The bedroom is one such place where peace and quietness are a top priority. You may live with noisy neighbors or currently have construction near your apartment. You may be able to handle it all day, but at night, when you have to sleep, you need some calm and quiet away from all the noise.
Even if you don’t have soundproofing at your home, a soundproof bedroom is necessary because even the tiniest sound can keep you up all night. When it comes to soundproofing your bedroom, the bedroom door is the first thing to look out for. Bedroom doors are some of the biggest leaks one can find in a bedroom through which the stray sounds reach your room.
Most of the time bedroom doors are hollow. This will result in a poor door density and will let sounds through, especially low and high-frequency noises. In this article, we will be exploring some of the best ways to soundproof a bedroom door. We have carefully curated the best DIY techniques that can be followed even without professional expertise in the field.
10 Ways to Soundproof a Bedroom Door
Soundproofing your bedroom door can be quite overwhelming, especially for beginners. There are a lot of options and products available in the market at different price ranges offering different levels of soundproofing for your bedroom door. Here are some of the best, economical, and easy to install soundproofing solutions you can apply on your bedroom door to make it soundproof.
Weatherstripping the gaps and cracks
Maybe, the reason might not be your door, but the cracks and gaps between the door and the floor or in the door. It is imperative to close these gaps before starting up with soundproofing your bedroom door. You can easily find such gaps by turning off the lights in and out of the room and asking your friend to shine a flashlight from the other side of the door.
Weatherstripping tapes are the go-to choice for shutting down gaps and cracks. Usually made of fiberglass, the tape has a high level of insulation and often comes with a side covered in glue. You can measure the surface you want to place the tape on and cut a piece of weather tape, keeping a small margin for error in measurement. Wait for a few moments till the glue dries.
Soundproofing Blankets
This may come across as a bit out of the box and even unappealing to some people due to the lack of aesthetics of hanging a blanket on the door, but it is sure to provide you with amazing results. Soundproofing blankets are special blankets with a higher mass and can easily block most sound waves on their way to your bedroom.
Soundproofing blankets have the added advantage of easy installation and can be removed easily when not in use. In most cases, adding a single blanket onto your door is enough to block almost all normal noise, but if needed, you can add multiple layers on top of it according to the level of soundproofing you need. You can also create a sliding rail system where the blankets can be moved to the side after use.
Door Sweep
One of the biggest gaps found in an enclosed room is the gap between the door and the floor, through which sound can creep in. Soundproofing your bedroom door cannot be considered complete if the gaps aren’t completely closed out. For soundproofing and closing the gaps of the bedroom door, one can use a door sweep.
Door Sweeps are amazing products that are economical and have amazing soundproofing properties. They are available online in different sizes and shapes and can be fitted on the door within a few minutes.
Door sweeps have soundproofing fabric stuffed inside them which makes them amazing insulators of sound. The door sweep can be attached to the bottom of the door. In addition to soundproofing, door sweeps also help keep the bugs and insects out of the room.
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Acoustic Panels
Acoustic Panels are one of the most versatile soundproofing solutions available in the market today. There are different types of acoustic panels available, including fiberglass, foam, wood, etc. Acoustic panels are available in tiles and come in a wide variety of sizes to fit your needs.
Acoustic panels can be placed on the front side of the door and can be made to stick with adhesive, nails, or screws. They are placed as such to block the incoming sound waves. Acoustic panels are very effective in soundproofing.
Acoustic panels are very viable in terms of ease of installation and availability. They can even block a broader range of frequencies than normal soundproofing material. However, the only downside is that they cost more than conventional solutions such as soundproofing blankets.
Soundproof Curtains
Soundproofing curtains can be used on doors and have a significant advantage over soundproofing blankets in terms of ease of maintenance. Soundproofing blankets have to be manually fitted and removed after each use. But, soundproofing curtains can be pulled back as it stands on a pivot running horizontally across the width of the door.
