to do this is to buy drywall, and use something like a thick layer of poorly spread liquid nails or some other adhesive to slap it over existing walls. Force the sound to go into the first layer of drywall, then an air gap with as little material as possible, and then another layer of drywall. If you can fully frame out a room within a room, and have the framing resting on some sort of ruberized material, then that is even better. Walls are transducers, so having walls that make direct contact to the frame of the house, which is then well secured to the basement walls, which transfer lots of ground energy from trucks and other large vehicles will cause some level of issues. Anything to break that contact to have a free floating structure will be the hardest and lest rewarding part of sound proofing... but if you need sound proofing and already have panels and everything else but still have a problem... this is kinda your last and only option.
One way to soundproof a door is just to replace the door with an EXTERIOR door. It will be heavier, usually steel sometimes with a faux wood finish and come with weatherstripping all around. For best results you may want to replace the door jamb too, which usually comes with the door and gives you a chance to use caulk behind the trip in any gaps. Also seal around any switch or outlet boxes as sound can travel thru them easily.
check to see if all exterior doors are EXTERIOR DOORS, I swore a Realtor installed an interior door, flipping the house, and quickly cheaply pushing a sale.
Thx for the info, sounds like covering the whole room in moving blankets is the play.
Very useful information. Thanks!
If you don't want to add as much thickness to the wall, 1/4" thick cement board adds slightly more mass than 5/8" drywall, but will cost more. Alternatively, adding it between two sheets of dry wall is significantly cheaper than mass loaded vinyl also. You just need to use some caulk between them if you want sound deadening as well.
Thank you
When I replaced my mattress, I leaned the old one up against the wall to "get it out of the way for now".
It cut the noise of my neighbours watching tv, coughing, and snoring, in the next unit (purpose built multi story apt) enough, that it became a permanent padded side-headboard for my bed.
I put an aesthetically pleasing fitted sheet on it, and it's now been there for 2 years.
I hadn't considered the fact that having blocked the outlet in that wall (which is inconvenient) might be part of the reason it worked.
There's definitely nothing between the walls within our unit, but I had kind of assumed fire code would require them not to build back to back electrical between units... Then again, opening up holes in the walls to redo plumbing, in ways that allowed mice to move unit to unit very conveniently is apparently a thing they consider fine and dandy (solved it myself).
It's not a fantastic solution, and it wastes 5" of floor space - but it cost nothing, and means I don't have to wrestle a queen mattress out of a 3rd floor walk up until I move.
Now if only I could block the sound of lawn mowing, and the kid that "plays" by screaming like there's an emergency (despite being politely requested not to, for multiple years, by multiple neighbours - all the other kids manage to sound like kids playing loudly) without closing my windows, ensuring no air movement and blocking all natural light.
Apparently I just need to live with earplugs in at all times. 🤷♀️
Ah, the dilemma of wanting it to be quiet *and* wanting the window to be open... I feel ya XD
One day, someone will come up with something that will let us do that, but I haven't seen anything like it yet :)
It looks like this channel has a video about building "sound mazes" inside ones A/C vents, to allow airflow while reducing sound. I wonder if someone who's good with materials could make something similar that could be placed in front of an open window to deaden sound but still let in fresh air. Perhaps made with plexiglass? Hmm...
Wow! Great video! So much info!
Thank you! I DO appreciate the information. I don't have any room I need it for at the moment but I am hopeful for a new place, in which case it could come in handy to know this.
The one part of the room I was looking for getting advice is the ceiling. The room I'm working on is a basement family room. And so my most noise is from the floor above.
CHEAPEST Budget Way For soundproofing Ceilings & Floors!
czcams.com/video/1e-6Gg7eV4s/video.html
It's easiest if you are in the planning stages. ✏ But even my ancient cat sounds like a draft horse running down the hall.
Softer surfaces up top - carpet, "luxury vinyl", area rugs.
Seal air gaps around upper floors (can you pop the baseboards and really seal gaps with caulk and backer rod?)
Underneath, if you can remove ceiling tiles and install insulation and some sort of a sound gap - so vibration up top can't transmit as well.
Thanks, this helps a lot!
Another thing that I think might be worth mentioning and I feel is relevant, is that sound proofing can help to control heat or isolate heat in/from the room that gets isolated.
That increased R-value can pay off in lower heating cost.
Not to mention that lower heating cost and less noise disturbance can both help reduce stress, which again can lower healthcare cost in the long run.
Not that this comment of mine is meant to diagnose or treat anything.
Good luck in all your endeavours.
Kind regards from Iceland.
That’s a great point! I definitely will mention that in future videos!
@@mclovinfuddpucker
Normal and necessary air ventilation is possible in all sorts of ways in a sealed room, but it's not the topic of discussion.
The general or relative amount of intellect in any country isn't the topic either.
I will leave any further attempt at an insult alone, as if you tried to hand me some poo and then I just let you stand there, your arms outstreched, your palms wet and stinky.
At any point in your life, you are free to start being a good man, a kind man. I hope that time comes asap for you.
Good luck in all your endeavors.
Kind regards from Iceland.
Great information! I am a voice actor with a DIY built vocal booth, and I live in a flight path! My new booth helps A LOT with the soundproofing but I'm putting finishing touches to help with deadening the echo chamber I created (lol)
This video has some great rups on how I boost my soundproofing, so thank you!
Thank you for the great advice.
Great advice and no BS. Thanks for posting the video!
You’re welcome! Thanks for the feedback!
I don't have a specific comment, but I do appreciate the time you put into making this video and yes I learned a lot.
That’s awesome! Thanks 🙏
Great vid thanks man. Mirrors my own experience and gave me a few new ideas
Genuinely thank you!
This video has been very helpful 🙏
Moving blankets come in two flavors: good thick professional moving blankets that cost a bundle and inexpensive harbor-freight style moving blankets. The harbor-freight moving blankets are about as useless as the foam sound flattening panes.
For sound deadening within the room, a decent rug does wonders too.
This was pretty educational. Thank you.
Very informative, thank you very much.
A few more suggestions: Rockwool is a decent substitute for acoustic foam at a fraction of the price. And to improve appearances, you can put blankets in duvet covers, and put wall panels behind canvas frames.
Don't use those kinds of products, they're are very dangerous to your lungs and health. They make a similar product called ECO core that is much safer with similar properties, it's made out of paper and cotton.
Thanks, will try these recommendations
Thanks man, great straight to the point guide! 👍🏻
After watching the whole video and reading comments..im big on redos and decorating (NOT the type of decorating as in knick knacky stuff and extra stuff to display and such..im into practicality and common sense with a splash of personal enjoyment). I have an idea for me and those who wish their moving blanket wasnt so ugly is to lay over it is fabric to your liking. Ive always loved fabric wall paper and draping fabric to cover walls. My husband doesn't know it yet but this plan has been swirling around in my head awhile and its going to come to fruitation. There's a non stop screaming child 2 houses away and would love to also stuff the ungodly noise there too..especially the parent who allows it.
Ive used mass loaded vinyl as underlay to my floor using acoustic sealant along the edges.. it is super heavy though.. cannot be understated
You’re definitely right! Buying in bulk is cheaper, but will also be a lot heavier!