Thanks to advancing entertainment technology, things like flat-screen TVs and surround-sound systems have turned our homes into movie theaters. Obviously, this can generate a lot of noise, which can be annoying for neighbors as well as for other people in the home. That’s why more and more people are employing home soundproofing techniques. Plus, there are still the traditional reasons why soundproofing is sometimes a good idea—whether it be band practice in the garage or a loud workroom in the basement.


How soundproofing works

There are many levels of soundproofing. If you have plenty of money to spend, you can go all out with a full system that can all but completely block the noise from getting out. For less money, you can take relatively simple measures to dull, but not completely block, the sound.

When soundproofing, the main thing to know is that different types of material are effective for blocking sound at different wavelengths. If you’re near a noisy room, you may notice that certain aspects of the sound are blocked while others get through. For example, you may notice that the low, rumbling sound gets through and vibrates the whole house, while the mid-range sound gets mostly blocked. This would be simply because the existing walls happen to be made of a material that is good for blocking mid-range sounds. Most standard wall materials fit this category—it blocks mid ranges of sound while letting extreme bass and treble sounds through.

Soundproofing elements

In order to get complete soundproofing, you have to combine the mid-range-blocking material with other materials for blocking lower and higher sounds.

One of the most important aspects for soundproofing is to put insulation in the walls. The best construction for this is to have staggered studs within the walls (i.e., studs that alternate between the front and back sides of the inner wall) with fiberglass weaving through them. Outside of the fiberglass, use a layer of specially designed soundproofing drywall (which is carried at most large hardware stores) inside of a layer of standard drywall.

The difficult part is soundproofing the walls and floors. If the room is in a basement, soundproofing the floor is easy—just lay down some thick carpet. For ceilings and upper-level floors, all the same principles apply, and soundproofing can best be achieved with soundproofing drywall and a thick layer of insulation.