Soundproofing curtains are amazing soundproofing solutions with an STC of about 26. It can block out normal voices and can dampen the incoming noise. Soundproofing curtains usually are heavier than ordinary curtains and are made of special fabric for maximum sound absorption. Also, soundproof curtains are designed to cling to the door; hence there will be no cracks or gaps for the sound to come.
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MLVs
Fundamentally, the soundproofing effect is directly proportional to the mass of the material blocking it. In most scenarios and soundproofing techniques, we add more mass to the surroundings and the door to make it soundproof. Mass Loaded Vinyl is one such soundproofing solution and is one of the best available in the market.
MLVs are light, flexible, and can be machine washed. MLVs can be added to the exterior of the bedroom door with the help of an adhesive. MLVs are available in different textures and sizes and can be used on any bedroom door.
If you’re worried about ruining your home’s ambiance and aesthetics using MLVs, you can go with transparent models. MLVs can be placed on the front side of the door to block out the incoming sounds. It can also be painted over without a loss in soundproofing properties.
Door Gasket
An improved version of weatherstripping tape, door gaskets are used on door frames to block out sounds to a great extent. Door gaskets are relatively harder to install and can be costly. The gaskets need to be screwed onto the door frames and may need the expertise to handle them well.
Door Gaskets are comparatively costlier and considered a more permanent solution when compared to weatherstripping tape. Door Gaskets can also be used to adjust the gap between the door and door frame. You can go online and search for door gaskets or go to the nearest store with door gaskets available and buy according to the required size.
Add a Rug on the Floor
A rug is an optional choice for most people, but it will have good soundproofing properties as it can absorb the incoming soundwaves and attenuate them on the way to the bedroom. The best thing about rugs is that they can also act as a fashion statement and have utility at the same time.
Rugs won’t give you standalone results that are amazing. However, it can be used along with other soundproofing techniques and methods mentioned in the article to gain better soundproofing. When it comes to soundproofing, the thicker the rug is, the greater the soundproofing. You can select the rug’s material according to your choice and try to place it as near as possible to the bedroom door.
Placing rugs on the hallway leading to the door and inside the bedroom can help you reduce the echo and vibration one can feel inside the room. It can attenuate noise of normal and, to an extent, high-frequency noise.
Soundproof Underlayment
Soundproof underlayment is an added accessory that can be used with rugs on the bedroom floor, especially near the bedroom door, for maximum results. Soundproof underlayment can help prevent the sound from going out and absorb, attenuate, and convert sound to heat energy.
Soundproof underlayment can be placed below the rugs for added functionalities. They are amazing products that can absorb footsteps, vibration, and acoustic sounds. You don’t have to worry about the aesthetics of the soundproof underlayment as it is placed below the rug.
Buy a New Solid Door
If nothing works, it might be time to replace the bedroom door with a solid wooden one. Bedroom doors are generally hollow, and this makes the bedroom doors very light. Being light, the doors can’t block the incoming sound waves effectively, and it’s better to go with heavier and bulkier doors for better soundproofing results.
Heavy wooden doors usually cost a lot more than bedroom doors but have a higher STC rating. For a solid wooden door, the STC rating is about 60, which can block almost all sounds.
It is better to opt for a new solid door if the return on investment of the soundproofing is abysmal and the existing door is old. Or, you can try filling the insides of the door with sand, foam, or any insulation-providing materials. If you can invest a bit more, you can go for fiberglass, MLV, or cardboard.
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Final Thoughts
It is necessary and beneficial to soundproof our bedroom door. Mentally and physically, it goes a long way to have a good night’s sleep. The biggest reason for outside noise coming can be due to the gaps present in the bedroom door or the material of the door. One needs to add suitable mass and use dedicated soundproofing solutions to get the best soundproofing in your bedroom.
This article has discussed some of the best DIY methods and products that can be installed easily on your bedroom door to soundproof it. We’ve dealt with closing the gaps between the door and the floor and also added mass onto the existing door to improve its soundproofing properties.
Always keep in mind that not all methods mentioned here are guaranteed to work for you. Moreover, if any technique doesn’t work out for you, you can always try a combination of the techniques and methods mentioned here for optimum results.