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Soundproofing a room.

P. Horus Rhacoid

19:41 / 24.05.06

Okay, so I live in a house with 4 other people. I have my own room. It is awesome, mostly. However, in addition to the door I actually use to get in and out, it has a set of double doors opening out into the living room, which is where my housemates spend much of their time hanging out/ drinking/ listening to music/ watching tv/ playing videogames/ generally being communal. A lot of sound leaks into my room and it can get really annoying, especially when I'm trying to sleep or do schoolwork (the latter's actually a much bigger problem than the former). They're pretty good about shutting up when I tell them they're keeping me awake, but there's another problem: if sound can get in, obviously sound can get out, too. I'm very sensitive about privacy and my room being my space, and having what is essentially a porous barrier into it is really aggravating. I feel nervous, for example, when somebody's outside in the living room and I'm talking on the phone with my sister about our family- that's supposed to be a private conversation, and I can't be sure that it actually is. Bottom line, I need this space to be self-contained, and at the moment the soundleak is preventing that.

So I'd like to soundproof the double doors to the extent I'm able. Trouble is I'm not sure how. I was thinking maybe foam-rubber weather stripping to fill the gaps between doors and doorframe, and then maybe insulation over the doors proper. I don't, however, want to spend money on this only to find that it doesn't work at all.

Has anybody done this sort of thing before? Does anybody have any suggestions? Is this a lost cause? Any help would be appreciated.

19:44 / 24.05.06

Cardboard egg cartons work sweet. Seriously, as a cheap option put them on the wall in question. It might be a lot of egg cartons, but usually you can ask people to save them for you or possible ask nearby 'lithers to mail/drop them to you.

P. Horus Rhacoid

19:46 / 24.05.06

Seriously? I never thought of that. Do you have to fill them with anything (cotton or something)? I'm alone for the summer so I've got a bit of time to save them up.

19:46 / 24.05.06

...open egg cartons with the internal sides facing the wall.

19:47 / 24.05.06

My brother is a music producer and I've seen him turn a few rooms into sound studios... he used the eggcarton foam which I think you can Google and have shipped to you pretty cheaply. Weatherstripping the door is probably a good idea as well.

A cursory glance through musicians' forums indicates that 3" fiberglass insulation may work better than the foam, but insulation is kind of nasty stuff... personally I wouldn't want to use it.

19:52 / 24.05.06

just remember that cardboard is flammable.

Sound proofing tips

Keith, like a scientist

19:53 / 24.05.06

there's a big difference between soundproofing a room and trying to keep sound from escaping the room.

Soundproofing = usually means that you are trying to make the room dead, so that you have a completely baseline quiet room for music production/mixing/recording.

Keeping sound from escaping can only really be achieved by separating your space from the connecting walls. So, in effect, you would need to have a room inside a room, so that the sound doesn't carry through vibration on the walls connecting you to adjoining spaces.

So the first one is easy. Egg cartons/foam/etc. will all deaden a room to the outside world.

The second one is a lot more involved unfortunately. You'd basically need to build an inner insulated wall all around the walls of your existing room, with a good foot or so between them.

P. Horus Rhacoid

20:05 / 24.05.06

Keeping sound from escaping can only really be achieved by separating your space from the connecting walls.

Even if it's escaping through a specific place? As far as I can tell it's not getting out through the walls, but rather through the superfluous set of rather thin doors which don't match up well with each other or the doorframe. Basically a thin spot with some large cracks. What if I stuck egg cartons/foam on both sides of the doors?

At the very least stopping sound from getting in would be useful though, both from a practical standpoint (less noise = less distraction) and a psychological one (less noise feels more private).

14:47 / 25.05.06

Construct a box the size of the doorway with a depth of six-to-10 inches, I'd say. A pro would call it a "baffle" -- basically, it's a fake wall. It'll be more or less efficient depending on what you make it out of -- carpet, drywall, plywood, carboard, foam. But the secret is having a layer of air between wallspaces.

14:48 / 25.05.06

Or you could move. I think I'd move. I had a room like that once and just hated it - I felt I was just living in a corner of the living room.

16:26 / 25.05.06

I'll ah, echo grant's suggestion. the box accross the door, or a psuedo wall placed infront of that particular wall. Of course you'll be faced with a potental loose of living space.

Consider also, some heavy drapes placed over those doors in the living room. Or perhaps some other white noise generator; fountain, air filter ticking clock that might help obfuscate any sounds that do make it through the wall and into the living room.

Perhaps you can talk your housemates into having that psuedo wall built on the living room side. In this way it could benefit you as well as them. They wouldn't have to worry as much about being as loud while in that room.