So you want to soundproof your room cheaply? The good news is that soundproofing a room is fairly easy, and to do so, you likely won’t require any professional help.
Since I didn’t want to spend thousands of dollars on soundproofing materials or hire a professional, I decided to take the following five steps to give myself a peaceful and quiet room. Even though my room isn’t 100 percent free of unwanted noise, it’s a lot quieter than it was before.
How to Soundproof a Room Cheaply
When you’re soundproofing a room, it’s all about keeping external noise from getting inside, and this can be accomplished by using hard materials that can almost completely block out unwanted sound. If you’re on a budget when it comes to your soundproofing goals, identifying exactly where the unwanted noise is coming from will lower the cost of your project.
1. Soundproof the Windows and Door
Without question, you’ll experience as much soundproofing success as you possibly can by blocking the windows in your room. However, sound can’t be blocked without the use of dense materials. The more density you put between yourself and the exterior of the window, the more sound isolation you’ll get.
Not everyone will want to completely block off their windows, though, and if you’d prefer not to, I recommend that you follow these steps instead.
Use Weatherstripping Tape: There are numerous small gaps and cracks around windows that sound can easily pass through without any obstacles. As a result, it’s very important to seal all the gaps around each of your windows. To do so, you’ll need to fill all those little holes with weatherstripping tape, which will serve as a powerful gap blocker. It should only take you about 25 minutes (or less) to cover an entire window.
Add Caulking: Caulking is very similar to weatherstripping tape, although adding caulking to a door will take a bit longer than adding weatherstripping to a window. Caulking adds mass around the perimeter of the door and makes it much harder for sound to travel through the material. The only major difference between caulking and weatherstripping tape is that the tape can be taken off easily, while caulking is permanent.
Hang Soundproof Curtains: A set of reasonably priced soundproof curtains can really make a difference when it comes to interior noise levels. Aside from being able to reduce sound, they also have insulating properties that’ll help keep a room warm in the winter.
Make a DIY Window Plug: This is probably the cheapest option on the list. In short, soundproof window plugs are simple plugs that have been designed for the purpose of absorbing and deflecting sound. They’re easy to make and cost-effective, and to make one of your own, you can simply buy some regular soundproofing foam and cut it into strips that are one or two inches thick. Next, pack these strips around the window frame and add some adhesive to make sure they stay securely in place.
Attach Soundproof Blankets: Another impressive way to soundproof your door is to use soundproof moving blankets. If you’re on a low budget, though, we recommend that you look around your house for a thick blanket instead of buying new ones. To work as effective noise blockers, the blankets you use must be as thick and dense as possible. Many people have used wool blankets for this purpose, with great success.
2. Soundproof the Floor
The floor is an important factor in regard to sound travel. A hardwood or concrete floor will induce sound travel and echo, but carpeting will reduce the amount of sound that bounces around a room.
There are actually many ways to soundproof a room’s floor, but some are more expensive and far less effective than others. To make your decision easier, we’ll go through a couple of the best ones below.
Add Thick Carpets: Carpets will absorb internal noise and decrease the amount of noise that can escape. You don’t have to carpet the whole room, either—you can just add a few pieces to the centre of the room. Another thing carpet can do is lower the amount of echo in the room, which will also make it a lot quieter.
Utilize an Acoustic Insulation Pad: There are many affordable carpet padding options available on Amazon. These products are very effective since you can add a layer directly between the carpet and the floor. Once added, the material will absorb sound and prevent it from reverberating around the room.
3. Soundproof the Walls
Thin walls are one of the biggest culprits when it comes to noise in a room. There are numerous ways to alter the walls in a room in order to dampen sound, but they all demand a bit of time and effort.
Rearrange Your Furniture: One of the easiest solutions, which is also completely free, is to place some furniture against the walls of the room. Placing furniture along the walls means that unwanted sound won’t have enough room to jump from one wall to another and produce a lot of echoes. Personally, I prefer placing a wooden wardrobe or a heavy couch against each wall, but adding some portraits and canvases to your walls can also work well.
Install Foam Mats: Adding drywall can take too much time and effort, so it’s best to install some foam mats instead. These are quite easy to install, and there’s no need for any construction. These mats contain rubber foam, so they’re very light and they’re resistant to petrol and oil.
4. Soundproof the Ceiling
There are multiple ways to soundproof your ceiling, depending on your situation. Let’s look at a couple of the cheapest solutions for blocking the impact noise that typically comes from a room’s ceiling.
Install Acoustic Foam Panels: One of the safest and most effective solutions to your noise problem is the addition of acoustic foam panels. These panels are made of a soft, spongelike material that’s good at absorbing noise. Plus, they’re highly affordable, and the installation process is quick.
If you check out different brands, you’ll notice that they’re available in several colors, so you can choose the one that best suits your needs.
Check for Holes in the Ceiling: It’s very rare to find holes in a ceiling, but there may be some holes that have been created for cables to pass through. If you find any, the best course of action is to seal them with some glue.
I recommend that you use green glue to get the job done, but no matter what, you should select glue that you can paint over, in case it doesn’t match the color of your room.
5. Add a Sound Conditioner
A good sound conditioner will help mask and block out distracting noise, such as that coming from a dishwasher, a washing machine or outside traffic.
Marpac Dohm is one of the best-selling white noise machines on Amazon. It’s kind of like a big fan, but it’s much smaller and doesn’t make any mechanical or vibrational noises. White noise machines produce sounds at a certain frequency that are good at masking other sounds by literally deceiving our ears.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this article will help you get started with soundproofing one or more of the rooms in your home cheaply and easily. If you’re interested in starting with your office, you may be interested in our guide to soundproofing a home office, too.
If you have any questions, feel free to let us know by leaving a comment in the comment section below.
image: Pixabay