How to Effectively Soundproof Your Room
We have all at some point in our lives, lived in a room that seems to have paper-thin walls.
It sucks but you can’t always control the noise that surrounds your bedroom, especially if it’s coming from the street or your neighbor’s house. But you can mitigate it with these simple soundproofing solutions. Here are a few that worked for me.
Sound can travel in through the gap beneath your bedroom door, which means that you’ll be tossing and turning while you’re forced to hear every single joke of the talk show your spouse is watching downstairs. Close up the gap by adhering rubber weatherstripping to the bottom of the door.
Bedrooms with a hollow-core door, which consists of a thin outer layer of wood with plastic or cardboard inside, tend to be noisier than those with a solid-wood door. Replacing a lightweight door with a heavy-duty solid-wood model can help block out unwanted noises — and save you from ever again having to hear your son playing video games until the wee hours.
Soundproofing doesn’t necessarily have to be a big expense. In fact, you can take steps to control bedroom noise without buying anything at all. Sometimes all it takes is rearranging the furniture with an eye toward absorbing sound and preventing it from hitting your ears. One effective strategy for blocking noise is to move a heavy dresser or bookcase to an outside-facing wall or to a wall that backs the hallway.
When you cover windows with soundproofing curtains, you get a twofer: an attractive, soothing decorative touch and effective soundproofing to block the noise of traffic, sirens, and loud pedestrians.
Wallpaper is enjoying a comeback — and it’s come back with a little something extra. It turns out that some wallpapers can help control noise. Soundproof wallpaper is made of thick polyethylene foam that dampens vibrations and sounds, including the buzz-saw snores of your neighbor in the next apartment.
Tacking up some acoustic foam paneling on one or more of your bedroom walls is a quick and effective way to absorb noise inside the room and cut down on the sound that enters. Panels are available in a variety of textures and colors, so you can have a little fun with the project. Then, when your neighbor revs his Harley first thing in the morning or your kid practices the cello late in the evening, those unwelcome noises may be a little less irritating.
