How to Soundproof Your Home Without Breaking Your Budget
Making a Peaceful Home The Cheap Way: How to Soundproof Your Home Without Breaking Your Budget
07/11/2019
Our home is supposed to be a cradle of peace and relaxation for the whole family. A place where we can take a break from the noise and life of the outside world and do whatever we want to do without worrying about disturbing our neighbors around.
But how do you keep your home away from the stress of the noisy world outside? Or if you want to do something a little louder (like watching a movie in full-blast volume), how do you keep it fun without sending your annoyed neighbor to your doorstep?
The simple answer is the art of soundproofing. And here are 6 easy ways to soundproof your home without doing a full remodel and without breaking the bank.
1. Seal or fix any holes and gaps around your home
The first logical thing to do to soundproof your home is to inspect your abode and check for areas where noise could possibly come from or penetrate. The most common suspects you'll find here are holes and cracks in the walls, and these are the easiest things you can fix to block noise from coming in and out of your home.
You can try to fix the smaller ones by making a strong sealant made of baking soda and super glue. You can also try to fill them up with spackling or caulking, then repaint these sections to match your wall color.
For larger holes, you may need to do a little handiwork, but it's fairly easy! If you still have a drywall left in your storage or the garage, you can use that to cover the hole. You can check out this guide from Lowes for detailed instructions on how to patch medium to large holes easily.
2. Install weatherstrips on your doors
Did you know that noise can sneak around your door? To prevent this and stop heat loss simultaneously, get weatherstrips for your doors. Install adhesive-backed foam tapes in every area around your door where noise could possibly sneak through.
Aside from adhesive-backed foam tapes, you can also go for vinyl or felt weatherstrip, depending on the type of your door.
If you have plans to replace your door, make sure to buy one with a solid core, then install weatherstrips around the door frame. This is the best and strongest way to stop noise from coming through the door or sneaking its way around.
3. Use sound-absorbing materials
If you follow some
famous vloggers and streamers, then you may
notice that their walls are decorated with
rubber-looking panels. These are called
acoustic
foams, and they are great for insulating noises
and reduce overall noise in your apartment by
70%. It also stops sound from echoing around
your apartment by preventing internal and
external noises from bouncing around.
You can also opt for soundproofing blankets as alternatives to acoustic foams. They're made of sound-absorbent materials such as fiberglass and polyester.
Photo credits: A Quiet Refuge
Soundproofing blankets usually come in two types: moving style and acoustic style blankets. The former aims to block off high-decibel noises (like when moving furniture), while the latter blocks bass-level tones. The acoustic style blankets are what you're aiming for to reduce external noises while adding more aesthetic vibes to your house's interior.
IIf you're only looking to block minimal noises and redo your painting at the same time, soundproofing paint works. Soundproofing paint works its décor charms like normal paint, only they come with added insulation to serve its noise-blocking feature. You can try coating your wall with several layers to further suppress both external and internal noise.
4. Keep your appliances quiet (or buy silent ones)
Appliances can make a noisy ruckus that could wake the entire house in an instant (microwave beepers, we're looking at you). If you want to keep it quiet in the kitchen, soundproof your appliances before using them again.
First things first, check for the source of the noise in your appliances. Sometimes, this could be a sign that the appliance needs to be repaired. If that's the case, fixing it would solve the noise problem.
Another possible cause is the area where you place your appliances. The appliance may be vibrating against the surface underneath it or clashing with nearby items in its spot. You can try putting your appliances in different spots and see if it still makes the same noise.
Alternatively, you can place soundproofing materials like rubber matting underneath the appliance. This works great in reducing refrigerator noise, for example, as it absorbs all the noise produced by the vibration from the fridge.
When you need to replace your appliances, go for the silent types. Most appliances in the market today come with a soundproofing feature to prevent it from making noises when in use.
5. Fill the white space in certain areas at home
When your house looks hollow or empty, noise and other sounds are likely to bounce through your walls. This is known as the echo effect.
To reduce this effect, you need to provide more surfaces at home that can deflect incoming noise. Placing more furniture and other decorative items is the best way to do this.
The perfect furniture and items that don't consume much space but still perform the job are bookshelves. If you're already a bookworm by heart, you can install bookshelves in the wall to provide space for your literary collections. The more books you have, the more noise protection you can have!
You can also hang paintings and other wall arts if you don't feel like adding more bulky furniture at home and reduce your roaming space around.
6. Hang some soundproof curtains on your windows
Aside from incorporating your walls with soundproofing materials, your next best option is to hang some soundproofing curtains to your windows. If you want to keep your windows open, but want to filter out the noise, your soundproof curtains will do the job for you.
These curtains are mostly made with fabric tightly woven to keep your home noise-free and prevent air pollutants from entering through the windows too. Some soundproofing curtains may weigh a little heavier too, but the added weight helps it to keep the noise out by acting as deflectors for the sound outside.